Recreational
Drugs used for narcotic, hallucinogenic or other recreational usage. These drugs tend to be illegal and addictive, sometimes dangerously so.
| Name | Source | Uses & effects |
|---|---|---|
| Accela | Serial Experiments Lain | A "smart drug". Dissection of the capsule reveals the active ingredient to be a nanomachine which, upon ingestion, oscillates at a particular frequency which causes the secretion of a hormone (neurotransmitter?) which influences the user's sense of time, causes the user to feel as if his consciousness is accelerated, and also improves the brain's speed of calculation. The drug disappears from the body after one day. |
| Aklo | Alan Moore's The Courtyard | Not an actual drug, it is a pre-human language, which if heard after a hit of DMT-7, will cause the user to have severe hallucinations, and subsequently have a new vocabulary and an ability to see the world for what it truly is. |
| Albertine | Rick Moody's, The Albertine Notes | Hallucinogen used in post-apocalyptic NYC to re-live the past. |
| Amasec | Warhammer 40,000 | A mild, liqueur-like beverage, used like wine. Similar to brandy in composition. |
| Ash | Blade: The Series | The actual ash of slain vampires which temporarily grants humans some of a vampire's strength and abilities. Side effects include a thirst for blood which often results in the user eating his own fingers. |
| Bananadine | Berkeley Barb | A joke or hoax psychoactive drug allegedly extracted from banana peels. First published in the Berkley Barb, and popularized by The Anarchist Cookbook. |
| Bentlam | E. E. Smith's Gray Lensman | Roughly similar in appearance and intake to fine-cut chewing tobacco. Inexpensive, common, effective, and usually without long-term effects. Produces a "head buzzing" sensation as the juice is swallowed, followed (particularly in large doses) by a lengthy unconsciousness. |
| Betaphenethylamine | William Gibson's Neuromancer | Stimulant and hallucinogen, usually administered in the form of dermal patches that can bypass livers and pancreases surgically altered to reject narcotics. Unrelated to the actual neurotransmitter β-Phenylethylamine. |
| Black Lotus | Conan the Barbarian | A drug with euphoric and disorienting properties. The good stuff comes from Stygia and should be chewed slowly. Does not affect Austrian accents. |
| Bliss (3) | Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers by Grant Naylor | A brown powder, makes the user believe (s)he is an omnipotent deity for up to 15 minutes—while at the same time rendering them incapable of as so much as tying their shoes. The after effect includes severe depression that can last up to 25 years. Addiction can set in simply by looking at it, "which made it very hard for the police to perform drug busts". |
| Bliss (4) | The Wizard of Sunset Strip by Simon Hawke | Thaumaturgically brewed drug. Not physiologically addicting, but the state of peace and serenity it induces is strongly habit-forming, and larger and larger doses of the drug are required to cop the same buzz. Used by at least one necromancer to keep his victims in thrall. |
| Bliss Pellets | Aeon Flux | A Pill like organ rendered from a water creature, its effect is amnesia. |
| Bloodhype | Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth | Also known by such street names as "jaster" and "silly salt". Instantly addictive drug derived from a tree only known to grow on a single planet. It affects the entire nervous system, causing intense pleasure. Withdrawal is excruciatingly painful and usually fatal—treatment requires total life support. It is said that an addict will gladly sell everything he or she owns, along with all body parts beyond the minimum needed to inject the drug, for his or her next dose. There is no known way to synthesize it, and the tree from which it is derived was thought to have been deliberately driven to extinction, but drug has reappeared. A large dose was used to defeat the malevolent entity known as the Vom. |
| Blue | The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling | A popular party drug in Newbridge. More dangerous than coke, though not as dangerous as Emerald Nightmare. |
| Blue Glass | The Onion | A crystalline euphoric substance that is smoked. Effects include feelings of extreme happiness and optimism, greatly enhanced reflexes, and sexual pleasure immediately followed by a semi-permanent suicidal catatonia. The duration of use is five minutes. Featured in a humorous article entitled "CIA Unveils New Ghetto Drugs for '98" (July 9, 1997). |
| Booster | Transcendence (video game) | An addictive narcotic. |
| Brainscratch | The Onion | A hardcore hallucinogenic dissociative administered through eye-drops. Lasts ten hours to several years. Featured in a humorous article entitled "CIA Unveils New Ghetto Drugs for '98" (July 9, 1997). |
| Brevitol | Mallworld | "It made an hour seem like a minute or a minute seem like an hour, you couldn't tell in advance..." |
| Bug Powder | Naked Lunch (film) | Yellow powder initially used by exterminators to kill bugs. When injected into the bloodstream it can cause, what Joan Lee describes as, "a literary high" and may or may not be a hallucinogen. It is also quite habit forming. |
| Buz | Cerebus the Aardvark | A small cake made of "grain, protein, three vitamins, starches, sugars, an opium derivative, and artificial coloring". One cake of buz per day provides an adult person with balanced nutrition and keeps him or her in a tractable state. It is 100% addictive. |
