A critical part of understanding teen drug use is awareness about drug paraphernalia—the items kids use to hide or consume drugs. You may find these items in your child’s bedroom, car or backpack.

• Plastic baggies or small paper bags
• Cigarette packages
• Electronic-cigarettes (also called E-cigarettes)
• Small glass vials
• Pill bottles
• Candy or gum wrappers
• Baseball cap/ski cap
• Belt buckle
• Felt tip marker and lipstick dispensers
• Makeup bags

Drugs and Specific Paraphernalia

Items used to cover up drug use.

• Mouth wash, mints, and breathe sprays
• Eye drops for bloodshot eyes
• Sun glasses for red eyes, changes in pupil size, or eye movements

Items or associations that may indicate interest in illegal drugs or drug use.

• Clothing, jewelry, tattoos, teen slang with drug culture messages.
• Websites, music, or publications that glamorize drug use.

Where do kids buy paraphernalia?

Over the Internet, at tobacco shops, head shops, gift and novelty shops, gas stations, and convenience stores.

Legal consequences

Federal law states it is illegal for any person

1. To sell or offer for sale drug paraphernalia;
2. To use the mail or any other facility of interstate commerce to transport drug paraphernalia; or
3. Import or export drug paraphernalia.

What is it?

Prescription stimulants used to treat Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Used as a study aid, to stay awake, and to suppress appetites. Prescribed as Adderall®, Concerta®, Dexedrine®, Focalin®, Metadate®, Methylin®, Ritalin®.

Street Names

Bennies, Black Beauties, Crank, Ice, Speed, Uppers

How is it used?

Orally or injected. “Ice” or crystallized methamphetamine hydrochloride is smoked.

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Similar to cocaine, but slower onset and longer duration
• Increased body temperature, blood pressure and pulse rates, insomnia, loss of appetite, physical exhaustion
• Chronic abuse produces a psychosis that resembles schizophrenia: paranoia, hallucinations, violent and erratic behavior
• Overdose can be fatal

What is it?

Depressant drug used to help sleep, relieve anxiety and muscle spasms, prevent seizures. Prescribed names: Fiorina®, Pentothal®, Seconal®, or Nembutal®

Street Names

Barbs, Block Busters, Christmas Trees, Goof Balls, Pinks, Red Devils, Reds & Blues, Yellow Jackets

How is it used?

Swallowing a pill or injecting a liquid

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Lack of inhibition, relief of anxiety, sleepiness; impairment of memory, judgment and coordination; irritability
• Paranoia and suicidal thought
• Tolerance is easily developed, requiring larger doses each time
• Overdose can occur easily and can be fatal. Signs: Shallow respiration, clammy skin, dilated pupils, weak and rapid pulse, coma

What is it?

Synthetic stimulants sold online, convenience stores and “head shops” under various brand names. Resemble Epsom salts and labeled “Not for human consumption. Erroneously sold as bath salts, plant food and research chemicals.

Street Names

Bliss, Blue Silk, Cloud Nine, Drone, Energy-1, Ivory Wave, Lunar Wave, Meow Meow, Meph, Ocean Burst, Pure Ivory, Purple Wave, Red Dove, Snow Leopard, Stardust, Vanilla Sky, White Dove, White Knight, White Lightning

How is it used?

Sniffing/snorting, orally, smoked, or put into a solution and injected.

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Insomnia, irritability, dizziness
• Feelings of empathy, stimulation, alertness, euphoria, and sensory awareness
• Paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, suicidal thoughts, seizures
• Rapid heart rate that may lead to stroke or heart attack
• Sweating, nausea, and vomiting
• Prolonged panic attacks
• Death

What is it?

Depressants that produce sedation, induce sleep, relieve anxiety and prevent seizures. Available in prescription pills, syrup and injectable preparation. Prescribed as Valium®, Xanax®, Restoril®, Ativan®, Klonopin®

Street Names

Benzos, Downers, Nerve Pills, Tranks

How is it used?

Orally or crushed and snorted.

How does it affect the body?

• Calming, euphoria
• Vivid or disturbing dreams
• Amnesia, hostility, irritability
• Overdose may be fatal. Signs: shallow respiration, clammy skin, dilated pupils, weak and rapid pulse, coma

What is it?

White, crystalline powder derived from coca leaves. Cocaine base (crack) looks like small, irregularly shaped white rocks.

Street Names

Coca, Coke, Crack, Crank, Flake, Rock, Snow, Soda Cot

How is it used?

• Snorted
• Dissolved in water and injected
• Crack cocaine is smoked
• Cocaine users usually binge on the drug until they are exhausted or run out of cocaine.

