An Addiction Science Network Resource

Illicit Drug Index
Common Street Names of Various Drugs


The following tables cross reference some frequently abused drugs by their generic, trade (commercial, proprietary), and common/street names. For pharmacological classes and DEA Schedules, see Drug Classification. An extensive listing of over 2,000 slang terms for drugs, drug users, and other drug-use related terms can be found at Street Terms: Drugs and the Drug Trade (provided by the Office of National Drug Control Policy). Explanatory text and notes follow the last table.
 
 
Quick Links to Tables
Street Names Opiate Class Drugs Depressant Class Drugs
Trade Names Stimulant Class Drugs Miscellaneous Drugs
Common Illicit Drug Combinations

 
 
Street Names Listed in Tables
A-E
F-J
K-O
P-T
U-Z
Adam
angel dust
brown sugar
Belushi
buzz bomb
coke
chalk
China girl
crack
crank
crazy coke
crystal
dance fever
diablitos
dreamer
dynamite
downers
ecstasy
eightball
Eve
flamethrower
forget me drug
friend
Frisco special
Frisco speedball
frizzies
Georgia Home Boy
goodfellas
gorilla biscuits
grievous bodily harm
H
H & C
happy sticks
Henry
herbal ecstasy
horse
hows
ice
illies
jet
Jim Jones
juice
junk
king ivory
lace
laughing gas
lib
locker room
love boat
ludes
M
Ma Huang
max
meth
methlies quik
Mexican valium
Miss Emma
missile basing
moonrock
murder one
new ecstasy
oolies
ozone
parachute
PCP
Peter Pan
poppers
primos
rocket fuel
roids
roofies
rush
skag
snow
spaceballs
space base
special K
special K-lube
speed
speedball
T's & blues
torpedo
tragic magic
turbo
uppers
V
vitamin K
wack
west coast
wet
wicky sticks
whippets
woolies
XTC
Zip
zoom

3750s


 
 
Trade Names Listed in Tables
Trade Name Generic Name
Anadrol 
Android 
Benzedrine
Dexedrine
Dolophine
Durabolin
Duramorph
Halcion
Ketalar
Librium
Methedrine
Nembutal
Oxandrin
Primatene
Ritalin
Rohypnol
Roxanol
Seconal
Sudafed
Valium
Winstrol
Xanax
anabolic steroid
anabolic steroid
amphetamine (racemic)
amphetamine (dextro isomer)
methadone
anabolic steroid
morphine
triazolam
ketamine
chlordiazepoxide
methamphetamine
pentobarbital
anabolic steroid
ephedrine
methylphenidate
flunitrazepam
morphine
secobarbital
pseudoephedrine
diazepam
anabolic steroid
alprazolam

 
Narcotic/Opiate Class Drugs
Generic Name Trade Name Common/Street Name(s)
fentanyl Sublimaze China girl, dance fever, friend, goodfellas, king ivory
heroin (diacetyl morphine) none (banned in U.S.) brown sugar, H, Henry, horse, junk, skag, smack
methadone Dolophine frizzies
morphine Duramorph, Roxanol, generic dreamer, hows, M, Miss Emma

 
 
Stimulant Class Drugs
Generic Name Trade Name Common/Street Name(s)
Psychomotor Stimulants
amphetamine Dexedrine, Benzedrine (racemic mixture) bennies, uppers
cocaine generic coke, crank, snow, crack (crystalline free-base form), zip
methamphetamine Methedrine chalk, crystal, ice, meth, methlies quik, speed
methylphenidate Ritalin uppers, west coast
Mild Stimulants
ephedrine contained in various OTC medicines (e.g., Primatene) herbal ecstasy, Ma Huang 
pseudoephedrine contained in various OTC medicines (e.g., Sudafed)
phenylpropanolamine (PPA) contained in various OTC medicines (e.g., Dexatrim)
Stimulatory Hallucinogens
MDMA none Adam, ecstasy, Eve, XTC
phencyclidine none angel dust, crazy coke, gorilla biscuits, ozone, PCP, Peter Pan, rocket fuel, wack