| Cactus Juice | Avatar: The Last Airbender | The juice of a certain type of cactus in the Si Wong Desert, which apparently causes strange behavior and hallucinations. Likely inspired by the fact that several real cactus species contain the hallucinogenic chemical mescaline. |
| Caf | Various works of fiction | A lot like coffee, used if the coffee bean is extinct or otherwise non-existent. Military brew is notoriously terrible. |
| Cake | Brass Eye | A bright-yellow cake-sized pill from eastern Europe (described chemically as "dimesmeric andersonphosphate", which is a "bisturbile cranabolic amphetamoid") which many featured celebrities held as they talked; purportedly affected an area of the brain called "Shatner's Bassoon". Despite pointed repeated statements that the drug was fictional, David Amess, a British Member of Parliament was fooled into filming an elaborate video warning against the dangers of Cake, and went as far as to ask a question about it in Parliament. |
| Can-D | Philip K. Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | A plant product imported from Ganymede to Mars that allows colonists to escape into a group hallucination based on their Perky Pat layouts, which are fictional analogues of Barbie. |
| Cardamine | Freelancer | A natural product of the ecosystem on the planet Malta, it is found in trace amounts in nearly everything on the planet, including the atmosphere and water. A very addictive mutagenic narcotic, its withdrawal symptoms are extremely violent and invariably fatal. Exposure over generations is known to cause unnatural longevity as well as greatly decreased fertility. The drug is trafficked by the criminal faction known as the Outcasts (formed by the original settlers of Malta), and outlawed by all the major Houses. The best available selling price is on the planet Manhattan, although this run is risky for players as Manhattan is located in the centre of House space and there is a significant risk of being discovered on the route. |
| Chew-Z | Philip K. Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch | A substance, probably brought back by Palmer Eldritch from the Prox system, that is marketed as a more realistic alternative to Can-D but transports the user to a world controlled by Eldritch. |
| Chronax | Donald Fagen's Morph the Cat | Powerful hallucinogen. Ten milligram fatal dose. |
| Clarity | Minority Report | A highly popular, highly addictive recreation drug. |
| Condamine | SF of Cordwainer Smith | Powerful narcotic; it also exists in an enhanced form, super-condamine, lethal except to those infected by the dromozoa of the punishment world Shayol. |
| Crystal Twist | (Cyber) C.O.P.S. | A euphoria-inducing drug that takes the form of a green crystal that can be absorbed through the skin (usually via the forehead). So addictive that it is solely responsible for a dramatic increase in crime. When Berserko accidentally overdoses on it, Big Boss teams up with Bulletproof's C.O.P.S. to take it and the dealer Addictem off the street. |
| Cyclomite | Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day | A combination of cyclopropane and dynamite with hallucinatory properties, described as "a reality modifying explosive". |
| Dancer | William Gibson's Bridge trilogy | An amphetamine-like stimulant, usually snorted or rubbed into the gums. Also referred to as 4-Thiobuscaline. |
| Death's Head Mushroom | Shrooms | A black-tipped mushroom. Ingesting it induces paranoia, hallucinations, identity disassociation, and murderous tendencies. Only grows in Ireland at certain times of the year. |
| Death Sticks | Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | A powerful narcotic made from the refined extract of Balo mushroom spores. Available as either a smokeable solid or as a liquid for adding to drinks. Induces temporary euphoria and twisted hallucinations. Each successive dose reduces the user's lifespan by increasingly large amounts. Their appearance is similar to cigarettes. |
| Deepweed | Shadowrun | A narcotic made from the dried-out leaves of a deep-water seaweed. Typically rolled into a cigarette and imbibed by smoking. Induces forced astral perception on magically active characters, then causes effects similar to Dumpshock when the "high" wears off. Non-Awakened characters do not astrally perceive, but still experience a euphoric sensation upon smoking the drug. |
| Denner Resin | The Name of the Wind | A hard, candy-like substance made from the resin of the denner tree. When ingested, the user experiences an initial feeling of euphoria followed by deliriousness, disorientation, and loss of feeling. Extremely addictive, users (known as sweet eaters) will do anything to obtain the resin. Sweet eaters are recognizable by their extremely white teeth, another side effect of the resin. |
| DMT-7 | Alan Moore's The Courtyard | A weak hallucinogen, which in its natural form is produced in the human brain. Trip lasts about 10–15 minutes. Usually taken before a hit of Aklo. |
| DMZ | David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest | Powerful hallucinogen derived from a species of mold. |
| Drencrom | A Clockwork Orange | Ingredient in milk-plus, sold in the Korova Milkbar. Likely a reference to adrenochrome. |