What is it?

Cough suppressor found in many over-the-counter medications, such as cough syrup, tablets, capsules, or powder. Popular over-the-counter brands: Robitussin, Coricidin HBP

Street Names

CCC, DXM, Poor Man’s PCP, Robo, Skittles, Triple C

How is it used?

DXM is taken by drinking cough syrup or swallowing tablets, capsules, or powder. Extensive “how to" abuse information on various web sites. Preferred by teenagers and younger for its easy accessibility. Tablets are easy to conceal and students will take them in school.

How does it affect the body?

• Increase in perceptual awareness, altered time perception
• Hallucinations, confusion
• Addictive
• Loss of coordination, slurred speech, sweating, lethargy
• High doses of DXM with alcohol or other drugs, including antidepressants, can cause death.

What is it?

Known as a party drug, ecstasy comes in pill or powder form; pill has a variety of logos and colors.

Street Names

Adam, Beans, Biscuit, Clarity, Disco Biscuit, E, Eve, Go, Hug Drug, Lover’s Speed, MDMA, Peace, STP, X, XTC

How is it used?

• Swallowing gel capsules (Molly), pills, tablets
• Powder, Crystal, liquid
• Crushed or snorted
• Occasionally smoked

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Increased motor activity, alertness, heart rate, blood pressure
• Muscle tension, tremors, teeth clenching, nausea, sweating
• Euphoria, empathy, reduced inhibition
• Chills, blurred vision
• Confusion, anxiety, depression, paranoia, severe dehydration
• Sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), which can lead to liver, kidney and cardiovascular failure and death

What is it?

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients, applied in a patch on the skin. Because of its powerful opioid properties, Fentanyl is also diverted for abuse. Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency, or be disguised as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths. Clandestinely-produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico.

Street Names

Apace, China Girl, China Town, China White, Dance Fever, Goodfellas, Great Bear, He-Man, Poison and Tango & Cash

How is it used?

Clandestine fentanyl is typically injected, or inhaled like heroin.

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Intense, short-term high
• Temporary feelings of euphoria
• Slowed respiration and reduced blood pressure
• Nausea
• Fainting
• Seizures
• Death

What is it?

Flakka (alpha-PVP), is a dangerous drug that is similar to the street drug commonly known as bath salts. Flakka is typically white or pink in color, and is found in crystal form.

Street Names

Gravel

How is it used?

The drug may be eaten, snorted, injected, or vaporized in e-cigarettes.

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Paranoia and hallucinations that may lead to violent aggression and self-injury.
• Overdose and death have been linked to the use of this drug.

What is it?

Prescribed as Xyrem, it is also known as the “date rape drug." It comes in a liquid or as a white powder that is dissolved in water, juice, or alcohol. In liquid form, GHB is clear and colorless and slightly salty in taste.

Street Names

G, Georgia Home Boy, Goop, Grievous Bodily Harm, Liquid X, Scoop, Liquid Ecstasy

How is it used?

• Usually a liquid, mixed in a beverage
• White powder normally dissolved in a liquid

How does it affect the body?

• Hallucinations
• Euphoria, drowsiness, decreased anxiety, excited and aggressive behavior
• Overdose symptoms: unconsciousness, seizures, slowed heart rate, greatly slowed breathing, lower body temperature, vomiting, nausea, coma, death
• Addictive. Withdrawal symptoms: insomnia, anxiety, tremors, increased heart rate and blood pressure, psychotic thoughts.

What is it?

An opiate (narcotic) drug processed from morphine and extracted from certain poppy plants. Heroin comes in a white or brownish powder, or a black sticky substance known as “black tar heroin.” Often “cut” with other drugs or substances such as sugar or powdered milk. User is unaware how much actual heroin is being used, creating likelihood of overdose.

Street Names

Big H, Black Tar, Chiva, Hell Dust, Horse, Negra, Smack, Thunder


How is it used?

Injected, smoked, or sniffed/snorted. High purity heroin is usually snorted or smoked.

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Highly addictive.
• Initial surge of euphoria or “rush,” followed by a twilight state of sleep and wakefulness
• Physical symptoms of use include: drowsiness, respiratory depression, constricted pupils, nausea, a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and heavy extremities.
• Overdose symptoms: slow and shallow breathing, blue lips and fingernails, clammy skin, convulsions, coma, and possible death.

What is it?

Prescribed at Dilaudid®, it is used as a pain reliever. Hydromorphone is 2-8x more potent than morphine but shorter duration and greater sedation. Available in tablets, rectal suppositories, oral solutions, and injectable formulations.

Street Names

D, Dillies, Dust, Footballs, Juice, Smack

How is it used?

