Drug and street slang vocabulary in Spanish and English for court interpreters
Drug cases split neatly in two. The charging language (controlled substance, paraphernalia, trafficking network, search warrant) is fixed and comes from the state glossaries. The testimony, whether from an undercover officer or a cooperating witness, is full of slang: an 8-ball, stepping on the product, the trap in the door panel, the halcón on the corner. The exam does not expect you to know every code word, but it does expect you to render the meaning when the context makes it clear.
Formal terms below come from the Washington, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Alabama glossaries. Slang renditions come from the DEA's published list of slang terms and code words, which CourtFluent uses as a source module. A caution on slang: street terms change by region, city and year, and one word can carry several meanings (hit is a dose, a gunshot wound, or a contract killing). Treat the DEA renditions as the best documented starting point, not as the only correct answer, and always let the passage decide.
An undercover detective testifies and you interpret simultaneously for the defendant: "I met the defendant in the parking lot. He said he could front me an 8-ball and I could pay him after I moved it. He told me his connect steps on the product once before it gets to him. When we went back to the house there was a lookout on the corner, and inside I saw a digital scale, baggies, and about a kilo in the trap under the kitchen sink." Later a cooperating witness testifies in Spanish: "Yo era el halcón. Me pagaban por avisar si venía la policía. La mercancía la guardaban en la casa de seguridad y el conecte la traía fiada."
| English | Spanish | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Controlled substance | sustancia de uso reglamentado / sustancia regulada | WA |
| Controlled dangerous substance (CDS) | sustancia peligrosa regulada | ALWI |
| Imitation controlled dangerous substance | imitación de una sustancia peligrosa regulada | ALWI |
| Drug paraphernalia | accesorios para el uso de drogas / parafernalia para el uso de drogas CT lists eight forms; accesorios and parafernalia are the most common. WA: accesorios, adminículos. | CTWA |
| Narcotics trafficking network | red de tráfico de narcóticos | ALWI |
| Drug court | tribunal de drogas | AL |
| Drug bust | redada por drogas / golpe | CT |
| Undercover buy | compra clandestina / compra por policías encubiertos | CT |
| Informant | informador / confidente / soplón CT lists seven forms; soplón is the street register, informador or confidente the court register. | CT |
| Search warrant | orden de registro / orden de cateo CT and WA agree on both. | CTWA |
| Money laundering | lavado de dinero / blanqueo de dinero | WA |
| Drug runner | corredor de drogas / camello / mula CT also lists hormiga, zepe. | CT |
| Cocaine (powder) | cocaína / clorhidrato de cocaína | DEA |
| Crack cocaine | cocaína crack / cocaína base fumable / crack DEA. CT: cocaína en piedra for rock cocaine. | DEACT |
| Heroin | heroína | DEA |
| Black tar heroin | heroína de alquitrán negro / heroína tipo black tar | DEA |
| Heroin balloon | globo de heroína / globo con heroína | DEA |
| Fentanyl | fentanilo | DEA |
| Counterfeit oxycodone pill (M30) | pastilla de oxicodona falsificada / pastilla M30 falsificada | DEA |
| Oxycodone (OxyContin) | oxicodona | DEA |
| Alprazolam (Xanax) | alprazolam / Xanax (alprazolam) | DEA |
| Methamphetamine | metanfetamina / metanfetamina cristalizada DEA and WA agree on metanfetamina. | DEAWA |
| MDMA / ecstasy | MDMA / éxtasis / metilendioximetanfetamina | DEA |
| Marijuana | marihuana / cannabis | DEA |
| Marijuana concentrate / hash oil | concentrado de marihuana / aceite de hachís / aceite de cannabis | DEA |
| High-potency / hydroponic marijuana | marihuana de alta potencia / marihuana cultivada hidropónicamente | DEA |
| 2C-B / pink cocaine (tusi) | 2C-B / cocaína rosada / tusi | DEA |
| Speedball (cocaine + heroin) | mezcla de cocaína y heroína / speedball | DEA |
| Cutting agent | agente de corte / sustancia adulterante / diluyente | DEA |
| To cut / step on (drugs) | adulterar la droga / diluir la droga / rebajar la droga Spanish street form: cortar. Do not render step on literally. | DEA |
| Digital scale | balanza digital / pesa digital / báscula digital | DEA |
| Packaging baggies | bolsitas de plástico / envoltorios individuales | DEA |
| Gram | gramo | DEA |
| 8-ball / eight-ball (an eighth of an ounce) | una ochava / un ocho / un octavo de onza Un octavo de onza is the transparent form; ochava is what Spanish-speaking witnesses say. | DEA |
| Ounce | onza | DEA |
| Pound (elbow) | libra / una libra de droga | DEA |
