List of Street Names for Drugs

Popular Slang Terms by Drugs

Alcohol—This is the most commonly used substance by adults. Slang terms may refer to the brand or variety of alcohol or may be more general. Non brand-specific street names include:

• Booze
• Juice
• Hooch
• Sauce
• Rotgut

Cocaine—This white powder substance is commonly abused for its euphoric stimulant effects. Some street names include:

• Blow
• Bump
• C
• Charlie
• Coke
• Snow
• Toot
• Coca
• Soda Cot

Crack Cocaine—The yellowish rock known as “crack” is a version of cocaine that is smoked to produce an intense, immediate, and short-lasting high. It will share some street names with the powder form, as well as specific names like:

• Candy
• Flake
• Rock

Dimethyltryptamine—A hallucinogenic substance derived from plants in South America, it is known for its short but intense effects. It is often referred to as:

• DMT
• Dimitri
• Businessman’s Trip.

Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB)—This medication is used to treat narcolepsy but may be abused for its ability to induce euphoria. It is sometimes used as a date rape drug. Slang for GHB includes:

• G
• Georgia Home Boy
• Goop
• Grievous Bodily Harm
• Liquid Ecstasy
• Liquid X
• Soap
• Scoop

Heroin—This substance, which is essentially a modified form of the morphine alkaloid derived from opium poppies, can be consumed numerous ways (e.g., snorting, smoking, or injection) leading to an intense and addictive high. Common street names include:

Inhalants—A group of abused substances that comprises a wide range of solvents, glues, and other volatile products often found around the home. Inhalants give off fumes or vapors, which are then inhaled by the user, providing them with a short-lived but dangerous high. Depending on the type, they may be referred to as:

• Dusters
• Gluey
• Huff
• Laughing Gas
• Poppers
• Rush
• Snappers
• Whippets

Ketamine—This dissociative drug is mainly used in veterinary medicine and results in feelings of detachment from reality. It is often called:

• Cat Tranquilizer
• Cat Valium
• Jet K
• K
• Kit Kat
• Purple
• Special K
• Vitamin K.

Khat—This plant grown in Africa and the Middle East can be chewed to produce a sense of euphoria and increased energy. Commonly referred to as:

• Abyssinian Tea
• African Salad
• Catha
• Chat
• Cat
• Oat

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)—This hallucinogenic substance distorts reality and can produce drug-induced psychosis. Profoundly negative effects are often referred to as “bad trips.” Street names include:

• Acid
• Blotters
• Blue Heaven
• Cubes
• Dots
• Mellow Yellow
• Microdot
• Window Pane
• Yellow Sunshine

Marijuana—This psychoactive drug substance with the active ingredient delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is used frequently with increased legal status. It is referred to by numerous street names, including:

Hashish—A concentrated form of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produced from the same plants that produce marijuana, it is available as an oily substances or a hard resin. It may be called:

• Boom
• Dabs
• Gangster
• Hash
• Hemp

3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA)—This stimulant substance has combined effects of increasing energy/alertness as well as creating hallucinogenic effects. Commonly called “ecstasy” but may be also be referred to as:

Mescaline—Found in varieties of cacti, this substance induces perceptual disturbances and pleasurable mood changes. Slang names include:

• Peyote
• Buttons
• Cactus
• Mesc

Methamphetamine—This powerful stimulant increases energy and activity levels while decreasing the need for sleep. This substance is associated with poor decision-making, violence, and dangerous, erratic behaviors. Users are often called “tweakers,” while the substance is commonly called:

Dextromethorphan—Found in certain over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, this substance produces hallucinations and paranoia when taken in large doses. Street names include:

• CCC
• Dex
• Poor man’s PCP
• Robotripping
• Robo
• Skittles
• Triple C
• Velvet

Phencyclidine(PCP)—Previously used as a surgical anesthetic, PCP can create a sense of profound dissociation and can sometimes elicit psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. Users may refer to it as:

• Angel Dust
• Boat
• Hog
• Love Boat
• Peace Pill
• Sherm
• Mixed with marijuana: Zombie Weed.