Orally or by injecting tablets dissolved in solution.

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Euphoria, relaxation, sedation, and reduced anxiety. It may also cause mental clouding, changes in mood, nervousness, and restlessness
• Constipation, nausea, vomiting, impaired coordination, loss of appetite, rash, slow or rapid heartbeat, and changes in blood pressure.
• Overdose symptoms: severe respiratory depression, stupor or coma, lack of skeletal muscle tone, cold and clammy skin, constricted pupils, and reduced blood pressure and heart rate.

What is it?

Invisible, volatile substances found in common household products, e.g., felt tip markers, spray paint, air freshener, typewriter correction fluid, butane, computer cleaners, glue. Includes more than 1,000 products that are harmful when inhaled.

Street Names

Huff, Rush, Whippets, Gluey

How is it used?

• Inhaled through nose or mouth
• Huffing inhalant-soaked rag stuffed in mouth
• Inhaling from balloon with nitrous oxide
• Sniffing or snorting the substance from a container or dispenser
• Inhaling fumes from substances in a bag

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Slight stimulation, feeling less inhibition, loss of consciousness
• Damages sections of brain controlling thinking, moving, seeing
• Slurred speech, loss of coordination, euphoria, dizziness
• Long term use may cause damage to nervous system and organs
• Sudden sniffing death may occur from suffocation or asphyxiation

What is it?

General, short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects. Sometimes used to facilitate sexual assault crimes.

Street Names

Special K, Cat Valium, Kit Kat, K, Super Acid, Super K, Purple, Special La Coke, Jet, Vitamin K

How is it used?

•    Injected
•    Liquid mixed with liquids 
•    Powder that is snorted mixed in drinks, or smoked

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Hallucinatory effects last 30-60 minutes
• Distorts sights and sounds
• Induces feelings of calmness and relaxation, relief from pain
• Immobility and amnesia
• Body feels out of control
• Agitation, depression, unconsciousness
• Hallucinations
• Flashbacks

What is it?

Stimulant drug made from the leaves and twigs, evergreen shrub. Active ingredients are cathine and cathinone.

Street Names

Abyssinian Tea, African Salad, Catha, Chat, Kat, Miraa, Oat, Qat, Quaadka

How is it used?

• Chewed
• Dried Khat is used as a tea or chewable paste
• Smoked, sprinkled on food

Paphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Manic behavior with grandiose delusions
• Chronic use can cause depression and suicide
• Hallucinations, paranoia, nightmares
• Euphoria, increased alertness and energy, hyperactivity
• Increase in blood pressure and heart rate
• Cardiac complications
• Insomnia, gastric disorders

What is it?

Leaves from the tropical tree Kratom in Southeast Asia which causes stimulant and sedative effects in different doses. More commonly abused in the Asia Pacific region than the United States.

Street Names

Thang, kakuam, thom, ketum, and biak

How is it used?

Swallowed as a pill, crushed and smoked, brewed as a tea, chewed raw leaves

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• At low doses, increased alertness, physical energy, and talkativeness
• At high doses, sedation
• Addictive: causes hallucinations, delusion, and confusion
• Nausea, itching, sweating, dry mouth, constipation, increased urination, and loss of appetite
• Long-term use can cause anorexia, weight loss, and insomnia

What is it?

Very strong hallucinogen sold on streets that is odorless and colorless with high potential for abuse.

Street Names

Acid, Blotter Acid, Dots, Mellow Yellow, Window Pane

How is it used?

•    Added to absorbent paper such as blotter paper divided into square dosage units
•    Tablets or capsules
•    Occasionally in liquid form 

How does it affect the body?

• Hallucinations
• Distorted perception of shape and size of objects, colors, and sounds
• Acute anxiety and depression
• Flashbacks days and even months after
• Elevated heart rate, higher body temperature, increased blood pressure, dilated pupils
• Overdose symptoms: longer, more intense episodes, psychosis and death.

What is it?

Mind-altering psychoactive drug. Dry, shredded, green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds and leaves from the cannabis sativa plant. THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main ingredient that produces the psychoactive effect. Addictive.

Street Names

Aunt Mary, BC Bud, Chronic, Dope, Gangster, Ganja, Grass, Hash, Herb, Joint, Mary Jane, Mota, Pot, Reefer, Sinsemilla, Skunk, Smoke, Weed, Yerba

How is it used?

