Street names for drugs vary regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Those who abuse addictive substances, both legal and illicit, often develop slang to ensure privacy in verbal and written communications.
If you feel a family member could be abusing substances, keep an ear out for the repeated use of unrecognized words and slang that could indicate an attempt to conceal drug use.
The DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) compiled a list of over 2,000 terms that carry different meaning within the drug culture.
Drug Slang 101
People undergoing similar experiences – those who sell or use drugs, for instance – often develop terms and language common to that group. Drug terminology is often used to disguise the topic of conversation from any eavesdroppers.
Slang terms for drugs can derive from the following sources:
- Place where substance originates
- Physical appearance of substance
- Effects substance delivers
- Packaging of substance
- Abbreviations
Some drug slang is used to refer to multiple drugs. Being high and nodding out are terms used to express intoxication rather than referring to specific drugs.
Similarly, injecting any drug can be described using shared slang:
- Shooting
- Spiking
- Slamming
- Mainlining
- Skin-popping
Street names for common drugs are continuously evolving, and they are also likely to vary from region to region and from community to community.
Rather than attempting to provide an exhaustive list of terms that may be obsolete in short order, we have instead grouped substances as follows:
- Common Street Names for Prescription Drugs
- Common Street Names for Club Drugs
- Common Street Names for Popular Drugs
1) Common Street Names for Prescription Drugs
The most commonly prescribed medications drugs in the U.S. are:
- Benzodiazepines
- Opioids
Benzodiazepines
A common anti-anxiety and calming medication, benzodiazepines go by many names, including:
- Benzos
- Chill pills
- Nerve pills
- Blues
- Bars
- Vallies
- K
- K-pin
- Downers
- Candy
- Eggs
- Zannies
Opioids
The terminology for opioids varies according to the type of drug. Some of the most common include:
- Fentanyl: Murder 9, Tango and Cash, TNT, Pache, Fent, Dance Fever
- Codeine: Schoolboy, Little C, Captain Cody
- Methadone: Miss Emma, Liquid Handcuffs, God’s Drug
- Hydrocodone: Vikes, Hydros, Tabs, Fluff
- Oxycodone: 30s, Blues, Raspberries
2) Common Street Names for Club Drugs
These are among the most popular party drugs or club drugs:
- MDMA
- Meth
MDMA
Also known as Molly or Ecstasy, there are many colorful slang terms for MDMA, including:
- Disco Biscuits
- Doves
- E
- Speed for Lovers
- E-Bomb
- Adam
- Decadence
- Happy Pills
- Booty Juice
- Chocolate Chips
- Scooby Snacks
- Love Drug
- Malcolm
- Molly
- Candy
- XTC
- Vitamin X
- Vitamin E
- Clarity
- Slits
- Beans
- Baby Slits
- Love Trip
- Smartees
- Hug Drug
- Skittles
- Dancing Shoes
- Thizz
Meth
These are some of the most common slang terms for methamphetamine:
- Meth
- Crystal
- Crank
- G-Funk
- L.A. Glass
- Clothing Cleaner
- Purple
- Walking Zombie
- Blue Bell Ice Cream
- Accordion
- Cri-Cri
- Hawaiian Salt
- L.A. Ice
- Aqua
- Crypto
- Crystal
- Glass
- Lemon Drop
- Blue
- Shards
- Peanut Butter Crank
- Zip
- Yellow Barn
- Batu
- Go-Fast
- Cream
- Bump
- Shatter
- Witches Teeth
- Super Ice
3) Common Street Names for Popular Drugs
Street names for common drugs like marijuana, cocaine and heroin change frequently but also include many classic terms that have endured for decades.
Marijuana
There are hundreds of slang terms and street names for marijuana, also known as cannabis. These include:
- Kush
- Acapulco Red
- Weed
- Bush
- Afghani Indica
- Hawaiian Black
- Kentucky Blue
- Kona Gold
- Colombian
- Chocolate Thai
- African
- African Black
- African Bush
- Bud
- Red Bud
- Indian Hay
- Jamaican Gold
- Manhattan Silver
- Mexican
- Indian Hemp
- Hawaiian Homegrown Hay
- Green
- Black
- Canadian Black
- Tea
- Pot
- Puff
- Pakistani Black
- Panama Gold
- Columbus Black
- Panama Red
- Loco Weed
- Blonde
- Golden
- Leaf
- Assassin of Youth
- Sinsemilla
- Ganja
- Giggle Weed
- Laughing Grass
- Doobie
- Finger Lid
- Box
- Key
- Zip
- Mary Jane
- Reefer
- Reggie
- Veg
- Skunk
Cocaine
Cocaine use peaked in the United States in the 1980s and slang terms for this party drug have penetrated popular culture. These include the following terms:
- Blow
- White
- Chang
- Cola
- Coke
- Coca
- Crack
- Flake
- Peruvian
- Fishscale
- Snow White
- Devil’s Dandruff
- Marching Powder
- Candy
- Nose Candy
- Glad Stuff
- Happy Trails
- Big Rush
- Boutros
- Nose
- Nose Powder
- Paradise
- Charlie
- Yeyo
- Lady Snow
- Merck
- Nieve
- Mujer
- C
- Caine
- Base
- C-Dust
- Boy
- Beam
- El Perico
Heroin
Some of the most common street names for heroin include:
- Brown
- Skag
- Smack
- China White
- Brown Sugar
- Horse
- Junk
- Hell Dust
- Dope
- Tar
- Mexican Tar
- Black Tar
- Negra
- Girl
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