Drug Definitions

AMP - AMPHETAMINE

Street names: Uppers, speed, benny, dexy, louee, goey, whizz, pep pills. sulph, billy, phets.

Amphetamine is a stimulant drug that is used in treatment of ADHD, narcolepsy and obesity. Most positive results originate from legitimate prescription use of the drug. Illicitly, the drug is occasionally diverted from legitimate prescriptions and sold on the streets.

BAR - BARBITURATES

Street names: Barbs, barbies, sleepers, blue bullets, blues, pink ladies, pinks, block busters.

Barbiturates are another large class of drugs. They are used primarily for controlling epilepsy, and see some use in migraine relief (butalbital) and drug-induced comas for head trauma (pentobarbital). Examples of barbiturates include phenobarbital, pentobarbital and butalbital (Florinal). Most barbiturate positive drug tests are due to prescription use; barbiturates are rarely diverted for illegal consumption. In some countries, heroin is cut with phenobarbital.

BUP - BUPRENORPHINE

Street names: Bupe, subs, subbies, orange guys

Buprenorphine is a potent analgesic often used in the treatment of opiate dependence by preventing symptoms of withdrawal from heroin and other opiates. Therapeutically, buprenorphine is used as a substitution treatment for opioid addicts (primary heroin addicts) based on a similar or identical substance to the drug normally used. In substitution therapy, buprenorphine is as effective as methadone, but demonstrates a lower level of physical dependence. Buprenorphine is marketed in the US as Subutex (buprenorphine hydrochloride) and Suboxone (buprenorphine hydrochloride and naloxone hydrochloride).

BZD - BENZODIAZEPINE

Street names: Benzos, candy, downers, sleeping pills, normies, rowies, serres, moggies, Vals, V, Xanies, tranks, reds, rainbows, yellow jackets, ludes, roofies.

Benzodiazepines are a large class of drugs used primarily for sedation and anxiety relief. Examples of benzodiazepines include diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), alprazolam (Xanax) and clonazepam (Klonopin).

COC - COCAINE

Street names: Coke, dust, toot, snow, blow, bumps, lines, nose candy, snowball (cocaine & heroin), sneeze, oolies (marijuana laced with crack), powder, tornado (crack), rock (crack), wicky stick (PCP, marijuana and crack).

Cocaine is a stimulant and local anesthetic that is derived from the coca plant. The drug is rarely prescribed. Most positive results are from illegal use; crack is a freebase form of cocaine that is more readily absorbed by the body.

MTD - METHADONE

Street names: Meth, mtd, juice, green.

Methadone is an analgesic compound that is most commonly used to treat heroin/opiate addiction. In addition, the drug may be pain relief. Patients prescribed methadone for opiate addiction are considered to be in “methadone maintenance.” Patients in methadone maintenance are commonly drug tested to ensure that they are (1) taking their methadone, and (2) not taking heroin or other drugs. Methadone is eliminated in the urine as parent drug and as metabolized products.

MET - METHAMPHETAMINE

Street names: Tina, Christina, tweak, speed, glass, quartz, uppers, Christmas tree.

Methamphetamine is a stimulant drug that is very rarely prescribed, but a stereoisomer form of methamphetamine is used in Vick’s inhalers. Most positives are the result of illegal use; the drug is made illegally from pseudoephedrine.

MOR - MORPHINE a drug in the opiate class

Street names: Aunti, Aunti Emma, big O, black hash, black Russian, black pill, black stuff, black tar, Buddha, china white, Chinese molasses, Chinese tobacco, chocolate, dopium, Dover's deck, Dover's powder, dream gun, dream stick, dreams, easing powder, God's medicine, gondola, gong, goric, great tobacco, gum, hard stuff, hocus, hops, horse, Indonesian bud, joy plant, midnight oil, mud, O, O.P., pox, smack, tar, toxy, toys, zero A-bomb, big H, Boy, crank, crop, brown, dragon rock, h, hell dust, harry, horse, jive, junk, Mexican black tar, nose drop, shag, skag, smack, etc.

