Where can I learn drug and street slang?
I am a drug and alcohol counselor in a prison with many hispanic inmates from Philly and some from Puerto Rico. Where can I find drug and street slang?
10 Answers
I am being serious with this answer:
Can you gain the confidence of at least one of them and
ask them what terms they use for particular substances?
New drugs become popular frequently; their slang words
for different drugs also changes from time to time.
I don't know anywhere else you would find out except
directly from the source, and I would not suggest
walking around in some of those neighborhoods to ask --
I disagree with Julian. If you are a counselor in this particular area, you must have the vocabulary of those you are counseling. First, to understand them and then, to direct them. Counseling is an empathetic art. The person being counseled is more comfortable when the counselor can speak at the same level.
As a criminal attorney, one must know the vernacular of the criminal element. You cannot try a case without that knowledge, because if you don't have the vocabulary, you will not have the full grasp of the affair. This circumstance has nothing to do with lowering your standard, it has all to do with understanding.
There are many good books in the field of law and psychology that address this very issue, containing the language of the people that are in this condition.
I think I understand your need. You need to know what these guys are talking about. I think Nancy's idea makes a lot of sense... provided that such a thing is possible. The best alternatives are:
Check out the different sites that have been recommended to you. I will add my favorite one: http://www.urbandictionary.com. Most current Spanish and English street slang is posted there. It's a great site to check out the meaning of all those forbidden words we're not allowed to post here.
- Check out the various Internet sites dedicate to this very subject (you really can find just about anything on the Internet):
http://www.drug-rehabs.org/slang-names.htm (These are mostly English, but there are a few Spanish ones too.)
http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/slang/slang.shtml#A (Same as above)
http://www.noslang.com/drugs/dictionary/a (Yet another bilingual option)
http://webs.demasiado.com/tebeweb/argot.htm (this one is in Spanish only)
http://www.jergasdehablahispana.org/ This site is great if you know the word you're looking for.
- If that's not enough, you may look into the various Internet bookstores and see if you can find specialized reference works. I know that there are a few books specialized in Puerto Rican slang, but I'm not sure how much of the drug underworld they cover.
Good Luck!
By the way, I know several cuss words, but I don't know if I have permission to post them on here- with translations- from the big boss (Heidita or the like). 
So you could ask me privately or look them up one at a time on the internet. So until then I'll be 
Yeah I want to know what they are talking about, not try to talk like them. I don't do that with my english speaking inmates. I can usually follow their conversations and homework, written in spanish, well enough to get by. However, like some of the english slang I get lost. Especially the bilingual inmates who have their own words that are not spanish or english.
I absolutely agree with NancyLynn. The fact that you are counseling these people indicates the idea is to elevate their standard of living, if at all possible. So why would you want to lower your standards - those which supposedly they are trying to attain - as opposed to lifting theirs to yours. They should be learning your language. If these guys truly want to better themselves, they will be agreeable to attempting to talk to you on a civilized level, rather than continuing to use their ghetto, gang-banging, druggie drivel.
I will direct two forum members to this thread who might be able to help you.
they are both very familiar with Puerto Rican slang.
We have this thread on the forum, but I don't know if that helps a lot, as your question might be too specific.
This is a site I have only recently visited but it appears to have some Mexican slang (argot)... perhaps a few words will fit your needs:
http://www.gueyspanish.com/
I can think of one drug: mota which is the equivalent of weed (marijuana). You can check http://www.mexicoguru.com/mexican-slang.php or http://www.study-spanish-language.com/mexican-slang.htm for more slang
I googled "Spanish slang". Here are the top sites.. One of the sites gave a background of slang and then gave a few links. Those are listed too... The first four are with phrases and common alternative words to say (mostly modismos/idiomatic expressions).... last two are (a lot) more vulgar:
http://www.learn-spanish.com.mx/spanish-phrases/slang/ http://www.languagerealm.com/spanish/spanishslang.php http://www.mrgabe.com/dictionary/spanish/index.asp http://www.livingspanish.com/spanish-slang http://www.insults.net/html/swear/spanish.html http://www.alternative-dictionaries.net/dictionary/Spanish/1.html
Slang by region: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Spanish/Slang
...If you google "argot de las drogas" (drug slang), you will get plenty of results for that too...
Hope that was helpful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
