Using either cocaine or drinking alcohol comes with dangers, but mixing cocaine and alcohol can be disastrous. Many stumble on this combination accidentally and find they like the effects. Unfortunately alcohol and cocaine are social substances. Most people don’t see anything wrong with using them in a social setting.
Alcohol is a depressant and slows down the central nervous system. Cocaine, as a stimulant, has the opposite effect. While it can create a euphoric feeling, combining cocaine and alcohol serves to send your body a set of mixed messages that overwhelms it. Your body doesn’t know whether to downshift from the alcohol or upshift from the cocaine. Every part of the body is thrown into chaos, both while using this combination and when you stop. At 10 Acre Ranch, we understand the effects of using cocaine and alcohol, alone or together, and can help you break free of both.
The Dangers of Mixing Cocaine and Alcohol
Drinking alcohol and using cocaine each damage the body in their own way. Drinking alcohol regularly leads to damage to the heart and liver and increases the risk for cancer and many other diseases. Cocaine use is most known for its damaging effects on the heart and brain. Cocaine’s effects on the heart can lead to heart attack and even death from just one use.
Mixing the two drugs heightens the dangers of both and leads to additional hazards. Mixing cocaine and alcohol in the body creates a substance called cocaethylene, a potent cocaine metabolite. Cocaethylene potentiates the direct cardiotoxic and indirect neurotoxic effects of cocaine or alcohol alone. Cocaethylene significantly increases the toxic effects of both substances on the heart and the brain. Mixing cocaine and alcohol can lead to stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, heart attack, and even death.
As if these immediate effects weren’t scary enough, the dangers of mixing cocaine and alcohol can extend long-term. Cocaine antagonizes the learning deficits, psychomotor performance deficits, and driving deficits induced by alcohol. Combining cocaine and alcohol increases the risk to your heart and brain. If mixing the two doesn’t lead to an immediate cardiac event, there can still be long-term effects such as cardiac arrhythmias or heart muscle damage. In addition to the physical effects of mixing cocaine and alcohol, there can also be psychological effects. Researchers have found that combining these two drugs can increase the tendency toward violent thoughts and behaviors. While mixing these two substances may lead to a pleasurable effect in the very short-term, the health dangers far outweigh any of these effects. Additionally, long-term use of these drugs leads to tolerance which may lead to needing more of each to get the same effect. As you use more, the dangers increase.
What You Should Do if You Think You Have a Drug or Alcohol Problem
If your alcohol and drug use have you wondering if you have a problem, you may have a problem. At 10 Acre Ranch, we understand how difficult it can be to come to terms with a drug and alcohol problem. We’ve been providing Southern California with expert addiction treatment for nearly three decades. Our mission is to rebuild lives, restore families, and improve communities. We are one of the leading rehab facilities in California and offer a wide range of programs that will meet your needs. We are experts in helping people safely detox from drugs and do the work to stop using drugs. We provide a warm and welcoming environment where we integrate the treatment to heal the whole person. We are committed to helping you break free from active addiction. Contact us today and let us help you with your addiction!
