# Nicknames for drug effects **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 23, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872 "2026-07-23T13:18:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/1 "2026-07-23T13:18:46Z")
If you are addicted to methamphetamine, and your teeth rot away, you have “Meth Mouth”. If you are addicted to fentanyl, and your torso is perpetually hunched over, you have “the Fentanyl Fold”. If a psychiatrist sedates you with Thorazine, you may walk with “the Vitamin-T Shuffle”. Marijuana users get “the Munchies”. What other drugs have side effects so distinctive that they spawn nicknames? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/2 "2026-07-23T13:28:08Z")
I think an all purpose word that’s been around forever is simply, “Junkie”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/3 "2026-07-23T13:34:32Z")
'Roid rages, for the aggression produced by steroids. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/4 "2026-07-23T13:35:42Z")
Ketamine puts you in the K-hole ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/5 "2026-07-23T13:45:48Z")
Suicide Tuesday follows weekend party time on E. Apparently. j ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/6 "2026-07-23T13:56:28Z")
I don’t know if there’s also a word in English, but in German, there’s the term “Säufernase” (drunkard’s nose, sometimes also called “Schnapsnase”, I don’t think I have to translate that) for an unnaturally big and red nose some alcoholics develop. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/7 "2026-07-23T14:09:37Z")
I’m sure there is an English word for that, but it’s probably somewhat old-fashioned. For whatever reason, the trope of depicting a drunkard with a red nose has fallen out of favor (I imagine that the symptom itself is just as common as it always was; it’s just not as much in the public consciousness). ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/8 "2026-07-23T14:16:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m sure there is an English word for that Gin blossom. ETA: That’s what I learned as a lad, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/9 "2026-07-23T14:34:20Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Marijuana users get “the Munchies”. There are three effects of cannabis that have Denglish words, with “flash” being the borrowed word: Fressflash - the munchies Laberflash - prattling flash Lachflash - laughing flash ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/10 "2026-07-23T14:37:25Z")
There are various nicknames for delirium tremens (withdraw symptoms suffered by long term heavy alcohol users) including “the shakes” and “the DTs”. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/11 "2026-07-23T14:54:19Z")
Cotton mouth, for how cannabis users get dry mouths. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/12 "2026-07-23T14:56:20Z")
Not quite what you are looking for but if a former opioid addict needs to take opioids again due to significant trauma, post-op status, or malignant pain, it’s said they’re having a _freelapse_. I’ve had a few of these freelapses since I got clean and sober due to medical issues, and they don’t count against one’s recovery time. It is a risk to one’s recovery to go through such a thing, but with support from one’s clean and sober community one can avoid returning to active addiction. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/13 "2026-07-23T14:58:41Z")
Whiskey Dick - the inability to get/sustain an erection due to alcohol use. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/14 "2026-07-23T15:01:09Z")
You’re probably thinking of rhinophyma, characteristically associated with W.C. Fields. > **[Severity of Rhinophyma Linked to Alcohol Intake](https://www.rosacea.org/blog/2019/september/severity-rosacea-rhinophyma-linked-alcohol-intake-291846)** > > Sometimes there’s some truth to the myth. It’s entirely possible to have rhinophyma (a complication of rosacea characterized by skin inflammation and enlargement of sebaceous glands affecting the nose) without being an alcoholic, though research cited in the linked article suggests that rhinophyma tends to be worse in heavy drinkers. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/15 "2026-07-23T15:07:45Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > You’re probably thinking of rhinophyma, characteristically associated with W.C. Fields. Exactly, but I didn’t know the medical term. W. C. Fields was also the person who first came to my mind, but I couldn’t remember his name. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/16 "2026-07-23T15:13:25Z")
During Prohibition, the effects of adulterated Jamaica ginger led to its victims being known as having the “Jake walk” or “Jake walk blues”. Jamaica ginger extract in those days had high alcohol content and was popular in cocktails despite having a bitter taste. A major manufacturer used a chemical adulterant to make the flavor less unpleasant, thinking the additive was non-toxic. It turned out to be a neurotoxin. Tens of thousands experienced partial paralysis leading to a distiinctive abnormal gait, often permanent. > **["Jake Walk Blues" lyrics by Woody Guthrie](https://woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Jake_Walk_Blues.htm)** I found a modern recipe online for a “Jake Walk” cocktail using such things as tequila, rum and cane juice - but no Jamaica ginger. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/17 "2026-07-23T15:22:54Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@Jackmannii](#): > > > > You’re probably thinking of rhinophyma, characteristically associated with W.C. Fields. > > Exactly, but I didn’t know the medical term. W. C. Fields was also the person who first came to my mind, but I couldn’t remember his name. Another famous sufferer was financier J. Pierpont Morgan. (An urban legend goes that a society matron repeatedly warned her family in advance of a visit by Morgan to not even say the word “nose” in his presence - and then later asked him while serving tea “Will you have one or two lumps in your nose?”) ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/18 "2026-07-23T15:37:27Z")
Brain Tremors, Zaps, or Shivers after reducing or stopping SSRIs or SNRIs. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/19 "2026-07-23T15:43:02Z")
There’s also the German word “Kater” (tomcat) for a hangover, and in my regional dialect “Affe” (monkey) means the same, while in rather urban, junkie circles it means heroin withdrawal symptoms. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872/20 "2026-07-23T16:38:26Z")
“Seeing pink elephants” = alcohol-induced hallucinations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicknames-for-drug-effects/1031872.md?page=2)