Street Names for Drugs

Do you know what “Meow Meow”, “Toot”, “Smack”, or “Mitsubishi’s” are? They are actually popular street names for drugs of abuse such as Mephedrone, Cocaine, Heroin and Ecstasy. Understanding these street names is crucial for parents, educators, employers, and healthcare professionals. This guide explains the most common street names for drugs you might hear, helping you recognise the terminology and understand the substances behind them.

Barbiturates

Street Names: Barbs, barbies, red devils and sleepers.

Barbiturates are primarily hypnotic drugs, they are like tranquillisers in that they work by depressing the nervous system.

Bath Salts

Street Names: White Magic, Miaow, Meph, Meow Meow, MC, m-smack, M-Cat, Drone, Charge, Bubble, Bounce, 4-MMC.

Bath salts (Mephedrone) are a crystalline powder, usually brown or white. It is packaged in foil or plastic pouches and sold as “jewellery cleaner” or “plant food” to skirt the law. Users experience feelings of euphoria, increased libido, and heightened sociability.

Bath salts can also cause paranoia, anxiety, and hallucinations. The active ingredient is synthetic cathinone, which has been shown to trigger a flood of dopamine that can be 10 times that of cocaine. Bath salts are highly addictive and their use can be fatal.

Cannabis

Street Names: Weed, Skunk, Sinsemilla, Sensi, Resin, Puff, Pot, Marijuana, Herb, Hashish, Hash, Grass, Ganja, Draw, Dope, Bud, Bhang.

Cannabis comes from the leaves of the hemp plant which have been dried and ground. It contains more than 400 chemicals, with THC being the compound responsible for the drug’s psychoactive effects, such as distorting the user’s perception of their environment.

In recent decades, hemp plants have been selectively bred to significantly increase THC content from around 4% to 12% or higher, making the drug considerably stronger than historical varieties. THC can impair learning, memory, concentration, judgment, decision-making, and coordination. A cannabis drug test can quickly detect recent use of the drug.

Cocaine

Street Names: White, Wash, Toot, Stones, Snow, Rocks, Percy, Pebbles, Freebase, Crack, Coke, Ching, Charlie, Chang, C.

Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant typically sold as a white powder that is snorted through the nose. It can also be cooked with ammonia or baking soda and smoked as crack cocaine (or simply “crack”), so called because of the crackling sound it makes when smoked.

Cocaine triggers a massive release of dopamine, causing intense euphoria. Over time, the drug alters the brain’s chemistry, making users dependent on it to experience pleasure or feel normal. A urine drug test for cocaine can quickly detect use of the drug.

Ephedrine

Street Names: Trucker Speed and Mini-Thins.

Ephedrine is a medicine prescribed to treat a variety of medical conditions, including asthma, hay fever, and other respiratory conditions. It works by narrowing blood vessels in the respiratory system, helping airways open and making breathing easier. It’s typically found in pill or syrup form.

Although legitimately prescribed, ephedrine is sometimes abused for its stimulant properties. Users take it to increase energy and alertness, but high doses can produce dangerous side effects including increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and cardiac complications.

Freebase

Freebase cocaine is a smokable form of cocaine that has been chemically processed to remove hydrochloride. This results in a purer, more potent form of the drug that produces a very intense, short-lived high when smoked. Freebase cocaine is highly addictive and can cause serious health problems, including damage to the lungs, heart, and brain. Its use carries a high risk of overdose and other dangerous side effects. For more information, read our article: What is Freebase?

Heroin

Street Names: Smack, Skag, Horse, H, Gear, Brown.

Heroin is an opiate that can be smoked, snorted, or—especially for long-term users—dissolved in water and injected. Heroin users experience a rapid and intense high. Tolerance builds quickly, requiring larger doses to achieve the same effect, and eventually users become physically dependent, needing the drug simply to function.

Heroin significantly slows breathing, and overdose can stop breathing entirely, which is often fatal. An opiates drug test can detect heroin use.

GHB (Gammahydroxybutyrate) and GBL (Gammabutyrolactone)

Street Names: GBL, GBH, Liquid Ecstasy, 14-Bd, Geebs.

GHB and GBL are closely related drugs with similar sedative and anaesthetic effects. When GBL is consumed, the body converts it into GHB. Both carry serious risks including loss of consciousness, respiratory depression, and potential for addiction.

MDMA (Ecstasy)

Street Names: XTC, Superman, Rolexs, Pink Superman, Pills, Mitsubishi’s, MDMA, Mandy, E, Dolphins, Crystal, Cowies, Brownies.

Commonly referred to as XTC or Ecstasy, MDMA is a synthetic stimulant with psychedelic properties. Most often available as a pill, it’s frequently found at raves, nightclubs, and festivals. MDMA works by boosting serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, which increase feelings of love, arousal, and trust.

Side effects include depression, confusion, anxiety, visual disturbances, and teeth clenching. Users also experience elevated heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. An ecstasy drug test can detect recent use of MDMA.

Methamphetamine (Meth)

Street Names: Yaba, Tina and Christine, Meth, Ice, Glass, Crystal Meth, Crank.

Typically referred to as meth or crystal, methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. It is most commonly smoked, but can also be swallowed, injected, or snorted.

The drug causes an intense high followed by severe crashes characterised by aggression, insomnia, anxiety, hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions. A meth drug test can identify recent use of the drug.

