Opioid Street Names, Brand Names & Nicknames

Opioid medications are often called by their street names. Knowing these nicknames can help you determine if a loved one is misusing opioids and prevent addiction from progressing.

Opioids are medications doctors can prescribe to treat pain. Because of their highly addictive nature, prescription opioids are commonly misused and purchased illicitly under “street” names. People might call opioids by their “street” names or nicknames to hide their drug use. Familiarizing yourself with these nicknames can help you determine whether a loved one is abusing opioids.

Opioid Brand Names & Street Names

Opioid medications are often called by their street names when they’re abused. People might use an opioid’s street name to hide their drug use from others or purchase drugs illicitly. The following is a list of the commercial and street names of commonly abused prescription opioids.

Suboxone Street Names

Suboxone is the first medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) that can be dispensed in a doctor’s office, making it more accessible to those who need treatment. Suboxone works to help stabilize a patient through withdrawal from opioid addiction. 

Commercial Names: Buprenorphine, Buprenex®, Suboxone®, Subutex®

Street Names:

• Boxes
• Bupes
• Sobos
• Stop Signs
• Stops
• Subs
• Oranges

Codeine Street Names

Codeine is a medication prescribed to treat and manage chronic pain. It is the most commonly used opioid for chronic pain management in the U.S. 

Commercial Name: Codeine

Street Names:

• Captain Cody
• Cody
• Lean
• Schoolboy
• Sizzurp
• Purple Drank With gluteth- imide: Doors & Fours
• Loads
• Pancakes and Syrup

Codeine With Promethazine Street Names

Codeine with promethazine is a cough syrup that contains codeine and an antihistamine. The codeine acts as a cough suppressant, and the promethazine as a sedative. 

Commercial Name: Codeine With Promethazine, Phenergan-Codeine

Street Names:

• Lean
• Purple Drank

Fentanyl

Fentanyl is a drug similar to morphine and is used to treat severe pain, typically after a major surgery. It can also be used to treat patients with chronic pain who have become resistant to other opioids. 

Commercial Names: Fentanyl, Actiq, Duragesic, Sublimaze

Street Names:

• Apache
• China Girl
• China White
• Dance Fever
• Friend
• Goodfella
• Jackpot
• Murder 8
• Tango and Cash
• TNT

Hydrocodone Street Names

Hydrocodone is an extended-release opioid made up of a cough suppressant and a pain medication. It is used to treat severe pain that other pain medications cannot manage. 

Commercial Names: Hydrocodone, Vicodin®, Lortab®, Lorcet®

Street Names:

• Vike
• Watson-387

Hydromorphone Street Names

Hydromorphone is an opioid that treats moderate to severe pain or chronic pain. It is prescribed to patients who are resistant to other medications due to the severity of their pain or have built up a tolerance to other opioids for pain management.

Commercial Names: Hydromorphone, Dilaudid®

Street Names:

• D
• Dillies
• Footballs
• Juice
• Smack

Demerol Street Names

Demerol is used to treat moderate to severe pain and is also commonly used before and after surgical procedures. Demerol comes in tablet, intravenous injection, intramuscular and syrup forms. 

Commercial Names: Meperidine, Demerol®

Street Names:

• Demmies
• Pain Killer

Methadone Street Names

Methadone is a medication that treats opioid addiction. Methadone helps lessen the painful side effects of withdrawal and also blocks the euphoria or “high” of opioids when abused. 

Commercial Names: Methadone, Dolophine®, Methadose®

Street Names:

• Amidone
• Fizzies With MDMA: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Morphine Street Names

Morphine is most commonly used to treat severe pain, such as end-of-life care, cancer treatment or other chronic pain. Morphine is highly effective in relieving pain but is also highly addictive.

Commercial Names: Morphine, Duramorph®, Roxanol®

Street Names:

• M
• Miss Emma
• Monkey
• White Stuff

Oxycodone Street Names

Oxycodone is a very potent opioid used to treat acute and chronic pain. The drug is available in immediate and slow-release forms and is very effective at treating pain but is also dangerously addictive. 

Commercial Names: Oxycodone, Oxycodone, OxyContin®, Percodan®, Percocet®

Street Names:

• O.C.
• Oxycet
• Oxycotton
• Oxy
• Hillbilly Heroin
• Percs

Oxymorphone Street Names

Oxymorphone is structurally similar to oxycodone and is twice as potent as oxycodone. It treats severe pain that other medications cannot manage. 

Commercial Names: Oxymorphone, Opana®

Street Names:

• Biscuits
• Blue Heaven
• Blues
• Mrs. O
• O Bomb
• Octagons
• Stop Signs

Tapentadol Street Names

Tapentadol is an opioid that has been found to treat pain very well, with a lower risk of abuse than other opioids. 

Commercial Names: Tapentadol, Nucynta, Nucynta ER

Street Name:

• Tapalee

Tramadol Street Names

Tramadol is similar in composition to Tapentadol, but Tapentadol is two to three times more potent than Tramadol. Tramadol is shown to be less addictive than Tapentadol. 

Commercial Names: Tramadol, Ultram®, Ultracet®

Street Names:

• Tram
• Trammies
• Ultras

Street Opioids

Street opioids are opioids that are not medically prescribed and are used to get “high.” People who already use prescription opioids might turn to street opioids because they tend to be cheaper, more potent and easily accessible. However, using street opioids can be unpredictable and dangerous. They are unregulated and can be mixed with potentially harmful substances. Some street opioids and their slang names include:

Heroin Street Names

Heroin is a highly addictive drug made from morphine, which is made from the seed pods of opium plants. Heroin is very fast-acting and binds to receptors in the brain that control pain and pleasure. 

Commercial Name: Heroin

Street Names:

• Black Tar
• Black Pearl
• Black Paint
• Brown Crystal
• Brown Rhine
• Brown
• Sugar
• China White
• Dope
• Dragon
• El Diablo
• H
• Hell Dust
• Horse
• Junk
• Mud
• Mexican Mud
• Mole
• Roofing Tar
• Sack
• Scat
• Skag
• Skunk
• Smack

Cocaine With Heroin Street Names

Cocaine and heroin, or a speedball, is when cocaine is mixed with heroin or injected immediately before or after heroin use. 

Commercial Name: Cocaine With Heroin

Street Name: 

• Speedball

Black Tar Heroin Street Names

Black tar heroin, or the black dragon, is a smokeable form of heroin. 

Commercial Name: Black Tar Heroin

Street Name:

• Black Dragon

The Dangers of Opioid Abuse & Addiction

The misuse of opioids is dangerous and potentially life-threatening. Opioids are highly addictive, which can lead people to misuse them or seek out stronger forms of the substance, like heroin. Reportedly, 80% of heroin users began their drug use by abusing prescription opioids.

Opioids are not only addictive but have serious side effects. Long-term use of heroin, for example, can lead to collapsed veins, abscesses, liver and kidney disease and heart complications. In addition, opioids have a high overdose rate. Opioids slow your breathing, preventing the brain from receiving enough oxygen. This lack of oxygen, called hypoxia, can result in coma, brain damage or death. According to the CDC, 75% of U.S. overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid.

Get Help Today

Overcoming opioid addiction can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone. The Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper offers a range of treatment options for opioid addiction, including medical detox, inpatient and outpatient care, aftercare and dual diagnosis. Contact us today to learn more about our programs and take a step toward long-term recovery.