| Official Name | Slang Name | Usual Single Adult Dose/Duration | Legitimate Medical Uses—Present and Projected | Short-Term Effects | Long-Term Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol—whisky, gin, beer, wine | Booze, hooch, suds, moonshine, firewater, nightcap | 1½ oz gin or whiskey, 12 oz beer/2–4 hr | Rare: sometimes used as a sedative (for tension) | CNS depressant; relaxation (sedation); euphoria; drowsiness; impaired: judgment, reaction time, coordination, and emotional control; frequent aggressive behavior and driving accidents; loss of inhibitions; slurred speech | Diversion of energy and money from more creative and productive pursuits; habituation; possible obesity with chronic excessive use; irreversible damage to brain and liver; addiction with severe withdrawal illness (delirium tremens [DTs]) with heavy use; many deaths |
| Caffeine—coffee, tea, cola, No-Doz, APC | Java, mud, brew | 1–2 cups, 1 bottle, 5 mg/2–4 hr | Mild stimulant; treatment of some forms of coma | CNS stimulant; increased alertness; reduction of fatigue | Sometimes insomnia, restlessness, or gastric irritation; habituation |
| Nicotine (and coal tar)—cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff | Fags, nails, weeds, butts, chaw, cancer sticks | 1–2 cigarettes/1–2 hr | None (used as an insecticide) | CNS stimulant; relaxation or distraction | Lung (and other) cancer, heart and blood vessel disease, cough, etc.; higher infant mortality rate; many deaths; habituation; diversion of energy and money; air pollution; fire |
| SEDATIVES | Downers | ||||
| Alcohol—see above | |||||
| Barbiturates—amobarbital (Amytal, Tuinal), pentobarbital (Nembutal), secobarbital (Seconal), phenobarbital | Barbs, blue, angel, blue devils, yellow jackets, yellow birds, dolls, red devils, red birds, phennies, goofers, jelly beans, tooies | 50–100 mg | Treatment of insomnia and tension Induction of anesthesia As an anticonvulsant | CNS depressants; sleep induction; relaxation (sedation); sometimes euphoria; drowsiness; impaired: judgment, reaction time, coordination, and emotional control; relief of anxiety/tension; muscle relaxation | Irritability, weight loss, addiction with severe withdrawal illness (like DTs); diversion of energy and money; habituation, addiction |
| Glutethimide (Doriden) | Gorilla pills, CBs, D | 500 mg | |||
| Chloral hydrate (Noctec) | Peter, Mickey | 500 mg | |||
| Meprobamate (Miltown, Equanil) | Dolls, dollies | 400 mg/4 hr* | |||
| STIMULANTS | Uppers | ||||
| Caffeine—see above | |||||
| Nicotine—see above | |||||
| Amphetamines Methamphetamine (Methedrine, Pesoxyn) | Pep pills, wake-ups, Bennies, splash, peaches Water crystal, speed, meth | 2.5–15.0 mg | Treatment of: obesity, narcolepsy, fatigue, depression, hyperkinesia | CNS stimulants; increased alertness; reduction of fatigue; loss of appetite; insomnia; often euphoria, agitation | Restlessness, weight loss, toxic psychosis (mainly paranoid); diversion of energy and money; habituation; extreme irritability, toxic psychosis |
| Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) | Dexies, uppers Diet pills | 25 mg | Symptoms of overdose: hallucinations, convulsions; cardiac, respiratory failure; coma; pulmonary edema | ||
| Phenmetrazine HCl (Preludin) Cocaine | Coke, snow, blow, happy gold dust, toot, lady, flake, crack, cecil, girl, C | Variable/4 hr* | Anesthesia of the eyes and throat | ||
| TRANQUILIZERS | |||||
| Chlordiazepoxide (Librium) Phenothiazines:
| Green and whites, roaches | 5–25 mg 10–50 mg 5–10 mg 2–5 mg 0.10–0.25 mg/4–6 hr* | Treatment of: anxiety, tension, alcoholism, neurosis, psychosis, psychosomatic disorders, and vomiting | Selective CNS depressants; relaxation, relief of anxiety/tension; suppression of hallucinations or delusions, improved functioning | Sometimes drowsiness, dryness of mouth, blurring of vision, skin rash, tremor; occasionally jaundice, agranulocytosis, or death |
