Glossary

Boosting:   The street term for shoplifting.

Booting: The practice of pulling the plunger in and out during the intravenous injection of a drug-usually a narcotic--so that the user sees the blood go back and forth in the syringe.

Button: A term applied to that part of the peyote cactus which is ingested as a psychedelic. Sometimes other psychedelics are referred to as buttons but not often.

Buzz:   One way of describing "feeling high," e.g., "having a buzz on.

Chipping:   The use of narcotics on an occasional basis in order to avoid addiction. A "chipper" uses narcotics in this fashion.

Cook: The process of dissolving a powdered drug, usually a narcotic, in a few drops of water so that the drug can be injected conveniently.

Cop, copping: A description of the process of obtaining an illicit drug. The term was originally used exclusively for narcotics but now is used generally for any illicit substance.

Dabbler: A term generally used on the street to describe someone who has experimented with narcotics but whose occasional use is not consistent.

Dealer:   A person who sells illicit drugs.

Drop:   To use a drug, usually a psychedelic, e.g., "dropping acid."

Dropper:   A term that describes that part of the equipment ("the works") that holds the substance to be injected through a needle. Often an eyedropper is used, hence the term.

Getting off:   A phrase that describes the feeling of "getting high" on an intoxicant, e.g., "Oh, it took a long time, but I just got off."

Head:   The street term for someone who uses marihuana; sometimes applied to regular users of other illicit drugs.

High, getting high:   Originally the general description of the state of intoxication caused by the use of illicit drugs, but today it is commonly used to describe the changed state of consciousness, or euphoria, caused by any intoxicant use and sometimes by any effort to alter consciousness states.

Joint:   The street term for a marihuana cigarette.

Jones:   The street term for the awareness that one has a physiological addiction.

Junk:   The street term for narcotics, usually heroin.

Munchies:   The feeling of enhanced appetite that frequently follows the use of marihuana.

Nod off, go on the nod:   Drifting off into a stuporous state following the use of a narcotic.

Roach:   The very end of a marihuana cigarette after it has been smoked.

Rush: The sudden, sharp shift in consciousness and body sensations that results from injecting, or less frequently after inhalation of a drug.

Score, scoring:   (See Cop, copping.)

Skin-popping: The practice of injecting a drug, particularly heroin, just under the skin, i.e., subcutaneously, rather than into a muscle or vein.

Snort:   To inhale a drug through the nostrils, usually in powdered form, but occasionally as a liquid.

Sopers: The street term for methaqualone (Quaaludes), a sedativehypnotic, sometimes preferred by many users over barbiturates or benzodiazepines.

Spike:   The street term for the needle used to inject narcotics or other intoxicants.

Tab:   The usual term for a measured dose of the psychedelic LSD but also used now for other psychedelics.

Tie, tie off:   The use of a belt, necktie, rope, etc., as a tourniquet to make the veins more prominent for injecting the needle.

Toke:   The street term for inhaling marihuana from a joint (marihuana cigarette) or pipe.

Trip, tripping:   The term for being high on a psychedelic drug.

Works: The equipment used for injecting drugs. This includes a hypodermic syringe and needle, or something similar such as a sharpened eyedropper; a small, metal container, known as a cooker, in which to dissolve and heat the drug; and some substance such as cotton to strain the drug. Sometimes considered part of the "works" are a thin wire used to clean out the hypodermic needle and a belt or rope, etc., known as a "tie."