He stated, 'in substance' [='in essence', 'essentially'], that it is not his fault and he will not pay for damages.
These rumors have no 'substance'. = These rumors are 'without substance'. [=these rumors are not true]
Codeine is a 'controlled substance'. [=a drug that you need permission from a doctor to use]
(..) or hurt a living thing He'll just bit by little bit lower our standards where they're important Just coax along, flash over substance just a tiny little bit And he'll talk about all of us really being salesmen And he'll get all the great women (..)1987 Broadcast News