Mixing Alcohol and Crack Cocaine

According to Alcohol Interaction with Other Drugs, mixing one drug with another drug or drugs, such as mixing alcohol and crack cocaine, is called poly-drug abuse. Poly-drug abuse is fairly common, so know that you are not the only one who has experienced an addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol. Connect with someone who can help you with your addiction now by calling .

As indicated by the National Drug Intelligence Center, crack cocaine is derived from powdered cocaine by dissolving it in a water and ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) mixture. After the powdered cocaine is dissolved, the mixture is boiled until a solid substance is formed. The solid substance is removed from the remaining liquid, dried, and broken into chunks, known as rocks. Crack cocaine is almost always smoked, delivering large quantities of the drug to the lungs, producing an immediate and intense euphoric effect.
Smoking crack cocaine can produce aggressive and paranoid behavior. Crack cocaine is abused because it is readily available, affordable and produces an immediate high. Addictions to crack cocaine seem to develop more quickly than those to powdered cocaine because it is smoked and not snorted. If you are considering or actively seeking treatment for your addiction, call and get started.

Mixing alcohol and crack cocaine can have different effects on users, sometimes lethal ones. Mixing crack cocaine with alcohol can lead to the user having a false sense of sobriety. The user then may drink more alcohol than his or her body can handle, causing alcohol poisoning. As stated by Santa Clara University, research shows that when crack cocaine is used in high doses with alcohol the user usually experiences the high of both drugs. Your metabolism speeds up when you mix alcohol and crack cocaine together. This allows the alcohol to reach the brain quicker. This causes you to feel the effects of the alcohol sooner. Mixing crack cocaine with alcohol will have unpredictable and potentially dangerous effects, according to Alcohol Interaction with Other drugs, sometimes more than your body can handle.

“Smoking crack cocaine can produce aggressive and paranoid behavior.”-Projectknow.com
Santa Clara University also points out that scientists have found that abusing crack cocaine and alcohol together leads to more impulsive decision-making than the use of either alcohol or crack cocaine alone. When you mix the two together, you are compounding the risk each drug poses and literally using your body for a complex chemical experiment. The Observer’s article maintains that a U.S. National Household Drug Survey’s estimation of the number of individuals who used crack cocaine and alcohol each month was 5 million. With that many users, addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol is not as uncommon as one would think.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse indicates that one of the dangers of mixing crack cocaine with alcohol is that the mixture forms a toxic third chemical, cocaethylene. Cocaethylene, a potentially heart-stopping chemical, builds up in the liver over several years of use. Cocaethylene has a longer effect on the brain because it is more toxic and harmful. This causes more danger to the heart and a higher risk of overdose and sudden death than crack cocaine alone. An article in the Shields Gazette advises that the physical effects of mixing alcohol and crack cocaine can include:

• Heart attack
• Liver toxicity
• Respiratory problems
• Coma
• Sudden death
• Other health dangers

Santa Clara University mentions that low doses of cocaine increase an individual’s blood pressure and heart rate. When alcohol is combined with it, cocaine increases the heart rate three to five times the rate that it would alone. NIDA suggests mixing crack cocaine and alcohol can also produce psychological effects. Experiencing addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol puts your physical and mental health at a major risk.
Using substances with opposing effects, such as crack cocaine and alcohol, may allow an increase in the total amount of either or both substances to be consumed, as pointed out by Student Health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports there were 36,450 overdose-related deaths in the United States in 2008. The CDC also states there were approximately 100 overdose-related deaths each day in the United States in 2007. The number of overdose-related deaths grew to roughly three times the number of overdose-related deaths in 1991. The number of deaths attributed to drug overdose (36,450) is quickly gaining ground on the number of deaths attributed to vehicle crashes (39,973).

Some people mix crack cocaine and alcohol due to lack of knowledge about the possible effects. Others make a conscious decision by mixing the two drugs together, seeking enhanced effects. If you are addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol, call now to learn more about the addiction treatment options and recovery. Get started on the path toward living a healthy lifestyle.