| Marijuana or cannabis | Pot, grass, Texas tea, weed, stuff, joint, reefers, Mary Jane, MJ, hay, locoweed | Variable—1 cigarette or pipe, or 1 drink or cake (India)/4 hr* | Treatment of: depression, tension, loss of appetitie, high blood pressure, nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy | Relaxation, euphoria, increased appetite; some alteration of time perception; possible impairment of judgment and coordination; mixed CNS depressant-stimulant; lowered inhibitions | Memory impairment; possible diversion of energy and money; habituation; occasional acute panic reactions (with paranoia, delusions, hallucinations) |
| Hashish† | Hash, rope, Sweet Lucy | ||||
| ANTIDEPRESSANTS | |||||
| Dibenzazepine (imipramine [Tofranil], amitriptyline HCl [Elavil]) | 25 mg, 10 mg | Treatment of moderate to severe depression | Relief of depression (elevation of mood), stimulation | Basically the same as tranquilizers above | |
| MAO inhibitors (phenelzine sulfate [Nardil], tranylcypromine sulfate [Parnate]) | 10 mg, 15 mg/4–6 hr* | ||||
| NARCOTICS (OPIATES, ANALGESICS) | |||||
| Opium | Op, black, poppy, tar, Big O | 10–12 “pipes” (Asia)/4 hr* | Treatment of severe pain, diarrhea, and cough | CNS depressants; sedation, euphoria, relief of pain, impaired intellectual functioning and coordination | Constipation, loss of appetite and weight, temporary impotency or sterility; habituation, addiction with unpleasant and painful withdrawal illness |
| Heroin | Horse, H, smack, shit, junk, brown, pcag, TNT | Variable—bag or paper with 5%–10% heroin | |||
| Morphine (Astramorph) | M, white stuff, Miss Emma | 10–15 mg | |||
| Codeine | Terp, robo, romo, syrup | 15–30 mg | Topical anesthetic | ||
| Aspirin/oxycodone HCl (Percodan) | Perks, Perkies | 1 tablet | |||
| Meperidine HCl (Demerol) | Doctors | 50–100 mg | |||
| Methadone (Dolophine) | Dollies, done | 2.5–40.0 mg | |||
| Cough syrups (Cheracol, Hycodan, Romilar, etc.) | 2–4 oz (for euphoria)/4–6 hr* | ||||
| Dilaudid | DLs, 4s, lords, little D | ||||
| HALLUCINOGENS | |||||
| LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) | Acid, sugar cube, trip, big D | 150 mcg/10–12 hr | Experimental study of mind and brain function; enhancement of creativity and problem-solving; treatment of alcoholism, mental illness, and reduction of intractable pain in the person who is dying; chemical warfare | Production of visual imagery, increased sensory awareness, anxiety, nausea, impaired coordination; sometimes consciousness expansion | Usually none; sometimes precipitates or intensifies an already existing psychosis (hallucinations); more commonly can produce a panic reaction (extreme hyperactivity) |
| Psilocybin | Magic mushrooms, God’s flesh, ’rooms | 25 mg | |||
| STP | Serenity, tranquility, peace | 6 mg | |||
| DMT | Businessman’s Trip | ||||
| Mescaline (peyote) | Cactus, mesc, mescal, half moon, big chief, bad seed | 350 mg/12–14 hr | |||
| PCP (Phencyclidine) | Angel dust, hog, rocket fuel | ||||
| MDMA | Ecstasy, XTC, Adam | ||||
| MISCELLANEOUS | |||||
| Glue, gasoline, and solvents | Variable | None except for antihistamines used for allergy and amyl nirite for fainting | When used for mind alteration generally produces a “high” (euphoria) with impaired coordination and judgment | Variable—some of the substances can seriously damage the liver or kidney, and some produce hallucinations | |
| Amyl nitrite | Pearls, poppers | 1–2 ampules | |||
| Antihistamines | 25–50 mg | ||||
| Nutmeg | Variable/2 hr | ||||
| Nonprescription “sedatives” (Compoze) | |||||
| Catnip | |||||
| Nitrous oxide | |||||
* Time given pertains to all drugs listed.
† Hashish or charas is a more concentrated form of the active ingredient THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and is consumed in smaller doses, analogous to vodka-beer ratios.
Copyright © Joel Fort, MD, author of Alcohol: Our Biggest Drug Problems (McGraw-Hill) and The Pleasure Seekers (Grove Press); founder, The National Center for Solving Special and Health Problem—FORT HELP and the Violence Prevention Program, San Francisco; and formerly Lecturer, School of Criminology, University of California, Berkeley, and Consultant, World Health Organization. Used by permission.