Substance Abuse and Drug Rehab Glossary: G – M

In the first installment of the Substance Abuse and Drug Rehab Glossary, we discussed several terms that addicts use to hide their drug habits from law enforcement and loved ones. Even if you’ve never experimented with drugs yourself, it is crucial that you understand common drug slang. The people you care about most could be getting high and making drug deals, and you might not even realize it. Here are several more phrases you should know.

Georgia Homeboy: This is a pneumonic device for Gamma Hydroxybutyrate – also known simply as GHB. Designed for medical anesthetic purposes, GHB is a common date rape drug.

Get-off Houses: Places where heroin users can rent rooms and shoot up for a small fee.

Giro House: Some drug dealers make enough money that they need non-regulated financial institutions for storage and laundering. Among other names, these makeshift “banks” are sometimes called giro houses.

Graduate: This term can either refer to quitting drugs or beginning to use more dangerous substances. For instance, a marijuana user might “graduate” to heroin or crack cocaine.

Hand-to-hand Man: “Hand-to-hand” deals are simple in-person exchanges of cash for drugs. Hand-to-hand men are drug users who deal in small amounts simply to finance their own habits. This practice is part of the reason why so many people who are caught for possession are also convicted for the intent to distribute.

Happy Cigarette: Another term for a marijuana cigarette. These may be normal joints, but they can also be tobacco cigarettes partially hollowed out and filled with marijuana.

Hawkers: Hawkers are people who walk through crowded bars and nightclubs peddling ecstasy, GHB, LSD, and other party drugs.

Kibbles and Bits: One of the many street names for Ritalin, a common medication for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It appears on the illicit market with alarming frequency, indicating the prevalence of fraudulent prescriptions and illegal drug-sharing. Stressed college students have been known to abuse Ritalin for study purposes.

K-hole: Ketamine is a popular depressant known to produce confusion. A period of drug-induced mental fog is often referred to as a “k-hole.”

Kleenex: A common slang term for MDMA – also known as ecstasy.

Lacing: People who smoke tobacco or marijuana cigarettes with often “lace” them with other, more potent substances. These lacing drugs include heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, and PCP. Even in small doses, these chemicals can be deadly.

Lean: Any type of cough syrup which contains codeine – a common opiate. These drugs used to be available over the counter, but they are now strictly regulated in most countries. However, codeine-containing medicines still frequently appear on the illicit markets of the United States.

Legal Speed: Minithin is the brand name of an ephedrine-containing drug which used to be sold at stores throughout the country. It’s commonly referred to as “speed” because of its abuse among truckers, students, and others trying to focus and stay awake.

Loaded: Synonym for high.

Mainlining: Despite the extreme dangers, some people will inject, or “mainline” alcohol straight into their veins to achieve an instant drunk feeling. Without metabolizing in the stomach and liver, even a few drops can kill a person in minutes.

Monkey: Sometimes used by people who need drug rehab, this is another term for chemical dependency.

If you have heard the people in your life using these terms, they may need professional help with a drug problem. Call the number at the top of your screen for a toll-free, no-obligation consultation with one of our dedicated addiction specialists. We’ll help you find a drug rehab program that can help you or your loved ones back on the right track.

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