Drugs: What They’re Called On The Street
Some say tomato, some say tomahto. I like potato, you like potahto. You say cocaine, he says…Aunt Nora? That’s right, Aunt Nora. And that’s just one of the street names for cocaine. And there are many.
Most undercover cops will tell you that their assignment is sometimes a strange one, because they not only have to learn to “walk the walk,” they also have to learn an entirely new language—the street drug language. If the UC (undercover) doesn’t use the correct terminology for a drug in specific area then his cover is almost certain to be blown. Therefore, it is imperative that the officer study his subjects and their mannerisms and speech before approaching them. Can you imagine what would happen if an undercover officer walked up to a drug runner and asked, “May I please purchase a large quantity of d-lysergic acid diethylamide? I believe you cats call it acid out here on the mean streets.” Yeah, that would work…
So, to help your characters fit in a little better than our guy above, here are a few street names for, or relating to, illegal drugs.
Cocaine
Aunt Nora
Angie
Aspirin (powder cocaine)
Balling (hiding packaged cocaine in body cavities).
Base crazies -desperately and frantically searching on hands and knees for small amounts of spilled cocaine or bits of crack cocaine.
Behind the Scale – selling or packaging cocaine.
Beiging – altering cocaine with chemicals to make it appear of a higher quality, or purity.
Bernie, Bernie’s flakes, Bernie’s dust
Birdie powder
Blast
Blizzard
Blow
Booster – inhaling cocaine
Brick – one kilo of cocaine
C
Caine
California cornflakes
Candy
Carrie
Cecil
Chippy
Coconut
Crack
Crack cocaine
Mo
Monster
Witch
Zip
Marijuana
African
African Black
Airplane
Angola
Ashes
Baby
Bale
Bamba
Bammy
Bar
Bash
Black
BoBo
Boom
Broccoli
Catnip
Cest
Chiba chiba
Chunky
Clam Bake – sitting inside a small enclosed space ( a car, etc.) while smoking marijuana
Don Juan
Firewood
Giggle smoke
Greens
Jane
Macaroni
Mow the grass – smoke marijuana
Root
Salad
Oxycontin and Oxycodone
Hillbilly heroin
Cotton
OC
Pills
Rohypnol
Forget Me Pill
Lunch money drug
Mexican Valium
Roaches
Roofies
Rope
Ruffles
Wolfies
Methamphetamine
Beannies
Blade
Bling
Boo
Chalk (also refers to cocaine)
Chrome
Clear
Cinnamon
Crank
Cris
Crystal
Hot ice
Meth
Pink
Pink elephants
Rock
Sparkle
Tick tick
Tina
Work
Wow, am I naive about drugs. I had no clue these names even existed. Guess it’s a good thing I’ve never written about drugs, but if I do, I know right where to go to get the 411 I need. I guess it’s safe to assume these names change with the area of the country the drug dealers do their business?
Thanks for this information in case I ever write about this. I must say I was NOT happy to learn that one of my great-grandmother’s names — she was Aunt Nora to her nieces & nephews — is a name for Cocaine right now.
I have not even heard of half those street names. Which is a good thing ! The only one I could add is Tom Pettys Last Dance with Mary Jane LOL