| Kilogram (brick, bird, block) | kilogramo / kilo | DEA |
| Dose / hit / line | dosis / una línea o raya de cocaína / una inhalación Hit also means a gunshot wound or a contract killing in the DEA list; context decides. | DEA |
| Blunt | churro / porro / cigarrillo de marihuana | DEA |
| Hidden compartment (trap) | compartimento oculto / compartimiento secreto Spanish street forms: clavo, caleta. | DEA |
| Stash house | casa de seguridad / narcobodega / casa de resguardo de droga | DEA |
| Trap house | casa de venta de droga / casa de seguridad | DEA |
| Lookout | vigilante / vigía / halcón / campana Halcón is the Mexican street form; campana is heard in the Caribbean and Spain. | DEA |
| Drug dealer | distribuidor de drogas / traficante de drogas / narcomenudista | DEA |
| Plug / connect (supplier) | distribuidor de drogas / traficante de drogas Spanish street form: conecte. | DEA |
| Drug courier / mule | correo de drogas / mula / burrero | DEA |
| Drugs fronted on consignment | droga entregada a consignación / droga entregada a crédito Spanish street forms: fiado, al fiado, a crédito. | DEA |
| Drug proceeds / bulk cash | producto del delito / ganancias ilícitas / dinero en efectivo a granel | DEA |
| Blues / M30s | fentanilo / pastillas falsas de oxicodona (M30) / pastillas azules | DEA |
| Bars (Xanax) | alprazolam / Xanax | DEA |
| Meth / crystal / ice | metanfetamina / cristal / hielo | DEA |
| Rock | cocaína crack / crack | DEA |
| Blow / coke | cocaína / perico | DEA |
| Boy / dope | heroína / chiva | DEA |
| Weed / bud / pot | marihuana / mota | DEA |
| Dabs / wax | concentrado de marihuana / aceite de hachís | DEA |
| Hitting a lick (robbery) | dar un golpe / asalto / robo | DEA |
| Burner (firearm) | arma de fuego In drug testimony burner almost always means a gun, not a disposable phone. | DEA |
Raters score drug passages on meaning, quantity and role. Quantities are numbers: an 8-ball must come out as an eighth of an ounce (or ochava), a kilo as a kilo, and a price as the exact figure. Roles are terminology units: lookout, courier, supplier and dealer each have settled renditions above. Slang itself is scored on whether the meaning survives, so "he stepped on it" must become adulterar or rebajar la droga, not pisar. When a Spanish witness uses a regional word you do not know, do not guess; the exam scripts give enough context to render the function (the person who watches for police, the place the drugs are kept), and a functional rendition keeps the unit. The formal terms (sustancia regulada, orden de registro, parafernalia) are all-or-nothing and easy to prepare.
Common questions
Does the oral exam test street slang?
Consortium exam scripts include witness testimony in colloquial register, and drug cases are a common setting. You are not expected to know every code word, but you are expected to render the meaning when the passage makes it clear. The DEA list is the best documented reference for the English side.
How do you say 8-ball in Spanish?
The DEA list gives una ochava, un ocho and un octavo de onza. Un octavo de onza is safest in court because it states the quantity; ochava is what a Spanish-speaking witness is likely to say, so recognize it in both directions.
What does step on mean in a drug case?
To dilute the drug with a cutting agent to increase volume. The DEA renditions are adulterar, diluir or rebajar la droga, and the street form is cortar. A literal pisar is a meaning error.
Why do slang renditions vary so much?
Street terms are regional and change quickly. Halcón (lookout) is Mexican; campana is Caribbean and Spanish. The DEA report documents terms as reported by field offices, and CourtFluent marks them DEA so you know they come from one federal source rather than a consortium glossary. Let context and the witness's own words guide you.
- Arraignment vocabulary in Spanish and English for court interpreters
- Plea and sentencing vocabulary in Spanish and English
- Drug case vocabulary: English to Spanish
- Street slang: English and Spanish
- Crimes and charges: English to Spanish
- Scoring Units on the Court Interpreter Oral Exam: What Raters Actually Count
- Consecutive practice with testimony that fights back
- DEA Intelligence Report DIR-022-18, Slang Terms and Code Words
- Washington State Courts, Glossary of Legal Terms (English-Spanish)
- Connecticut Judicial Branch English-Spanish legal glossary (linked from the consortium glossary index at courts.wa.gov)
- Wisconsin Court System, Glossary of Legal (and Related) Terms and Courthouse Signs, English/Spanish (the same New Jersey-derived glossary Alabama uses)
- NCSC, State Interpreter Certification self-assessment tools and oral exam overviews