Health & Medical Addiction & Recovery

Know the Lingo - Common Street Terms for Illegal Drugs

Weed, pot, bennies, rock, snow, dime bag...
with drug use and abuse comes a large vocabulary of slang terms known primarily to dealers and addicts.
A concerned parent or loved may be puzzled at first to hear such code coming from children, spouses, or friends, and consequently it may take time to realize drugs are being abused.
It is the goal of any reputable drug and alcoholic rehabilitation center to help families and friends of addicts break the codes and seek help for their loved ones, that everybody may be able to speak the same language - one of sobriety and good health.
With this in mind, it is important for loved ones to be aware of street terms commonly used for illegal drugs.
Some may already be well known due to saturation in popular culture, while others are more obscure.
People who suspect loved ones of abusing drugs may wish to be aware of certain words creeping into their vocabulary:
  • Amphetamines - bennies, pixies, speed, bottles, brownies, crank, footballs, uppers
  • Cocaine - snow, blow, sugar, snort, bunk, candy, coke, charlie
  • Crack - rock, baseball, hail, apple jacks, black rock, bubble gum, pebbles
  • Heroin - horse, smack, junk, score, brown sugar, Mr.
    Brownstone, caps, dirt
  • Inhalants - huff, kick, rush, ames, moon gas, poppers, spray
  • LSD - acid, purple haze, Lucy, specks, haze, sugar
  • Marijuana - pot, weed, grass, ganja, blunt, bud, hooch
  • PCP - angel dust, crystal grass, dust, juice, mist
No matter how you say it, drug abuse can have a lasting effect on one's physical and mental health and finances for the worse.
If you suspect a loved one of abusing drugs, now is the time to get help and put his or her life back on track.
Please contact a physician or counselor and start on the path toward rehabilitation and healing.


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