Combining alcohol with other drugs is very dangerous.  First, the use or possession of alcohol by people under 21 is against the law, and second, it could kill you.  Alcohol is a drug that slows down, or depresses the central nervous system, so it works like a downer on your body.  Although you may have a hard time believing that alcohol is a depressant because you feel more “up” with a drink or two, drinking can slur your speech, affect your judgment and throw off your muscle coordination.  These signs are telling you that your body and mind are slowing down, and drinking can put you to sleep or make you pass out (a sign of alcohol poisoning).

The combination of alcohol with other depressants is a common cause of accidental overdose and death.  Alcohol and depressants work on your central nervous system in the same way – they both slow it down.  So when they’re combined, the effect of the two drugs is multiplied in unpredictable ways.  There are two groups of depressants: barbiturates and tranquilizers.  Some slang terms include goof balls, barbs, reds, tuies and nemmies.  A few brand names of tranquilizers are Valium, Librium, Xanax and Ativan. 

When you combine alcohol and stimulants, or uppers, you’re using alcohol to slow down your body functions and another drug to speed them up.  Mixing these two types of drugs sends different messages to your body; it doesn’t know whether to speed up or slow down.  Your heart may even stop from the mixed signals your body’s getting.  Stimulants are amphetamines that are often referred to as “speed.”  Amphetamines include Ritalin, Adderall, Methedrine, Benzedrine, Dexedrine, a.k.a. Meth, Bennies and Dexies, crank, purple hearts, and ice.   Diet pills are also amphetamines.  Cocaine is also a stimulant & is often referred to as coke, rock or crack.  Another drug you may be surprised to see on this list is caffeine.  Combining energy drinks and alcohol has the same effect on your body; your body has to process chemicals that are both slowing it down and speeding it up, and you can cause a lot of damage this way.

Mixing alcohol and any type of drugs, either legal or illegal, can be very hazardous to your body.  Drugs affect individuals in completely different ways, even over-the-counter drugs you can buy from the grocery store like cold or allergy pills.  Also, using alcohol with medications that are specially prescribed to you, like antibiotics or anti-depressants, can make them useless when treating your health problems.  Because it’s impossible to predict how a certain drug will affect you, adding additional drugs to your system increases your risk of doing harm to your body.  Especially while driving, the combination throws off your thinking and coordination, and is like double dosing on downers.  This is absolutely no state to drive in. 

Making time to learn the facts about mixing alcohol and other drugs will enable you to make safe choices for yourself.  Check out our other articles in this Alcohol and Other Drugs section, especially Prescription & Over the Counter Drugs.  If you have even the slightest concern that you (or someone you know) may be drug dependent or are misusing drugs, we suggest you talk to someone at a counseling center about your drug use.  If this is an emergency, please call 911, or for more information contact a TeenLine Peer Listener Monday through Friday between 2:00-5:00 p.m. or call the Crisis Response System Project at 833-7382 or 484-2970.  For information on treatment programs, contact Drug-Free Hawaii at 545-3228 ext. 34.  You can also email them at prc@drugfreehawaii.org or log on at www.drugfreehawaii.org.