• Smoked as a cigarette or in pipe or bong
• Smoked in blunts (cigar emptied of tobacco and filled with marijuana, and sometimes mixed with additional drugs)
• Mixed with food (edibles)
• Brewed as tea

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Relaxation, disinhibition, increased appetite, sedation, increased sociability

• Effects memory and learning
• Difficulty in thinking and problem-solving
• Hallucinations
• Impaired judgment, reduced coordination
• Distorted perception
• Decreased blood pressure, increased heart rate, dizziness, nausea, tachycardia
• Confusion, anxiety, paranoia, drowsiness
• Respiratory ailments

What is it?

Synthetic opiod prescribed as Methadose® and Dolphine®. Tablet, capsule, and liquid, used for detoxification and maintenance of opioid addiction and as a pain reliever for moderate to severe pain.

Street Names

Amidone, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Fizzies, Maria, Pastora, Salvia, Street Methadone, Water

Paraphernalia

How is it used?

Swallowed as pill or liquid or injected.

How does it affect the body?

• Sweating, itchy skin, or sleepiness
• Addictive
• Overdose effects include shallow breathing, stomach spasms, clammy skin, convulsions, weak pulse, coma, and death

What is it?

Stimulant that speeds up body’s system that comes as pill or powder. Available in prescription as Desoxyn® to treat obesity and ADHD. Crystal meth resembles glass fragments and is an illegally altered version of the prescription drug that is cooked with over-the-counter drugs in meth labs.

Street Names

Meth, Speed, Ice, Shards, Bikers Coffee, Stove Top, Tweak, Yaba, Trash, Chalk, Crystal, Crank, Shabu

How is it used?

• Powder, pill
• Smoked, snorted, injected
• To intensify the effects, users may take higher doses of the drug, take it more frequently, or change their method of intake

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Highly addictive
• Agitation, increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Increased respiration and body temperature
• Anxiety, paranoia
• High doses can cause convulsions, cardiovascular collapse, stroke or death

What is it?

Non-synthetic narcotic (opioid) made from opium, prescribed as Kadian®,MS-Contin®, Oramorph SR®, MSIR®, RMS®, Roxanol®. Very effective for pain relief, high potential for abuse.

Street Names

Dreamer, Emsel, First Line, God’s Drug, Hows, MS, Mister Blue, Morpho, Unkie

Paraphernalia

How is it used?

• Injected
• Oral solutions
• Tablets, capsules, suppositories

How does it affect the body?

• Euphoria and relief of pain
• Addictive
• Overdose signs: cold and clammy skin, sleepiness, lowered blood pressure and slow pulse rate, coma and possible death

What is it?

Non-synthetic narcotic extracted from the poppy plant, made into a liquid, powder or solid. Opium poppy is a key source for many narcotics.

Street Names

Aunti, Aunti Emma, Big O, Black pill, Chandu, Chinese Molasses, Dopium, Dream Gun, Fi-do-nie, Gee, Guma, Midnight Oil, Zero

How is it used?

• Can be smoked or injected intravenously
• Taken in pill form
• Used in combination with other drugs, such as marijuana and/or methamphetamine

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Euphoric rush, relaxation and relief of physical pain
• Slow breathing, seizures, loss of consciousness
• Addictive
• Coma or death

What is it?

Semi-synthetic opioid drug prescribed for pain as Tylox®, Percodan®, OxyContin®. Derived from the poppy plant, has high potential for abuse.

Street Names

Hillbilly Heroin, Kicker, OC, Ox, Roxy, Perc, Oxy

How is it used?

• Pills and tablets chewed or swallowed
• Inhaling vapors by heating tablet on foil
• Crushed and sniffed or dissolved in water and injected

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Feelings of relaxation, euphoria, pain relief
• Addictive
• Chronic use of oxycodone with acetaminophen may cause severe liver damage
• Overdose may lead to coma and possible death.

What is it?

Synthetically produced hallucinogen

Street Names

Angel Dust, Boat, Crystal, Embalming Fluid, Hog, Ozone, Rocket Fuel, Shermans, Supergrass, Tic Tac, Wack, Zoom

How is it used?

• Tablets, capsules are swallowed
• In powder form, snorted
• Leafy material sprayed or dipped in liquid and smoked

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Dissociative drug, induces distortion of sight and sound and produces feelings of detachment
• Disorientation, delirium
• Sedation, immobility, amnesia
• Numbness, slurred speech, loss of coordination
• Feeling of strength, power, and invulnerability
• Increased blood pressure, rapid and shallow breathing, elevated heart rate and temperature
• Addictive

What is it?

Small spineless cactus with active ingredient mescaline, a hallucinogen. Has disc-shaped “buttons” that are cut off and used.

Street Names

Buttons, Cactus, Mesc, Peyoto

How is it used?