| Dreamgum | Philip José Farmer's Riverworld saga | A hallucinogenic drug provided, alongside alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, to the human beings living on the River by the mysterious "Ethicals". Delivery method is in the form of a stick of gum, which is chewed. Effects vary widely, including euphoria, sexual arousal and compulsion, and vivid hallucinations, often associated with unpleasant memories. Can be habit forming. |
| "Dropper" | Looper | A designer drug appearing as a yellowish liquid that is delivered via an eyedropper. Causes opiate-like euphoria and withdrawal. Most (if not all) loopers seem to be addicted to the drug. The name or nature of the drug is not revealed, and could be a real-life drug altered to be delivered to the eyes. |
| Dust | Babylon 5 | A highly illegal drug that induces telepathy. Users commit "telepathic rape", also illegal, by forcibly (and painfully) scanning the minds of other people. Can induce telepathy even in some species that have no natural telepaths, such as Narns. Psi Corps developed and produces dust for sale through the black market in hopes of developing telepathic abilities in the non-telepathic ("mundane") population. |
| Dyne | City of Heroes | An addictive narcotic that is peddled by more than one street gang. A stronger version, Superadyne, will provide pain immunity and induce the user with violent tendencies. Overuse of Superadyne will degenerate a user into a Troll, which makes them brainless but gives them superhuman powers. |
| Edge | Class of 1999 | A highly addictive narcotic, sold in vials and abused by a large portion of the student population at Kennedy High School. |
| Electricity | Futurama | While electricity is real, it is often abused by robots in the year 3000, and its effects seem to be psychedelic, with withdrawal symptoms of paranoia. |
| Emerald Nightmare | The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling | A party drug considered one of the more dangerous in Newbridge, as people who use it tend to explode. |
| Energon | Transformers: Generation 1 | The Cybertronian fuel of choice - however, consumption of too much in one go can induce a state similar to drunkenness in Transformers, leading to loss of physical co-ordination and giddy euphoria. |
| Euphoria | Interstate 60 | A highly addictive, government-controlled drug that comes in tubes and resembles glow sticks. The government has taken advantage of how dependent the users become on Euphoria by creating a class of permanent indentured servants who are paid with doses. By regulating Euphoria, the town was able to completely eliminate crime. |
| Excelsior | City of Heroes | A powerful narcotic that raises the normal physical attributes of a human, including an incredibly high pain tolerance. The street gang known as the Freakshow take advantage of the pain tolerance to replace their limbs with cybernetic implants. |
| The Fear | Red Star, Winter Orbit by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson | Causes fear, paranoia and hallucinations, administered either via pills or injection. Possibly used by espionage and intelligence agencies. |
| Fenrisian Ale | Warhammer 40,000 | It contains a special root extract that suppresses the toxin-filtering abilities of the Promenor, allowing a Space Marine to get drunk |
| Fisstech | The Witcher | An addictive narcotic similar in appearance and effects to cocaine. Making it involves the use of complicated alchemical equipment. |
| Flects | Warhammer 40,000 novel series Ravenor by Dan Abnett. | Shards of glass smuggled from the ruined cities of a world conquered by Chaos which cause delirium when a user looks at them. |
| Flower of Life | Robotech | A plant found on the Invid homeworld, the natural source of protoculture. When the leaves and petals are dried, they become powerful narcotics that effect protoculture enhanced life-forms. Side effects include brain damage. |
| Forgotten hand | Eclipse Phase | Forgotten hand is a type of "narrative hallucinogen" nano-drug known as a petal. The effects of Forgotten hand comes in three stages. The first stage the person believes that one of his hands "detaches and makes a run for it", they perceive the rest of the world normally however. In the second stage a new hand that is obviously not human will appears on the persons wrist. Sometime after this, about one or two hours, the drug reaches the final stage were to get their hand back they must answer a cryptic question posed by a gnome-like being. |
| Formula 51 | Formula 51 aka The 51st State | Claimed to be a powerful narcotic, stimulant and hallucinogen. While various tests confirm the claim, in reality the ingredients cancel each other out, making it "the most expensive candy in history". |
| Gel | Vice: Project Doom | Originally intended as food an alien species living on Earth, it is then sold to humans as an addictive recreational drug with terrible side effects. |
| Geoffrey | Get Him to the Greek | A joint "laced with heroin, LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and PCP." When Aaron Green smokes one in Get Him to the Greek, he becomes attracted to "furry walls," and has a heart attack. |
| Gerin Oil | Gerin oil | A highly addictive drug which can cause delusions disconnection to reality, hallucination, homicidal tendencies, and suicidal behavior. Despite these properties, it is legal and many prominent politicians are vocal advocates of its use. Scientific name "geriniol". |
