Street Names and Slang List for Drugs

There are slang names for different types of drugs, including both prescription medications and illegal substances. Being able to identify these terms can assist you in recognizing and preventing substance abuse from escalating into addiction.

To steer clear of legal issues, both at school and home, teenagers frequently resort to slang or street names to talk about drugs discreetly. If you notice your teen using any of these expressions, it might indicate that they are using drugs. Recognizing the signs of drug use early on is crucial so you can intervene before it develops into an addiction.

Drug Slang for Drug Categories

Drug monikers can be based on just about anything: appearance, feelings, cultural or pop culture references, riffs on the drug’s actual name, and more. Substances fall within overarching drug classes, the majority of which are below. Some of these categories have distinctive nomenclature all their own, while others only have nicknames for the drugs that make up the said grouping.

Depressants

Examples include: alcohol, barbiturates, Valium, Xanax, and other benzodiazepines

The names can be in reference to depressants overall or the individual drug-of-choice.

• Barbs
• Benzos
• Blue angels
• Downers
• Goofers
• Nemmies
• Quads
• Rainbows
• Reds
• Stoppers

Stimulants

Examples include: cocaine, methamphetamine, Adderall, and MDMA

Titles mostly refer to the drugs themselves, though the term “stimulants” does have one or two nicknames of its own. The most commonly used expression is “uppers.”

Opioids

Examples include: fentanyl, heroin, morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and opium

As umbrella terms, “opioids” and “opiates” do not have corresponding street terminology. Any and all slang is actually denoting the different drugs.

Hallucinogens

Examples include: LSD, peyote, salvia, dextromethorphan, and PCP

Nicknames for hallucinogens refer almost exclusively to the drug in question rather than hallucinogens as a whole.

Inhalants

Examples include: nitrous oxide, gasoline, glue, and various aerosols

Both inhalants as a category and individual inhalant substances have nicknames.

• Aimies
• Air Blast
• Bold
• Discorama
• Duster
• Glad
• Hippie Crack
• Huff
• Laughing Gas
• Moon Gas
• Nitrous
• Oz
• Poor Man’s Pot
• Poppers
• Rush
• Snappers
• Whippets
• Whiteout

Drug Slang Names for Common Drugs

The following is by no means an exhaustive list of drug names. A complete catalog of such terms is simply impossible. After all, just like the English language, the street vernacular is fluid. New words emerge. Words change in meaning. Old words fall into obscurity. To make things even more complicated, some words are used for multiple drugs. There is no telling which labels will see everyday usage years down the road. But, as of today, the most common terms for a number of drugs can be found below.

Cannabis (Marijuana):

Dank, Mary Jane, Reefer, Pot, Weed, Bud, Ganja, Herb, Trees, Chronic.

Read more about cannabis here.

Cannabis Concentrates:

246, BHO, Badder, Budder, Butter, Dabs, Ear Wax, Errl, Honey Oil, SAP, Shatter, Wax

Heroin:

Dragon, H, White Lady, Scag, Brown Sugar, Smack, Junk, Snowball, Dope, Horse.

Read more about heroin here.

Xanax

Bars, Benzos, Bicycle Parts, Blue Footballs, Bricks, Footballs, Handlebars, Ladders, Planks, School Bus, Totem Poles, Upjohn, White Boys, White Girls, Xanbars, Xannies, Xs Yellow Boys, Z-Bars, Zanbars, Zannies, Zans.

Read more about Xanax here.

Cocaine

Coke, Bump, Snow, Dust, Powder, White, Blow, Rail, Stash, Pearl.

Read more about cocaine here.

Crack:

Candy, Rocks, Nuggets, Hail, Sleet, Tornado, Ball, Base, Apple jacks, Dice.

Suboxone:

Big Whites, Bupes, Boxes, Oranges, Saboxins, Sobos, Stops/stop signs, Subs.

Methadone:

Dollies, Done, Phy, Fizzies, Juice, Jungle juice, Chocolate chip cookies, Maria, Metho, Pastora.

Oxycodone (OxyContin):

Hillbilly heroin, Blues, Kickers, Oxy, 512s, OC, Cotton, Beans.

Percocet:

Percs, Paulas, Roxicotten, Roxies, 512s, Blue dynamite.

Read more about Percocet here.

Hydrocodone:

Hydros, Norco, Tabs, Watsons, Loris, 357s, Dro, Bananas, Fluff.