Psilocybin—Grown in North and South America, these mushrooms can trigger hallucinations, the inability to track time, and an altered sense of reality. They may be called:

• Little Smoke
• Magic Mushrooms
• Purple Passion
• Shrooms

Salvia—A naturally-occurring herb that is native to Mexico, this substance results in feelings of separation from the body and confusion. Salvia’s street names include:

• Magic Mint
• Maria Pastora
• Sally-D
• Shepherdess’s Herb
• Diviner’s Sage.

Steroids—Legally available to treat hormone deficits, anabolic steroids are abused by those looking to add muscle mass or aid recovery following exercise. Commonly referred to as:

• Arnolds
• Juice
• Gym Candy
• Pumpers
• Roids
• Stackers
• Weight Gainers

Synthetic Cannabinoids—A combination of herbs with chemicals added to produce a “high,” this “synthetic marijuana” can be more potent and more problematic than marijuana.

• K2
• Spice
• Black Mamba
• Bliss
• Bombay Blue
• Fake Weed
• Fire
• Genie
• Moon Rocks
• Smacked
• Yucatan
• Zohai

Synthetic Cathinones (Bath Salts)—These substances are man-made chemicals that are related to the natural substances found in khat. They can produce a strong sense of euphoria as well as dangerous and erratic behaviors. Bath salts are generally referred to by their many brand names, including:

• Bloom
• Cloud Nine
• Cosmic Blast
• Flakka
• Ivory Wave
• Lunar Wave
• Scarface
• Vanilla Sky
• White Lightning.

Codeine:

• Captain Cody
• Cody
• Schoolboy
• Codeine syrup mixed with alcohol: Lean, Sizzurp and Purple Drank
• Codeine mixed with the sedative glutethimide: Doors and Fours, Loads, Pancakes and Syrup

Fentanyl:

• Apache
• China Girl
• China White
• Dance Fever
• Friend
• Goodfella
• Jackpot
• Murder 8
• Tango and Cash
• TNT

Hydrocodone(Norco, Vicodin, Lorcet, and Lortab) :

• Hydro
• Narco
• Vickies
• Vike
• Watson-387

Hydromorphone (Dilaudid):

• D
• Dillies
• Dust
• Footballs
• Juice
• Smack

Meperidine (Demerol):

• Demmies
• Pain killer

Methadone:

• Amidone
• Fizzies
• Wafer
• Methadone mixed with MDMA: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Morphine:

Oxycodone

• Hillbilly Heroin
• Kicker
• O.C
• Oxycet
• Oxycotton
• Oxy
• Percs
• Roxy

Oxymorphone (Opana):

• Biscuits
• Blue Heaven
• Blues
• Mrs. O
• O bomb
• Octagons
• Stop signs

Barbiturates like pentobarbital and phenobarbital:

Benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium, Ativan, and Klonopin:

• Benzos
• Blue V
• Candy
• Downers
• Sleeping Pills
• Tranks
• Rohypnol: Roofies,Roofinol, Rope, Rophies

Prescription sleep aids like Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata:

• Forget-me Pill
• Mexican Valium
• R2
• Roche

Amphetamine like Adderall or Benzedrine:

• Bennies
• Black Beauties
• Crosses
• Hearts
• LA Turnaround
• Speed
• Truck Drivers
• Uppers

Methylphenidate (Concerta, Ritalin)

• JIF
• MPH
• R-ball
• Skippy
• The Smart Drug
• Vitamin R

Helping Your Loved One

Identifying and learning more about the substances that your loved one is abusing can be a great step towards their recovery from drug abuse. If you know or suspect a drug problem, you may wish to consult with an addiction or substance use professional to learn more about your next steps in the process.

If you are seeking more information about treatment options that might be appropriate for your loved one, consider calling 1-888-744-0069Who Answers?.

1. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2016). Commonly Abused Drug Charts.
2. Drug Enforcement Administration. (2011). Drugs of Abuse: A DEA Resource Guide.
3. National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens. (2016). Drug Facts: Alcohol.