“I heard my son say the word ‘Voodoo’ on the phone. What does it mean?” Many families discover the problem from a word they do not understand. Street names change quickly, and some sound completely innocent. This glossary explains the best-known names in circulation in Egypt, the real substance behind each, and points you to a detailed guide for each substance.
Why are there so many drug names in Egypt?
Because on the illegal market a name is a tool for marketing and disguise: it makes a substance seem new or “mild” and makes it harder for parents to follow a conversation. Sometimes the name changes while the substance stays the same, as with the names for methamphetamine, and sometimes the name stays while the substance changes, as with synthetic cannabinoids, which can carry the same name with a different compound from one month to the next.
According to a statement from the Fund for Drug Control and Treatment of Addiction published by Masrawy in June 2026, hashish topped the substances among callers seeking treatment at 63%, followed by synthetic drugs such as crystal meth, Strox, Voodoo and shabu, then tramadol, heroin and polysubstance use. In the Fund’s data for the first nine months of 2024, as reported by Egypt Telegraph, “bouder” also appeared among the most widespread synthetic drugs.
A quick map: which family does each name belong to?
Shabu, shabo, ice, crystal, Captagon: substances that cause sleeplessness and energy followed by a crash, and their greatest danger is psychosis.
Strox, Voodoo, Chemical, Paper, and bouder is described as one of them: lab-made substances far stronger than hashish.
Budra (“powder”), Tamol, and names for adulterated powders such as Shadow: their greatest danger is overdose.
Hashish, bango, hydro: the active ingredient is THC in varying concentrations.
Lyrica, cockroach pills: real medications used in dangerous doses and ways.
Any new name with no known identity: assume it is a mixture of unknown strength.
Stimulant names: shabu, ice and Captagon
- Shabu, shabo, ice, crystal: all are names for methamphetamine in crystalline form, as a Sky News Arabia report on its spread in Egypt in 2021 explained. Details are in the shabu guide.
- Captagon: the name of an old medication that no longer exists legally, and it came to be applied to illegal stimulant pills, mostly amphetamine. See Captagon.
Names for synthetic cannabinoids: Strox, Voodoo and bouder
These are the most dangerous of the recent names because they look like “herbs,” but they are chemical compounds sprayed onto dried plant material. Al Jazeera Net has tracked the rise of “Strox” and “Voodoo” in Egypt since 2018, and quoted a former Ministry of Health official saying that Voodoo is synthetic cannabis spreading under different names.
- Strox: the best-known name, and it has become a general name for nearly all synthetic hashish. See Strox.
- Voodoo: a trade name for mixtures of the same family. See Voodoo.
- Chemical: a general name applied to synthetic cannabinoids of every kind. See Chemical.
- Paper: paper soaked with the same substance in order to hide it. See paper drug.
- Bouder: a mixture the Egyptian press describes as based on synthetic cannabinoids, and different from “budra.” See Bouder.
Opioid names: budra, Tamol and Shadow
- Budra (“powder”): the popular name for heroin, and the Egyptian press itself uses it in reports of heroin factory seizures. See heroin.
- Tamol: originally a brand name for the drug tramadol, and popularly used to refer to tramadol in general. See tramadol.
- Shadow: a name that appeared in news of factory seizures alongside Strox, and its composition is not known precisely. We cover it together with the name “bisa” in the guide to bisa and Shadow.
Names for hashish, bango and hydro
Hashish is the pressed resin of the cannabis plant, bango is its dried leaves and tops, and hydro is a name under which supposedly stronger cannabis is marketed. In 2025, according to Ahram Gate, the Ministry of Interior announced the seizure of crops it described as hydro. The active ingredient in all three is the same, but their strength differs greatly, and the stronger varieties are more dangerous to mental health.
Medications with street names
- Lyrica: the best-known brand name of pregabalin, misused alone or with tramadol. See pregabalin.
- Cockroach pills: a street name for the drug Parkinol. Al-Watan quoted a pharmacist saying the name came from the black lines seen by people who take it in large amounts. See Parkinol.
I heard one of these names. What should I do?
- Do not confront your son in a moment of anger, and do not base a judgment on a single word.
- Watch calmly for other signs, which you will find in the guide to signs of drug use.
- If you need confirmation, learn what a drug test can and cannot detect, because some synthetic substances do not show up on rapid strips.
- Open the conversation at a calm time, and the phrases in the guide How do you convince an addict to get treatment? can help.
- Consult a specialist early through hotline 16023 or a confidential consultation at a licensed center.