•    Fresh or dried buttons are chewed 
•    Buttons soaked in water to produce intoxicating liquid
•    Ground into powder for capsules and swallowed 
•    Smoked with marijuana and tobacco

How does it affect the body?

• Hallucinations
• Altered perceptions of space and time
• Nausea and vomiting, increased heart rate
• Rise in body temperature
• Impaired motor coordination
• Euphoria, anxiety

What is it?

Hallucinogenic chemical obtained from certain types of fresh and dried mushrooms. Has slender stems topped by caps with dark gills on the underside.

Street Names

Magic mushrooms, Shrooms, Mushrooms

How is it used?

• Ingested orally
• Brewed as tea
• Added to foods to mask bitter flavor

How does it affect the body?

• Hallucinations
• Large amounts can cause panic attacks and psychosis
• Nausea and vomiting
• Muscle weakness, lack of coordination
• Overdose may result in psychosis or death

What is it?

Depressant and benzodiazepine with generic name Flunitrazepam. It is not approved for medical use in the United States. Used by cocaine abusers to relieve side effects, and also used as a “date rape” drug.

Street Names

Circles, Forget Me Pill, La Rocha, Lunch Money Drug, Mexican Valium, Pingus, R2, Roach 2, Ruffies, Rophies, Wolfies

How is it used?

• Oblong olive green tablet, swallowed, crushed and snorted
• Can be dissolved in liquids
• When placed in a light-colored drink, will dye it blue

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Muscle relaxant, decreased anxiety
• Drowsiness, amnesia, sleep
• Slurred speech, loss of coordination
• Impaired mental function, confusion
• Addictive

What is it?

Depressant and benzodiazepine with generic name Flunitrazepam. It is not approved for medical use in the United States. Used by cocaine abusers to relieve side effects, and also used as a “date rape” drug.

Street Names

Circles, Forget Me Pill, La Rocha, Lunch Money Drug, Mexican Valium, Pingus, R2, Roach 2, Ruffies, Rophies, Wolfies

How is it used?

• Oblong olive green tablet, swallowed, crushed and snorted
• Can be dissolved in liquids
• When placed in a light-colored drink, will dye it blue

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

• Muscle relaxant, decreased anxiety
• Drowsiness, amnesia, sleep
• Slurred speech, loss of coordination
• Impaired mental function, confusion
• Addictive

What is it?

A synthetic version of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, K2/Spice is a mixture of plant material sprayed with synthetic psychoactive chemicals. Often looks like potpourri and typically labeled “not for human consumption.\" Dangerous to purchase from the Internet because its origins and chemical amounts are unknown. The ingredients and strength of products containing synthetic cannabinoids are almost impossible for the user to know.

Street Names

Bliss, Black Mamba, Blaze, Bombay Blue, Fake Weed, Legal Weed, Genie, Zohai, Red X, Dawn Scooby Skunk, Snax

Paraphernalia

How is it used?

Smoked using “joints”, pipes, E-cigarettes, as a tea

How does it affect the body?

• Paranoia, anxiety, panic attacks, hallucinations, and giddiness
• Addictive
• Increase in heart rate and blood pressure
• Convulsions, organ damage, or death

What is it?

Synthetically produced versions of testosterone, the male hormone used to promote muscle growth, enhance athletic performance, improve physical appearance.

Street Names

Arnolds, Gear, Gym Candy, Juice, Pumpers, Roids, Stackers, Weight Gainers

Paraphernalia

How is it used?

• Injected intramuscularly
• Gels, creams, transdermal patches
• Tablets, sublingual-tablets and capsules

How does it affect the body?

• Many effects depending on age, sex, the type, length of time used • In males: stunts growth, acne, shrinks testicles, enlarges breasts
• In women, deepens voice, increases facial and body hair, acne, menstrual irregularities
• Dramatic mood swings, impaired judgment, increased levels of aggression and hostility
• Increased risk of heart disease, liver damage
• Addiction

What is it?

U-47700, nicknamed “U4,” “pink,” or “pinky,” is a highly potent synthetic opioid that looks like a white or light pink powder. A lot of times, it is often either sold in baggies or pressed into pills to look like legal painkillers. Abuse of this drug is similar to heroin, and prescription and designer opioids.

Street Names

Pinky , Pink or U4

How is it used?

This drug is usually snorted, swallowed or injected.

Paraphernalia

How does it affect the body?

This drug poses the same risks as heroin and many other designer opioids. The drug’s effects include:

• Numbness
• Sedation
• Cold and clammy skin
• Coma
• Respiratory failure leading to death

This drug is 7 - 8 times more potent than morphine, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). Not to mention, buyers can’t be certain exactly what they are getting when they purchase the drug online.