Whitey (drugs)
- This article is about the slang term 'whitey', for other uses see Whitey.
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Whitey is a slang term for when a recreational drug user, as a direct or indirect result of drug use (usually cannabis), begins to faint and usually faints. The term comes from the way one's skin turns pale during and after a fainting episode. While fainting is usually only a problem for those with low blood pressure, it can become possible for those without hypotension to faint after using cannabis or other drugs which have the short-term effect of lowering the blood pressure. Whiteying is perceived by the stoner subculture as the result of using too much cannabis within too short a period of time. In fact the factors that usually facilitate fainting, such as tiredness, lack of fluids and food, and a hot and humid environment, as well as natural hypotension, are just as important as the amount of cannabis involved. Therefore, one can 'throw' a whitey having used only what may be regarded as a perfectly moderate dosage. Whiteying sometimes involves vomiting and shakiness. It has been alleged in some internet sites that Whiteying(in this case, vomiting) is a result of having low blood sugar, and that eating something with a high sugar content will reduce the risk of vomiting, but this is merely hearsay, and is backed by no real evidence. Terry Oakley + Nick Horsley suffer from these kinds of "whiteys".
Another form of whiteying is "the dead zone" as it is popularly known amongst certain groups of Cannabis users. The dead zone causes you to become aggressively submissive and dizzy. When in the dead zone any form of mobility and communication is extremely difficult and stressful, all these symptoms combined would create the illusion that you are indeed "dead". The dead zone can last for an hour or ten minutes depending on the person. To enter the dead zone you must combine drug use and alcohol in amounts, you are not certain to enter the dead zone it depends on the same factors as the normal whitey.
Popular culture
In the UK cannabis television documentary, Stoned in Suburbia, former international cannabis smuggler Howard Marks refers to an episode where he whiteyed after engaging in a smoking competition with some Germans on a book-promoting visit to Germany.