| Gingerbread | Gingerbread Economy | A highly potent hallucinogen based on LSD. It forms the basis of a complex system of economics in the future dystopia novel "Gingerbread Economy". The drug comes on blotter paper with a distinctive gingerbread-man icon design; it is sealed in clear plastic and bundled into envelopes of "wraps" of ten or "maxi-wraps" of 50. |
| Glint | Strangers With Candy | Also known as Glow, Glimmer and Satan's Hairlip. A high potent and dangerous green goop that requires being smeared on the lips. Made using various household chemicals. Jerry Blank explained, "It's gonna numb it where ever you apply it, which can be a God send. I used to apply it liberally back in this donkey show down in Tijuana." When character Poppy tries it, she becomes nearly catatonic, yet is able to climb a rope in gym in under 3 second with super human strength. She dies shortly after. |
| Glitterstim | Star Wars Expanded Universe | A hallucinogenic drug made from spice that may cause temporary psychic abilities. |
| Goofballs | Kingdom of Loathing | An item in the game, comes in one of those little amber pill bottles presumably full of said goofballs. If used it produces a 20% increase in strength and moxie. Goofball Withdrawal causes 50% penalty to all stats, and can be cured by sweating out the symptoms for a very long time, or instantly by taking more goofballs. Acquired from a very suspicious NPC who provides the first bottle to the player for free but charges outrageous prices (starting at 1,000 M and increasing with each subsequent purchase) for later doses. |
| G'Quan Eth seeds | Babylon 5 | The G'Quan Eth plant is a Narn religious plant ritually burned as incense, and its seeds are a narcotic for Centauri when dropped in alcohol. The G'Quan Eth plant is "difficult to grow, expensive to transport, very expensive to own". Whether it affects other species in this way when in alcohol is not clear, but we know that Narn don't seem to use it as a recreational drug (Londo chides G'Kar for Narns "It's a shame you Narns waste them, burning them as incense") and that it is illegal to possess on B5 except in religious contexts. The plant is presumably named after Narn spiritual leader G'Quan. |
| Happiness | Farnham's Freehold | A methyl meprobamate-based powder added to beverages, chewing gum, etc. that give the user a calm feeling of happiness. Given to everyone at parties, rationed to servants daily to control them. No apparent side effects. |
| Hazia | The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin | A plant whose root is used as an addictive drug to give visions. It blackens the mouth and causes nervous disorders and eventually death. |
| Honk, Double Honk | Discworld | 'Recreational' (for trolls). |
| Jabroka | Alien Nation | A drug used by the Tenctonese elite to enslave the lower classes of the population. It is described as a powerful narcotic and even a small amount can induce intense euphoria. However, it is highly addictive, and an overdose for a Tenctonese causes them to mutate and grow to monstrous proportions. To humans, it tastes like "dish soap" and has no effect. |
| Jet | Fallout series | Jet is a powerful, highly addictive meta-amphetamine (invented by Fallout 2 Character Myron) which stimulates the central nervous system, combining traits of both hallucinogens and amphetamines. Jet is manufactured from the fumes of fungally infected Brahmin (mutated livestock) feces, and is packaged in the form of an inhaler. In Fallout 2 it gives boosts the player's stats by 2 action points, 1 strength and 1 perception, and addiction can only be cured with Jet antidote (see above). In Fallout 3 it gives 30 action points. Fallout 2 and 3 both feature side-quests involving Jet. |
| Kerbango | Battlefield Earth (novel) by L. Ron Hubbard | Popular with Psychlo workers and executives, kerbango is the favored drink of their race. When "under the influence," Psychlos have been known to do such things as crash ground cars, gamble away vast sums of money and get into a variety of other troubles. |
| Kickapoo Joy Juice | Li'l Abner | A powerful liquor made by Lonesome Polecat and Hairless Joe. Undoubtedly derived from actual Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company of Connecticut (totally unrelated to Kickapoo Indians of Oklahoma), which produced and sold patent medicine consisting largely of alcohol. There is a real soft drink called Kickapoo Joy Juice which is similar to Mountain Dew. |
| Konlabos | The Rundown | A hallucinogenic fruit which causes temporary paralysis and a slight swelling in the tongue resulting in slurred speech. Similar in resemblance to a cherimoya. |
| Krrf | Thieves' World | The recreational of Choice in Sanctuary, the best kind is known as Carronne black |
| Leeches | Above the Influence | In a nationwide PSA campaign in the United States by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the early 2000s, an activity called "SLOMming", standing for "Sticking Leeches On Myself" was depicted as being popular with high school students looking to get high. Teens were depicted in partaking in this activity due to peer pressure, while the activity itself was depicted as rather distasteful. This sort-of backfired, as some young viewers thought this was a real means of getting high and sought to try it. |
| Lemon Sap | Boneshaker | A drug made by distilling a toxic gas called "Blight" that bubbled out of the earth when Seattle was destroyed. Prolonged use turns the addict into a mindless, zombie-like creature called a 'rotter'. |
