lude

Lude is slang for Quaalude, the brand name for methaqualone, a sedative-hypnotic drug popular recreationally in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The drug produced a euphoric, disinhibiting effect and was associated with disco culture: We popped a couple of ludes before hitting the club.

Quaalude was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 1984, but lude persists as a nostalgic reference to that era's drug scene.