Vicodin:

357s, Fluff, Hydros, Idiot Pills, Lorris, Norco, Scratch, Tabs, Vees, Vic, Vicos, Vikes, Vitamin V, Watsons.

Read more about Vicodin here.

Methamphetamine:

Crank, Tweek, Speed, Tina, Crystal, Ice, Glass, Go Fast.

Read more about methamphetamine here.

Adderall:

Dexies, Pep Pills, Speed, Christmas trees, Beans, Black beauties.

Read more about Adderall.

Codeine:

Schoolboy, Cody, Captain Cody.

Read more about Codeine.

Cough Medicine (DXM):

Dexies, Drank, Purple Drank, Sizzurp, Drex, DXM, Orange Crush, Poor Man’s X/Ecstasy, Red Devils, Robo, Robo tripping, Rojo, Triple C, Tussin, Velvet, Vitamin D.

Alcohol:

Sauce, Juice, Hard stuff, Hooch, Suds, Liquid courage, Booze.

Read more about alcohol here.

Fentanyl:

Apache, China white, Goodfella, TNT, Tango, Jackpot, Murder 8.

Read more about fentanyl here.

Morphine:

Dreamer, God’s drug, M, Miss Emma, Mister Blue, Morf, Morpho.

Read more about morphine here.

LSD:

Acid, Doss, Blotter, Superman, Tab, Zen, Pane, Lucy, Golden dragon.

Read more about LSD here.

MDMA and Ecstasy:

X, E, Adam, Candy, Molly, Skittles, Beans.

Ketamine:

Cat Valium, Green K, Honey Oil, Jet, K, K-hole, Ket, Kit Kat, Purple, Special K, Special La Coke, Super Acid, Super C, Vitamin K.

Valium:

Vs, Foofoo, Sleep away, Tranks, Vallies.

PCP:

Angel Dust, Embalming Fluid, Hog, Love Boat, Magic Dust, Ozone, Peter Pan, Rocket Fuel, Superweed, Wack, Wet (marijuana joint dipped in PCP).

Bath Salts:

Bloom, Cloud Nine, Flakka, Scarface, Vanilla Sky, Stardust.

Read more about bath salts here.

Mescaline

Big Chief, Blue Caps, Buttons, Cactus, Media Luna, Mescal, Mezcakuba, Moon, San Pedro, Topi.

Opium

Aunti, Aunt Emma, Big O, Black, Black Russian (mixed with hashish), Chandoo, China, Chinese Molasses, Chinese Tobacco, Chocolate, Cruz, Dopium, Dover’s Powder, Dream Gum, Dream Stick, Dreams, Easing Powder, God’s Medicine, Goma, Gondola, Goric, Great Tobacco, Gum, Hocus, Hops, Incense, Joy Plant, Midnight Oil, Opio, Pen Yan, Pin Gon, Pin Yen, Pox, Skee, Toxy, Toys, When-Shee, Zero.

Ritalin:

Diet Coke, Kibbles and Bits, Kiddie Cocaine/Coke, Pineapple, Poor Man’s Cocaine, R-ball, Rids, Rit, Skippy, Skittles, Smarties, Vitamin R.

Slang for Drug Combinations

Specific jargon exists for the combination of two or more drugs into a single product. Several examples and their characteristic ingredients include:

• A-bomb: marijuana and heroin
• Cocoa Puffs: marijuana and cocaine
• 8-ball: crack and heroin
• Candyflip: LSD and MDMA
• 3M: mescaline, mushrooms, and Molly
• Purple drank: codeine and promethazine
• Super X: methamphetamine and MDMA
• Octane: PCP and gasoline
• Bars: heroin and Xanax

The Importance of Understanding Drug Slang Words

Whatever the choice of words may be, the intent is clear: creating a façade and fooling the uneducated. Whether one is trying to decipher the use patterns of a loved one or making sure they are taking what they intend to, it is vital to comprehend this ever-evolving language. And, more importantly, to understand that this doesn’t have to be the language one has to speak forever — help is always available. For more information on drug slang terms, the DEA has compiled a thorough list of drug slang terms that they’ve received from law enforcement and open sources.

Getting Help for Substance Abuse

If it’s time to take the next step in recovering from substance abuse, contact us today. We have a proven track record of successful, caring treatment at our Palmer Lake, Colorado facility.