| Levitol | Mallworld | A controlled but largely legal recreational drug which enables the consumer to fly. |
| Lho sticks | Warhammer 40,000 | A mildly narcotic plant-derived substance similar in packaging and use to tobacco cigarettes. |
| Loa Dust | Saints Row 2 | A powerful, addictive hallucinogen made from a combination of potent marijuana and synthetic chemicals, typically smoked. It was created by the Sons of Samedi, who had the market cornered before they were wiped out by the resurgent 3rd Street Saints. |
| Lotus tree | Homer's Odyssey | A plant, possibly native to Libya, with opium-like sedative and narcotic properties. It is believed that the plant may be related to the jujube plant or the date palm. The plant was the sole food of the Lotophagi. |
| Martian nori | Transcendence (video game) | A form of seaweed with hallucinogenic effects. |
| Mechanics | Transmetropolitan | Recreational drug taken with the aid of an AI. Both the AI and the human user enjoy hallucinations; the drug causes portions of the human body to develop into cybernetic implants. |
| Merge | Rudy Rucker's Wetware | Recreational drug which temporarily dissolves the user into a liquid. Allows sexual partners to experience each other very closely - in a shared puddle. |
| Mindprobes | The Last Book in the Universe | Mindprobes are the preferred method of entertainment after "The Big Shake", preferred to books and television. The Mindprobe allows the user to become a character in a story. Side effects include addiction, memory loss, and secreting a thick, clear fluid at the injection site (the top of the head). They are shut down at the end of the book. They come in a variety, such as adventure, and sexbos (porn). |
| Mimezine | Wild Palms miniseries | A drug giving the illusion of physical reality to holograms. |
| Mist | Prayer of the Rollerboys | It is a highly addictive green glowing liquid that was abused in the movie and supplied by the Roller Boys. It has a special ingredient which sterilizes its users. |
| Mnophka | Clark Ashton Smith's The Plutonian Drug | A narcotic derived on Venus, it has a devastating effect on the human physiology. It causes the user to experience extreme "time-compression" - although he cannot move faster than normal, it seems to him like he senses time flowing at a much faster rate, causing him to suffer sensory overload. Physical tissue trauma is consistent with the amount of subjective time the user has experienced. |
| Molecular Reward | Half Past Human - T. J. Bass | Hallucinogen. Overdose causes users to believe they are a bird, flower or mushroom. |
| Mood Patches | Doctor Who | In the episode "Gridlock", street traders sell mood patches that induce certain emotions or states, such as Bliss, Anger, Sleep or Forget. These are designed to help citizens deal with the endlessness of "The Motorway". However, the Bliss patch is discovered to have been extremely addictive, and had mutated into an airborne virus, leading to the city's surface population being wiped out. |
| Moon Rocks | The Simpsons | Rocks from the moon, ground up and freebased by Krusty the Clown. All they do is get him to normal. In reality, "moon rocks" refers to the practice of smoking heroin together with cocaine. |
| Moon Sugar | The Elder Scrolls | Illegal and addictive narcotic found in sugar cane grown in the Tenmar Forest. Causes euphoria and abandon. Refined into Skooma. |
| Neuroin | Minority Report | Effects similar to heroin, transparent gaseous drug administered using plastic inhalers. |
| Nuke | RoboCop 2 | A powerful, addictive, synthetic narcotic. It is a red, blood-like liquid that is injected, its effects resemble cocaine. The red color variety in the film is called "Red Ramrod". Several other types mentioned but never seen are White Noise, Blue Velvet, and Black Thunder. |
| Obscura | Warhammer 40,000 | An addictive, psychoactive drug which is typically smoked. |
| Ohxolosvennoy (ohx') | Warhammer 40,000
"Rebel Winter" by Steve Parker |
A thick, salty beverage similar to coffee made from the powdered bones of Grox (An aggressive and vicious reptilian animal kept as livestock) various stimulants and preservatives. |
| Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster | Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy | Said to be the greatest drink in existence by the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, this is one of the most intoxicating alcoholic drinks found in the known universe. The Guide states: "The effect of drinking a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick." It is also stated as being the alcoholic equivalent of a mugging, leaving one monetarily broke and with a bad headache. |
| Panda B | Climate Survey | A fictional drug used to test the validity of climate and bullying surveys in various public schools. The drug is nonexistent, so if a student claims to have taken the drug their answers are disregarded. |
| Phenyldihydrochloride benzelex | Withnail And I | A presumably rare designer drug in the form of a capsule, offered to Withnail by his dealer, Danny. It is implied that the drug - known on the street as 'the Embalmer' - is extremely potent and dangerous, although its effects are not specified. |
| Plutonian Nyborg | Heavy Metal | An inhaled white powder whose appearance resembles cocaine, and whose effects resemble those of marijuana; used by two alien starship pilots. |