Monkey Dust

The slang name for MDVP is “monkey dust.” This is a street drug that has circulated for many years and is also known as “purple rain.” MDVP is a powdery substance that can be snorted, smoked, or injected. It produces intense stimulant effects but carries significant risks of aggression, psychosis, and self-harm. For more information, read: What is Monkey Dust?

Nitrous Oxide

Street Names: Balloons, Chargers, Hippie Crack, Laughing Gas, Nos, Noz, Whippits.

Also known as laughing gas, NOS is a colourless gas sold in canisters and is usually inhaled through a balloon. While it produces short-lived euphoria, it can be particularly dangerous when taken with alcohol and can cause vitamin B12 deficiency with repeated use, leading to serious neurological damage.

In June 2021, a British teenager leapt off a bridge in Marbella after taking laughing gas, highlighting the serious psychological and physical dangers of the drug.

Prescription Opioid Pain Medications

Street Names: Hillbilly Heroin, Oxys, OC, Oxycontin, Percs, Happy Pills, Vics, Blues, Syrup, Purple Drink.

Opioid pain medications are legally available with a prescription for managing pain. When used as directed, they are safe and effective. However, when abused or overused, these medications are highly addictive and produce effects similar to heroin. Users often crush and snort these pills to bypass the digestive system and achieve a faster, more intense high.

Side effects can occur even with proper use but are more pronounced with misuse, including drowsiness, confusion, breathing difficulties, and nausea. In the USA, the opioid epidemic is well-documented, and the street name “hillbilly heroin” specifically refers to oxycodone, otherwise known by the brand name OxyContin.

Steroids (Anabolic Androgenic Steroids)

Street Names: Arnolds, Gear, Gym Candy, Juice, Pumpers, Roids, Stackers, Weight Gainer.

Steroids are synthetically produced versions of testosterone, the male hormone. They are used to promote muscle growth, enhance athletic performance, and improve physical appearance. When abused, steroids carry significant health risks including cardiovascular problems, liver damage, hormonal imbalances, and psychological effects such as aggression and mood swings.

Tranq Dope

“Tranq dope” refers to illicit drugs laced with xylazine, a powerful animal tranquiliser. This dangerous combination is causing alarming increases in overdoses and severe wounds among drug users. Xylazine is not approved for human use but is increasingly being mixed with street drugs like fentanyl and heroin, significantly exacerbating the ongoing opioid crisis.

Other street names for tranq include “Philly Dope”, “Sleep Cut” and “Zombie Drug”. For more information: What is Xylazine?

Xylazine

Xylazine is a powerful sedative and pain reliever primarily used as an animal tranquiliser in veterinary medicine. However, it is increasingly being mixed with illicit drugs like fentanyl and heroin, posing severe health risks to human users, including necrotic wounds, skin ulcers, and overdose potential. The substance is particularly dangerous because standard drug testing kits may not detect it. For further reading: What is Xylazine?

The Dark Web’s Role in the Drug Trade

Whilst street names can make drug references sound harmless or even humorous, the reality of the illicit drug trade is far from innocent. In recent years, the rise of darknet markets on the dark web has significantly fuelled this shadowy economy.

These underground websites, accessible only through encrypted networks like Tor, have become major hubs for buying and selling all manner of illegal goods and services—with drugs being one of the biggest categories. Cyber criminologists estimate that several hundred thousand drug listings appear on dark web markets every day.

The anonymity and lack of physical contact enabled by these online black markets has opened drug trafficking to a whole new breed of dealers. No longer confined to street corners or back-alleys, tech-savvy vendors can now discreetly distribute their products worldwide from the perceived safety of their laptop, using cryptocurrency to hide transactions from authorities.

The Craft Drug Epidemic and Novel Psychoactive Substances

The rise of dark web markets has not only expanded traditional drug peddling; it has also given rise to an entirely new breed of mind-altering substances known as “craft drugs” or novel psychoactive substances (NPS). These are synthetic compounds created in clandestine laboratories to mimic the effects of mainstream illegal drugs like ecstasy or LSD.

Because their chemical structures are constantly modified to create new formulas, these research chemical analogues can exploit loopholes in drug legislation. This “legal high” loophole, combined with low production costs and easy online availability, has triggered a crisis affecting many communities.

Users often have no idea what they are actually taking. Unpredictable effects, overdoses, and mass-casualty incidents are increasingly common with these largely untested designer drugs hitting the streets under innocuous street names like “N-Bomb” or “Smiles.” The lack of quality control and testing means danger is inherent.

Addressing Supply and Demand

For law enforcement, the rapid pace at which novel substances emerge and reappear under different street names has made drug control an endless game of cat-and-mouse. Banning one compound simply prompts chemists to tweak the formula and create a new, technically legal derivative to replace it.

Many experts argue that decades of prohibition-focused drug policy have failed to reduce drug use effectively. These voices advocate for a comprehensive policy rethink focused on curbing demand through public education, addiction support services, and evidence-based harm reduction strategies.

Others contend that disrupting drug supply chains—both physical and virtual—remains crucial for stemming the flow of narcotics and their devastating individual and social impacts. The reality is that addressing the drug problem effectively likely requires both approaches working in tandem.

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Originally published: 2022 | Last updated: November 14, 2025

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