How Did the Term “Cold Turkey” Come to Be Used to Mean Abrupt Discontinuance of Addictive Drug Use?

Question by Bill: How did the term “cold turkey” come to be used to mean abrupt discontinuance of addictive drug use?
How did this come to refer to recovery from drug addiction by abrupt discontinuance?

Best answer:

Answer by bohogirl1
A narrowing of the meaning “suddenly or without preparation,” from cold turkey being a dish that requires little preparation; originally used for heroin addicts.[7]
From the American phrase talk turkey meaning “to speak bluntly with little preparation”.[8]
Some believe the derivation is from the comparison of a cold turkey carcass and the state of a withdrawing addict — most notably, the cold sweats, goose bumps.[9]
Reference to the periods after Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays where cold (leftover) turkey was likely to be eaten, coinciding with the end of those holidays’ characteristically high alcohol consumption.[10]