| Prisoner's Honey | Fallen London | Physically transports the ingester into a dream. Multiple people may experience the same dream, which are usually (though not always) quite pleasant. Overuse may lead to "honey-mazing", where the user's body returns from the dream before his or her mind does. Becomes ordinary honey if removed from underground. While Prisoner's Honey is not a controlled substance, a related drug called Gaoler's Honey is one of the few things that are forbidden to buy or sell in the game's setting. |
| Psylenol | Planetfall | A drug stolen from a secret military program and reconditioned to be an over-the-counter psychedelic. |
| PTV | Silent Hill | A drug made from the White Claudia plant, indigenous to the town of Silent Hill, and then sold to tourists. |
| Rapture | Marvel 2099 | A highly addictive recreational drug of which Alchemax is the only legal distributor. |
| Red Death | Bringing Out the Dead (novel and film) | A dangerous strain of heroin possibly mixed with an unknown amino acid. It causes people to overdose more easily, and requires much more Narcan than normal to bring people out of it. |
| Red Eye | Cowboy Bebop | Amphetamine-type recreational drug, highly illegal and extremely valuable. Delivered in the form of an eye-spray, which cause the user's eyes to go red; hence the name. Users perceive a slowed rate of time, and seem to have incredibly quick reflexes as well as other heightened physical capabilities. In the original Japanese broadcast of the series, Red Eye is referred to as Bloody Eye. This created some confusion when the English dub renamed them Red Eye, though in at least one case, the drug is also referred to as Bloody Eye as well. |
| Red Kryptonite | Smallville | A red meteor-rock from the planet Krypton. It causes erratic behavior and loss of inhibitions in Kryptonians. |
| Red Sand | Mass Effect | A narcotic that allegedly uses element zero as its base, it is considered highly illegal. It is connected in some way to biotics, but its full effects and use are not clearly presented. Dealing in it is highly frowned upon and it is implied that even many criminal gangs and smugglers will avoid having anything to do with it. Overdose quite possible, as when a drug dealer was killed by pushing his face into a shipment, causing all of his four eyes to come in contact with his product. |
| Refrain | Code Geass | A highly addictive and illegal deliriant that afflicts abusers with hallucinatory flashbacks to pleasant past experiences. Temporary behavioral abnormality is exhibited while under the influence. Under Britannian law, penalization for possession is comparable to that associated with ordinary narcotics. |
| "Rhasvod" | Warhammer 40,000
Rebel Winter by Steve Parker |
A vodka-like beverage, popular among Vostroyan Imperial Guard regiments. Note that развод (razvod) means "dilutant" in Russian, and vodka is pure ethanol diluted in water. |
| Romulan Ale | Star Trek | A highly intoxicating alcoholic beverage of Romulan origin with a characteristic blue color. It is illegal in the United Federation of Planets, but most Starfleet officers have sampled it at some point. Dr. McCoy uses it for "medicinal purposes." |
| Pylene 50 | Blake's 7 | A highly addictive drug whose inevitable result is death. Its source is Alpha 7/5, or the Moon Disc, an ovoid, translucent plant which has partial telepathy and could move on its own. This plant grows only on the planet Zondar. |
| Saint | Dante's Cove | An entheogenic drug in the form of a mossy substance that can be eaten or smoked. In non-practitioners it produces a euphoric high, the feeling that one can accomplish anything and is untouchable. For Tresum witches, Saint is a sacrament called "star flower." When burned, it induces visions of the past and future and advances a Tresum practitioner's ability. |
| Skooma | The Elder Scrolls | An illegal and extremely addictive drug, reference to real world opium. The in-game book Confessions of a Dunmer Skooma-Eater is a reference to the real-world novel Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. |
| Slab | Discworld | A recreational drug for trolls. While technically not a fictional drug, so much as one that has no intoxicating effect on humans as Discworld trolls are silicon based life-forms, Slab is described as being a mixture of ammonium chloride and radium. Other troll drugs, mostly variants of Slab with worse effects, include Scrape, Slice, Slide, Slunky, Slurp and Sliver - they all start with "S" so that they're easier to remember. |
| Slo-Mo | Dredd 3D | An addictive drug in Mega-City One that accelerates the brain and senses by approximately 100 times making perception of reality decelerate by an equivalent amount, hence the name. |
| Snow Crash | Snow Crash | An hallucinogenic drug typically dispensed as a powder to be ingested or snorted. It has a related computer virus that can be transmitted through use of the drug. |
| Somnambutol | American Flagg! | An hallucinogenic barbiturate, used for recreational use in small doses, and in riot control, where it is commonly used in Snowball 99 capsule bullets. |
| Space | Transmetropolitan | An hallucinogen, often taken in the smokeable form space dust. |
| Space Coke | Cheech and Chong's Next Movie | An insanely powerful stimulant of extraterrestrial origin. Its unusual effects on Cheech comprise the movie's finale. |
