What Is Drug Lingo? A Parents’ Guide to Modern Drug-Culture Slang
You are here:Today’s teens seem to have their own language, and adults can barely decipher it at times. While most of the slang is harmless, some of it may be drug-related. It can be difficult to know for sure, so parents need to be familiar with some of the common drug lingo used today. Taking this proactive measure may help protect your teenager from harm.
What Is Drug Lingo or Slang?
As a parent, asking what is drug lingo is the first step in protecting your teen from bad decisions. For instance, have you overheard your teenager mention candy flipping? If so, you probably thought they were talking about swapping candy bars or popping M&Ms. You might be shocked at the true meaning of the term.
A Parent’s Guide to Today’s Drug Lingo
Knowing these terms may help you identify drug-related behavior in your teenager. Parents should be aware of drug slang since some teens don’t even know what the terms mean. They could be experimenting with a lethal substance without realizing the potential danger.
First, let’s look at the ten of the most common drugs of abuse available today:
- Heroin – An illegal opioid in powder form that is usually injected.
- Oxycodone – A prescription painkiller that is highly addictive. Brand names are Percocet, Percodan, and OxyContin.
- Vicodin – A prescription painkiller also known as hydrocodone.
- Xanax – A benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and seizures.
- Valium – A long-lasting benzodiazepine. Is used illicitly by snorting, smoking, or swallowing the pills.
- Cocaine – An illegal stimulant used to gain a boost of energy and increase alertness.
- Meth – A central nervous system stimulant. Illicit users smoke, snort, inject, or orally ingest the drug.
- Fentanyl – A legal opioid drug for treating severe pain. Illicit use often results in a fatal overdose.
- Marijuana – A cannabinoid and psychoactive drug that is usually smoked, but can be eaten when added to certain foods.
- MDMA – Also known as club drugs, MDMA is a synthetic drug popular among partygoers.
If you notice your teen or other friend or family member using the following terms, it may be a sign that they are using one or more of the above drugs:
Slang Terms You Should Know
| Heroin | Oxycodone | Vicodin | Xanax | Valium |
| Black Tar
Big H Aunt Hazel Antifreeze Chinese Buffet Skunk Thunder Wings |
Oxy
Greens Hillbilly Heroin Kickers Percs Roxy Blues OC |
Drone
Idiot Pills Lemonade Lorries Bananas Scratch Veeks Watsons |
Bars
Bricks Handlebars School Bus Yellow Boys Upjohns Z-Bars Xannies |
V
Blues Jellies Vallies Eggs Yellows Maggies Benzos |
| Cocaine | Meth | Fentanyl | Marijuana | MDMA |
| Blow
Coke Dust Snow Line Nose Candy Big C Rail |
Bump
Crank Chalk Aqua Cookies Tina Zip Soap Dope |
Apache
China Girl Friend Dance Fever Butler Shoes TNT Goodfella |
Mary Jane
Weed Blondie Broccoli Grass Stems Chronic Jamaica Gold |
Adam
Bean Candy Chocolate Chips E-Bomb Ecstasy Love Drug Skittle |
A complete list of drug slang terms is provided by the DEA Intelligence Report published in May 2017.
Do you know of someone addicted to crack? Here are the 5 signs they need to attend our treatment program.
Slang Terms for Frequently Used Drug Combinations
In addition to the individual slang terms above, here are a few examples of slang for drug combinations. Oftentimes, people combine various drugs together to create intense highs. This practice has led to many thousands of fatal overdoses, so it’s important to become familiar with these terms as well:
- Atom Bombs – Heroin mixed with marijuana.
- Bars – Xanax mixed with heroin.
- Bazooka – Combination of crack cocaine and unrefined cocaine or marijuana.
- Bumping Up – Powder cocaine mixed with Ecstasy.
- Caviar – Using marijuana and cocaine close together.
- Dynamite – Cocaine mixed with heroin.
- Eightball – Heroin combined with crack cocaine.
- Fry Daddy – Marijuana and crack combined.
- Gimme – Crack mixed with marijuana.
- Greek – Powder cocaine and marijuana.
- Hugs and Kisses – Meth and cocaine combined.
- Jet Fuel – PCP combined with meth.
- Lace – Cocaine mixed with marijuana.
- Macaroni and Cheese – A dime bag of cocaine and a $5 pack of marijuana.
- Moon Rock – Meth mixed with crack cocaine.
- Ozone – PCP, marijuana, and crack cocaine in a cigarette.
- Pharming – Combining prescription drugs.
- Potato Chips – Crack laced with benzocaine.
- Primos – Marijuana joints laced with crack cocaine.
- Screwball – Cocaine and heroin mixed.
- Tar – Combination of crack and heroin.
- Waffle Dust – Ecstasy and heroin combined.
Next, you need to familiarize yourself with drug use terms that you may misinterpret as something innocent.
Lingo Used to Describe Different Drug Use Methods
If you have a teenager or other loved one who is using drugs, you may overhear the following terms:
| Channel
Refers to a vein for injecting drugs. Charged up Feeling the effects of stimulants. Coasting Using depressant drugs. Clam bake Smoking marijuana inside a car or other enclosed space. Get down Injecting a drug. Ghostbusting Smoking cocaine. |
Hit the hay
Planning to smoke marijuana. Give wings Teaching someone to inject heroin. On the nod Under the influence of depressants or narcotics. Rock climbing Smoking rock cocaine. Spaceship A glass pipe used for smoking crack. Weightless High on crack cocaine. |
Suppose you hear your teen using some of the above terms. What do you do next? If you’re tempted to ignore what you heard, remember, deadly drugs like fentanyl are rampant on the streets today. Many teens who are “just experimenting” suffer fatal overdoses after unknowingly ingesting deadly fentanyl.
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If you have a loved one who needs help stopping their drug use, we realize you want the highest quality, most effective program available.
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Sources:
- bhddh.ri.gov/ – A Parent’s Guide: Drug Slang
- dea.gov/sites – Drug Slang Code Words