Opiates are a large class of drugs used legally as a pain reliever (morphine) and cough suppressant (codeine). Heroin (diacetylmorphine) is an illegal opiate made from the opium poppy. In addition to the primary opiates, synthetic opiates are often used in pain relief. The original intent of creating synthetic opiates was to improve pain relief and reduce the likelihood of dependence. Synthetic opiates include hydrocodone (Vicodan), oxycodone (Oxycontin) and hydromorphine (Dilaudid). Most synthetic opiates do not cross react very well with morphine-based opiate tests.

OXY - OXYCODONE

Street names: Oxy, hillbilly heroin, Oxycotton, OC, killers.

Oxycodone is a member of the synthetic opiate class. The drug is used for pain relief (usually chronic pain). Brand names of oxycodone include Oxycontin (oxycodone HCl), oxycodone in combination with either acetaminophen (Percocet) or aspirin (Percodan). Oxycontin is a time-released formula of Oxycontin. Overdoses are usually the result of people crushing the time-released Oxycontin pills and consuming the crushed powder in one dose.

PCP - PHENCYCLIDINE

Street names: Angel dust, angel hair, angel poke, dust, embalming fluid, fry, flake hog, whack, rocket fuel, squeeze, mist, horse tranq, animal tranq, elephant tranq, tranqs, squeeze, surfer, cyclones, soma, illy, oxone, zoot, peace pill, scuffle, Cadillac, CJ, KJ, TIC, TAC, PCP, amp, hydro, sherm, haze, dank, goon, sherm, super weed, killer weed, elephant, zombie, embalming fluid, hog, pce, tcp, rocket fuel, beam me up Scotty.

Phencyclidine (PCP) is a hallucinogenic drug, originally made for anesthetic use in humans. Its use in humans was discontinued due to negative side effects. There is no current legal use of the drug in humans. The illegal use of PCP is now rare, but it is sometimes seen in rich, metropolitan areas.

PPX - PROPOXYPHENE

Street names: Buprenex, butisol, diet drug, anabolic steroids, ultram, darvon, darvocet, stadol, torbugesic, torbutrol, soma, Dan's, D's, dance, percocet, percodan, nubain, ritalin, DMT, business man's launch, vicodin, lorcet, lorcet plus, lortab, diaudid, doriden, loads, demerol yellow football, dellies

Propoxyphene is a narcotic analgesic structurally related to methadone. The drug is used for the relief of mild to moderate pain. Brand names of propoxyphene include Darvon and Darvocet. Propoxyphene is often dosed in combination with aspirin and acetaminophen.

TCA - TRICYCLIC ANTIDEPRESSANT

Street names: Blue angels, blue birds, vicactil, anafranil, janimine, tofranil

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) are a class of drugs used to treat depression. TCAs are the older antidepressants. Examples of TCAs include amitriptyline, nortriptyline, desipramine and clomipramine. New antidepressants such as Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft are not TCAs and will not cross react with the TCA assay.

THC - MARIJUANA

Street names: Pot, weed, grass, smoke, dope, ganja, reefer, Mary Jane, Aunt Mary.

THC (tetrahydrocannibinol) is a hallucinogenic, sedative drug considered the primary active compound of the 400+ chemicals in the cannabis sativa plant. While some legal use of THC takes place, such as the prescription Marinol used to treat wasting in cancer/HIV patients, most THC positive results are due to illicit use.

XTC - ECSTASY (MDMA)

Street names: Molly, x, e, eve, adam, x-tc, roll, triple stacks, decadence, m&m, domex, kleenex, love drug, shabu.

Ecstasy (MDMA) is a stimulant and hallucinogenic structurally related to methamphetamine; the drug was once used for psychotherapy, but it is now a Schedule 3 drug in the US (no approved medical use). The chemical name of Ecstasy is 3,4-metheylenedioxmeth¬amphetamine, hence the MDMA abbreviation. MDMA metabolizes into many compounds, but the most notable is MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine) which is chemically related to amphetamine.