| Space (Bee) Honey | Futurama | Space honey is honey produced by giant space bees with a narcotic (and possibly hallucinogenic) effect with different effects based on dosage. "One spoonful to calm you down. Two spoonfuls to help you sleep. But three spoonfuls and you'll go into a sleep so deep, you'll never wake up." |
| Spank | Grand Theft Auto III | An illegal, addictive narcotic that is referenced early in the game. Its effects are not described, but one mission has the player trapped in a parking lot with "Spanked" suicide bombers that speak maniacally, as if unaware or uncaring of the fact they're about to blow themselves up. An in-game radio station features a call from a person seemingly on the drug experiencing an excited delirium and paranoia. |
| Spark | G.I. Joe | Spark causes erratic behavior and is lethal in excessive doses. |
| Spike | The Onion | A stimulant causing rush of physical strength, inability to feel pain, and sociopathic impulses. Originally developed by the Pentagon as a combat drug. Featured in a humorous article entitled "CIA Unveils New Ghetto Drugs for '98" (July 9, 1997). |
| Spin | Bravestarr
Episode: The Price |
A drug which is absorbed through direct skin-contact, and apparently has stimulant and hallucinogenic qualities; high doses and extended use can cause violence and aggression. Withdrawal is apparently equivalent to that of cocaine. Long-term use and overdose are apparently lethal. |
| SQUID | Strange Days | A street name given to bootleg devise used to record events directly from the wearer's cerebral cortex, which, when played back through a MiniDisc-like device, allow a user to experience the recorder's memory as if they had been there themselves. |
| Stimutacs | Sealab 2021 | An "herbal dietary supplement", produced from all natural ingredients (99% kelp, 1% |
| Stonepick | David Ohle's Motorman | A substance that produces a mildly dissociative effect likened to "feeling through cotton" when chewed. |
| Substance D | A Scanner Darkly | This drug dampens the links between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, causing vivid hallucinations. Also called "Slow Death", it is lethally addictive; long-term use can lead to two separate, mutually unaware personalities. |
| Superadine | City of Heroes | Known as "Supes" on the streets, this is a powerful, man-made narcotic based on various super soldier formulas. Its effects include increased strength and endurance, as well as heightened confidence. However, it can cause physical mutation and mental degradation in users. A small minority of users demonstrated the ability to actually see and sometimes travel into alternate dimensions, but were driven mad in the process. This phenomenon formed the basis of developing a technological means to duplicate the dimensional effect and allow safe travel. |
| Supercool | Upright Citizens Brigade | A totally legal recreational drug, it was the running gag in Season 2, culminating in the season finale which was a supposed exposé on the drug. Supercool is revealed to be nothing but the popular candy, Pixy Stix. |
| Swampweed | Gothic | Hallucinogenic, euphoria-inducing drug, similar to cannabis. In the first game, was used by the Swamp Camp during meditation to increase their susceptibility to "visions" from The Sleeper. In Gothic 2, it distorted vision and appeared to slow time when used. Comes in different forms of varying potency: Green Novice, Northern Dark, Dreamcall and Black Rhobar (where it is mixed with tobacco). |
| Synthehol | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Synthehol is an artificial substitute for alcohol, allowing the drinker to experience the intoxicating effects without any adverse after-effects such as hangovers. In long-term doses it creates a psychological (but not physical) addiction, similar to cannabis. |
| Synthemesc | A Clockwork Orange | A hallucinogen, its name derived from "synthetic mescaline", in the milk-plus sold in the Korova Milkbar. |
| Tempus | Transcendence (video game) | An amphetamine that "slows down the user's subjective time". |
| Theobromos | Kage Baker's "The Company" series | A mood elevating substance when ingested in large quantities. While it refers to theobromine, its effects on immortals are unique; overindulgence causes disorientation, loss of balance, emotional effusiveness, and hangovers. |
| Thionite | E. E. Smith's Lensman series | A highly addictive euphoriant that is involved in the most dangerous illegal drug trafficking in the Lensman universe—possession and processing of it is considered a capital offense. Produced from plants based on the planet Trenco (reputed as the second-most-dangerous planet in the Milky Way next to Arisia), the final product is a purplish powder that is inhaled through the nose in minuscule amounts (no more than a few grains). The user then experiences the simultaneous satisfaction of every desire in his/her mind (noble and base alike) while the user's muscles flex involuntarily in a "muscle-lock." The entire experience (provided it is non-fatal) lasts just minutes. Overdose is fatal and frequent: aided by the drug's nature. |
| Totally Awesome Sweet Alabama Liquid Snake | Metalocalypse | An incredibly potent drug that causes you to "get so high your brains will blow chunks into the Milky Way". It causes you to go insane and leaves your mind a blank slate. It was used by members of the hair metal band, Snakes n' Barrels, during their reunion concert and caused all but their lead singer, Pickles, to go insane. |