 
 
Sedative-Hypnotic (Depressant) Class Drugs
Generic Name Trade Name Common/Street Name(s)
Barbiturates
secobarbital Seconal downers
pentobarbital Nembutal downers
Benzodiazepines
alprazolam Xanax
chlordiazepoxide Librium lib
diazepam Valium V
flunitrazepam Rohypnol, Robutal (banned in U.S.) forget me drug, Mexican valium, roofies, rope
triazolam Halcion
Volatile Anesthetics
ether generic; also contained in some consumer products
nitrous oxide generic; also contained in various consumer products buzz bomb, laughing gas, whippets
Other
ketamine Ketalar; mainly veterinary medicine in U.S. jet, new ecstasy, special K, vitamin K 
methaqualone Quaalude (banned in U.S.) ludes

 
 
Miscellaneous Drugs
Generic Name Trade Name Common/Street Name
anabolic steroids Android, Anadrol, Durabolin, Oxandrin, Winstrol juice, roids
gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) none (banned in U.S.) Georgia home boy, grievous bodily harm, liquid ecstasy, liquid X
nitrites contained in various consumer products (e.g., air fresheners) locker room, poppers, rush

 
 
Common Illicit Drug Combinations
Generic Names Common/Street Name
cocaine & heroin Belushi, dynamite, eightball, H & C, moonrock, murder one, speedball
cocaine & heroin in tobacco cigarette flamethrower
cocaine, heroin, & LSD Frisco special, Frisco speedball
GHB & amphetamine max
GHB, ketamine, & alcohol special K-lube
marijuana & crack cocaine 3750s, diablitos, lace, primos, oolies, torpedo, turbo, woolies
marijuana & phencyclidine happy sticks, illies, love boat, wet, wicky sticks, zoom
marijuana, phencyclidine, & cocaine Jim Jones
phencyclidine & crack cocaine missile basing, parachute, spaceballs, space base, tragic magic
pentazocine & tripelennamine T's & blues

 

Notes

Trade names and common/street names listed above for each compound are exemplary not exhaustive. The tables list some of the more popular drugs and drug combinations, giving examples of common/street names used across different geographic regions. Common/street names for marijuana and the hallucinogens have been omitted.

Trade Names

Some medicinally sold compounds are marketed exclusively by trade names (e.g., diazepam as Valium), while other drugs are sold under their generic names with no current proprietary names in use (e.g., cocaine). Still other drugs employ both generic and proprietary names, depending on the drug manufacturer or distributor (e.g., Duramorph and Roxanol which are brands of morphine, and U.S.P. morphine which is generic).

Common/Street Names

Street names can vary not only across countries but also across regions within the same country or even individual locations in a small geographic region. The specific use of street names sometimes varies over time. For example, "speed" referred almost exclusively to methamphetamine (as opposed to uppers which referenced other amphetamines) during the 1960s, but this term is becoming used increasingly to reference all amphetamine and even non-amphetamine stimulants (e.g., methylphenidate).

Drug Abuse  vs. Drug Addiction

Abused drugs are not always highly addictive drugs. In some cases factors other than drug reinforcement are likely to be important in motivating drug use. When ease of availability is an important determinant of drug use, psychosocial factors are likely to be important mediators. For example, experimental drug use is largely influenced by psychosocial factors and is widespread during adolescence and usually subsides with maturity. Similarly, underlying psychopathology may be an important factor in the adult abuse of some commonly prescribed medications. This does not mean that these compounds lack significant addiction potential, but rather, that most cases of their abuse probably involve experimental or circumstantial drug use not addiction and that cases of true addiction are associated with underlying psychopathology and not simple drug reinforcement. Many of the drugs listed above are prescription drugs that are often abused mainly because of their widespread availability and motivated primarily by psychosocial factors. In fact, prescription drugs are often referred to as "kiddie dope," suggesting that these are not the preferred drugs of hard-core users.


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