Drugs are often talked about in euphemisms and innuendos for the sake of plausible deniability. That can make open and honest conversations about drugs difficult because people might not be using the same terms and definitions. Although this glossary of drug terms is by no means exhaustive, defines what we mean when we use these terms and expressions.
This glossary is a starting place for talking about drugs; check out our list of resources for suggestions on where to find more information.
Drug Terms
2C-x
This is an entire family of psychedelics synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. There are dozens of psychedelic phenethylamines in the 2C family, and they have varying effects. Some, like 2C-B, create pleasant, mood enhancing experiences similar to a cross between LSD and MDMA. (Although, that’s dissimilar to what it feels like to actually combine LSD and MDMA, which is called candy flipping.)
420
Pronounced four-twenty, 420 (4:20, 4/20) is a common nod or inside joke (that almost everyone knows) to cannabis use by cannabis users. April 20 (4/20) is a stoner holiday. 4:20 is the (joke) stoner time to get high. If someone says a party is 420-friendly, that would mean cannabis use is permitted, possible encouraged. Sometimes swingers will add 420-friendly to their dating profiles.
Aftercare
Even though aftercare is more often associated with BDSM scenes, I think the concept applies just as well to drug experiences. In this use, aftercare includes things like taking the appropriate steps after drug experiences to lessen any negative effects the substance might have For example, MDMA is know for having a wicked comedown, and some people fine supplements like 5-HTP can help. Psychedelic experiences might require some time and contemplation to full appreciate and actualize the experience. Taking the time meditate on the experience is part of the aftercare.
Most aftercare can be done on the individual level. However, if you are introducing a substance to someone else, it’s on you as the sherpa to know the appropriate aftercare measures, instruct your explorer and provide anything they need, and then check in with them the days that follow to make sure everything is still going well.
Cannabis
Weed. Pot. Reefer. Mary Jane. Doobie. Grass. Leaf. It’s got a lot of names. And a lot of ways to imbibe it, from smoking and vaping to making oils, edibles, and tinctures. Although marijuana can have psychedelic effects, particularly at high doses, it is not technically a psychedelic.
Due to the racist implications of the term marijuana, we prefer using the cannabis.
DMT
Short for Dimethyltryptamine, DMT is a potent psychedelic that results in potent visuals and often creates a sense of leaving the body. It has a rapid onset and lasts only 10 to 20 minutes, unlike psilocybin (the chemical in mushrooms), which can last 4 to 5 hours, or LSD, which can last 12 to 16 hours.
Ecstasy
Sometimes called E, X, or XTC, Ecstasy is a commonly used street name for an oral, pill-form party drug. Exact definitions of Ecstasy vary, which seems to be a result of dealers selling a plethora of drugs under the name Ecstasy without knowing or caring what they were selling. Particularly back in the 80s when Ecstasy was in it’s heyday.
I’m willing to say that whenever someone is using the term Ecstasy that they mean MDA or MDMA (which people attribute to being similar enough for party purposes) and that they mean it a pill form rather than crystalized MDMA.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that whatever pill someone is saying is Ecstasy is MDA/MDMA or doesn’t carry some other additives (like caffeine, amphetamine, or methamphetamine). Which is why it’s best to always test your substances.
It might be more accurate to think of Ecstasy as a category rather than specific drug. As such, if someone were to offer me E, I would clarify what drug they were giving me.
Flipping
This term refers to combining psychedelics with other drugs to enhance the trip. These are the most common flips:
- Buddha flipping (LSD + shrooms)
- Candy flipping (LSD + MDMA)
- Hippy flipping (shrooms + MDMA)
- Jedi flipping (LSD + shrooms + MDMA)
- Nexus flipping (2c-b + MDMA)
GHB
Short for Gamma Hydroxybutyrate acid, GHB is widely known as a date rape drug. Because it’s often consumed as a liquid, it is easy to slip into a drink (it has a salty taste). GHB is similar to MDMA in that it creates feelings of euphoria, empathy, and enhances physical sensations. As such, it is used as a clubbing/rave drug. Unlike MDMA, it is a downer, which means at high doses it can make you sleepy or feel dizzy, like you are physically drunk without being mentally drunk (yeah, it’s a weird feeling).
Ego death
a state of awareness in which you no longer know yourself or who you are. You might not even know yourself to be human. This state can be achieved through meditation and profound religious experiences, but it’s easier to get there with psychedelics. It sounds scary, but I have found it a pleasant and illuminating experience, though not one I seek out often.
LSD
Also known as Alice D or acid, LSD is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. LSD is usually taken orally, often on small tabs of paper which are placed under the tongue. Tabs are typically dosed in the 100 to 120 micro units range. The amount you take has different results. Taking 5 to 10 micro units is known as a microdose; 20 to 50 micro units a “creative” dose; 70+ the threshold dose (less than this and you might not have a full psychedelic experience); 400+ micro units will result in an intense trip likely resulting in ego-death.
Marijuana
When we first started the blog, Erin and I had a discussion about which term would be our common, go-to word. We had settled on marijuana, and that’s what we used until I did some research about the racism in our drug laws. The word marijuana (or Marihuana as it was originally spelled) was invented and applied to cannabis to make people associate it with Mexican immigrants and vilify them for the use. So we’re moving away from using that term. At some point, I hope to have edited it out of the old blog posts in favor of cannabis.
MDA
3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine, sometimes called Sally or Sass, is similar to the more common MDMA, Molly. Both are often listed under the broader category of ecstasy. MDA isn’t as euphoric or as empathic as MDMA, but it does make seem to enhance visuals and auditory stimulation, giving a more psychedelic-like experience.
MDMA
MDMA stands for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, though we usually refer to is as Molly and not Ecstasy, E, or X (which can be ambiguous). Some people make the distinction that Molly is the crystal/powder form and that Ecstasy is the press pill form. MDMA is an empathogen/entactogen, which basically makes everyone feel like your best friend. It enhances physical sensation, music, and colors, hence it being used as a party drug at music festivals and raves.
Mushrooms
Or more commonly called shrooms, there are roughly 200 species of psilocybin mushrooms that can cause psychedelic effects. You can get psilocybin in a distilled, liquid form, which is faster acting, tastes better, and is easier on the stomach.
Psilocybin
The psychoactive compound found in shrooms.
Psychedelics
This is an entire classification of drugs that cause psychedelic experiences. Major drugs in this classification include the 2C-x family, DMT, mescaline (found in peyote), LSD, and psilocybin. Each drug has differing effects, but at their core, I find they alter normal perceptions so that you can analyze thoughts, feelings, and experiences from a perspective different from your normal point of view. Our psychedelic experiences will be revealed across several blog posts. It’s impossible to represent these experiences well in a single paragraph.
Rolling
This is a term used for when you are high on MDMA or MDA.
Shrooms
I find it amusing that shrooms is often short for mushrooms that have a psychoactive compound in them rather than just short for any mushroom. Obviously not every use of shroom is meant as a reference to psychedelic fungi, but it’s fairly common.
Tripping
This is a term used for when you are in a psychedelic experience. However, it’s not uncommon for it to be used as a general reference to being so high on anything that you are feeling spacey or out of it.