| Trellium-D | Star Trek: Enterprise | In Vulcan physiology Trellium-D causes severe psychotic effects to the race when exposed in large quantities, and addiction is smaller controlled quantities. In either case the compound deteriorates the part of the Vulcan brain that is used to control and suppress emotions. |
| Tripwire | Transmetropolitan | An hallucinogen simulator, used and abused by sentient AIs. |
| Triptocaine | Heavy Rain | An narcotic drug that is blue in color and is inhaled through the nose. An 'Essential Painkiller'; Trip—root word from many needed amino acids such as Triptophan, and—caine from many local anesthetics such as Procaine and Lidocaine. Norman Jayden, one of the characters in the video game, has a serious addiction to the drug and suffers from withdrawal attacks. Symptoms of withdrawal include Epistaxis, involuntary twitching in the limbs, mild impairment of hand–eye coordination, temporary weakening of vision, hallucinations caused by use of ARI, and temporary weakening of muscle functions. The only known methods of stopping the attacks are exposure to cold water, wait out and endure the pain, or to take the drug. Norman is fearful of taking Triptocaine to stop his withdrawal attacks because he knows that frequent use or overdosing on the drug is fatal. |
| UltraJet | Fallout series | A super-potent version of Jet especially formulated for ghouls, who are barely affected by ordinary Jet. |
| Ultrazone | Red Dwarf | A mechanoid narcotic, which causes circuit board degradation. |
| U4 | SiN | This is a dangerously addictive narcotic developed by biochemist Elexis Sinclaire. A deliberate effect of the drug is genetic alteration, causing horrible mutations in the user. The drug was developed and distributed for the purpose of building a bio-engineered army for world conquest. |
| V | True Blood | The blood of vampires. In humans, causes intense euphoria and hallucinations, and psychically connects two or more people if they use it together. Also enhances the senses and strength. It is known to have intense withdrawal effects. Several characters have used it as an aphrodisiac. |
| Valkyr | Max Payne | Highly addictive narcotic in the form of a green neon liquid that spread rapidly through New York City. Junkies are prone to babbling and unpredictable violence; it produces a complete disassociation from reality and nightmarish hallucinations which can actually be experienced in Max Payne. |
| Vellocet | A Clockwork Orange | Ingredient in milk-plus, sold in the Korova Milkbar. Produces alertness and ultra-violent tendencies; presumably an amphetamine of some sort, given the name. |
| Videodrome | Videodrome | While not a drug in the usual sense, Videodrome produces drug-like effects when someone is exposed to it. It produces externalized hallucinations, usually of a disturbing nature, and then finally develops a reality-warping ability in the user. Videodrome is actually a radio signal that induces the growth of the "Videodrome tumor" which grants said abilities. |
| Vraxoin | Doctor Who episode "Nightmare of Eden" | Addictive and deadly narcotic drug, also known as "vrax" created from mandrells, alien monsters from the planet Eden. When electrocuted (or perhaps destroyed by high temperature) mandrells are reduced to a fine, grey powder: vraxoin. The drug causes lassitude, happiness and general well-being, while withdrawals are characterized by paranoid mania. The mandrells of Eden are a "new" source of vraxoin, implying that there was once another source. The fact that planetary customs officers still scan for vraxoin - apparently some decades after the last source was destroyed - implies that either additional sources are known, or there are considerable stockpiles. Refer to the essay Doctor Who's Drug War: An Investigation into the themes of "Nightmare of Eden" from Earthbound Timelords. |
| White Claudia | Silent Hill series | A highly addictive hallucinogenic drug cultivated from a plant of the same name (reference to Aglaophotis Plant) which is indigenous to Silent Hill. The cult in Silent Hill ritualistically uses the drug in their religious ceremonies. Additionally, Dr. Michael Kaufmann uses the drug to keep members of the Alchamilla Hospital staff addicted and thus completely loyal to him. |
| Whiz | Mona Lisa Overdrive | A stimulant that is sold in solid pellets, it must be ground up and delivered to the mucous membranes at the back of the throat via an inhaler. Attempting to snort the powder can cause serious damage to the nasal passages. |
| Zom-B | The Onion | Crystalline narcotic substance with similar effects to barbiturates; when injected, causes a stuporous mental coma and involuntary stimulation of the user's motor functions and reflex system resulting in compulsive wandering, hence the name "Zom-B". Featured in a humorous article entitled "CIA Unveils New Ghetto Drugs for '98" (July 9, 1997). |
| Zyme | Deus Ex | Hallucinogenic, euphoria-inducing drug, also magnifies vision when used. Overdoses can be fatal (only to NPCs as the player is able to ingest large quantities in a short time with no after effects aside from the "drunken effect"). Recreational drug of choice in the world of Deus Ex. Many mods have this drug give bullet time and enhanced abilities |
Read more about this topic: List Of Fictional Medicines And Drugs