Commonly Abused Drugs

Prescription Opioids

Pain relievers with an origin similar to that of heroin. Opioids can cause euphoria and are often used nonmedically, leading to overdose deaths. 

Street Names Commercial Names Common Forms Common Ways Taken DEA Schedule
Captain Cody, Cody, Lean, Schoolboy, Sizzurp, Purple Drank
With glutethimide: Doors & Fours, Loads, Pancakes and Syrup		 Codeine (various brand names) Tablet, capsule, liquid Injected, swallowed (often mixed with soda and flavorings) II, III, V
Apache, China Girl, China White, Dance Fever, Friend, Goodfella, Jackpot, Murder 8, Tango and Cash, TNT Fentanyl (Actiq®, Duragesic®, Sublimaze®) Lozenge, sublingual tablet, film, buccal tablet Injected, smoked, snorted II
Vike, Watson-387 Hydrocodone or dihydrocodeinone (Vicodin®, Lortab®, Lorcet®, and others) Capsule, liquid, tablet Swallowed, snorted, injected II
D, Dillies, Footballs, Juice, Smack Hydromorphone (Dilaudid®) Liquid, suppository Injected, rectal II
Demmies, Pain Killer Meperidine (Demerol®) Tablet, liquid Swallowed, snorted, injected II
Amidone, Fizzies
With MDMA: Chocolate Chip Cookies		 Methadone (Dolophine®, Methadose®) Tablet, dispersible tablet, liquid Swallowed, injected II
M, Miss Emma, Monkey, White Stuff Morphine (Duramorph®, Roxanol®) Tablet, liquid, capsule, suppository Injected, swallowed, smoked II, III
O.C., Oxycet, Oxycotton, Oxy, Hillbilly Heroin, Percs Oxycodone (OxyContin®, Percodan®, Percocet®, and others) Capsule, liquid, tablet Swallowed, snorted, injected II
Biscuits, Blue Heaven, Blues, Mrs. O, O Bomb, Octagons, Stop Signs Oxymorphone (Opana®) Tablet Swallowed, snorted, injected II

Possible Health Effects
Short-term Pain relief, drowsiness, nausea, constipation, euphoria, confusion, slowed breathing, death.
Long-term Unknown.
Other Health-related Issues Pregnancy: Miscarriage; low birth weight; neonatal abstinence syndrome.

Older Adults: Higher risk of accidental misuse or abuse because many older adults have multiple prescriptions, increasing the risk of drug-drug interactions, and breakdown of drugs slows with age; also, many older adults are treated with prescription medications for pain.

Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles.
In Combination with Alcohol Dangerous slowing of heart rate and breathing leading to coma or death.
Withdrawal Symptoms Restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps ("cold turkey"), leg movements.
Treatment options
Medications
  • Methadone
  • Buprenorphine
  • Naltrexone (short- and long-acting)
Behavioral Therapies Behavioral therapies that have helped treat addiction to heroin may be useful in treating prescription opioid addiction.