The Dangers of Mixing Alcohol and Meth

Alcohol and meth are two drugs that many people misuse. When mixed, they create a dangerous and unpredictable mix. On their own, alcohol and meth have their specific set of risks, but combining them amplifies the danger significantly.

What Happens When You Mix Alcohol and Meth?

To understand the serious risks of mixing alcohol and meth, it’s important to first look at how each drug affects the body individually.

Alcohol is a depressant, which means it slows down brain activity and the body’s functions. When consumed, alcohol affects neurotransmitters like GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and glutamate, which help regulate brain activity.

By increasing GABA’s calming effect and inhibiting glutamate’s excitatory effect, alcohol essentially relaxes the body. This leads to impaired judgment, slowed reflexes, and reduced motor coordination. In higher doses, alcohol can lead to memory problems, emotional instability, and difficulty making decisions.

The more you drink, the more alcohol affects the brain’s communication. This can cause confusion, tiredness, or even blackouts.

On the other hand, meth is a powerful stimulant that drastically speeds up the body’s functions. It works by releasing large amounts of dopamine in the brain, which boosts energy, focus, and overall alertness. This sudden surge of feel-good chemicals creates a sense of euphoria, heightening mood and physical energy.

Meth raises heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. This can make a person feel very energized and highly focused. But as with all the stimulation, it also comes with heightened aggression, paranoia, and anxiety.

The Physical Dangers of Mixing Alcohol and Meth

Mixing alcohol and meth puts a significant strain on the body, particularly the heart, liver, and nervous system. The combined effects of these two substances can lead to a range of complications, some of which can be life-threatening.

Increased Strain on the Heart

One of the most severe potential effects of mixing alcohol and meth is the overwhelming strain on the heart.

Meth is a stimulant that causes a rapid increase in heart rate and blood pressure.

Alcohol is a depressant. It usually has the opposite effect, slowing the heart rate and lowering blood pressure. However, when combined, these two drugs create a conflicting impact on the cardiovascular system. Meth makes the heart beat faster. Alcohol affects blood pressure and adds more stress.

This mismatch can make the heart work too hard. This can lead to irregular heartbeats and palpitations. It also raises the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Liver Damage

Both alcohol and meth are metabolized by the liver, which already works hard to process these substances individually. When both substances are taken together, they must be processed simultaneously, which puts extra stress on this important organ.

Alcohol is a known poison for the liver. Using it for a long time can cause problems like fatty liver, cirrhosis, and liver failure.

Meth does not directly harm the liver like some other drugs. However, it can still put stress on the liver by affecting how the body processes substances.

Risk of Overdose

When alcohol and meth are mixed, the user might not feel the full effects of alcohol. This happens because meth numbs the depressant effects of alcohol.

Meth can hide the calming effects of alcohol. This can make a person drink more than usual. They may think they are not as drunk as they really are. This can result in alcohol poisoning, as the body is unable to metabolize the alcohol at a safe rate.

Overdosing on alcohol can suppress breathing, slow the heart rate, and even cause death if not addressed immediately.

Dehydration and Overheating

Both alcohol and meth place significant demands on the body’s ability to regulate its fluid balance and temperature. Meth raises the body’s core temperature, which can lead to overheating and heat stroke in extreme cases.

Alcohol, on the other hand, is a diuretic, meaning it increases urination and leads to dehydration. Together, these substances create a dangerous state. The body becomes overheated and dehydrated. This increases the risk of serious problems like kidney failure, heat exhaustion, or seizures.

Mental Health and Behavioral Risks

Mixing alcohol and meth is not only dangerous for the body. It can also seriously affect mental health and behavior.

Intensified Mental Confusion

Both alcohol and meth disrupt the brain’s ability to function properly.

Alcohol slows down brain activity, affecting cognitive processes like memory, decision-making, and problem-solving. Meth, on the other hand, increases brain activity, giving the user a false sense of clarity and focus.

When combined, these two can create strong mental conflict, making it very hard to think clearly or make good decisions. The brain is overwhelmed by conflicting signals, leading to cognitive disorientation and poor judgment. This mental fog can impair one’s ability to process information, leading to confusion about the situation at hand. This can be dangerous in both social and personal contexts.

Increased Likelihood of Risky Behavior

Mixing alcohol and meth significantly lowers inhibitions and boosts impulsivity. Alcohol can make people feel relaxed and less shy. In contrast, meth can make users feel energetic and powerful. This combination can increase the likelihood of engaging in risky behavior without considering the consequences.

Some of the most dangerous actions are unprotected sex and driving under the influence. Unprotected sex raises the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Driving under the influence puts the driver and others on the road at risk.

Also, increased impulsivity and irritability lead to violent or aggressive behavior, which can escalate conflicts and put the person or others in danger.

Heightened Risk of Anxiety and Paranoia

Alcohol can help a person relax at first. However, it eventually slows down the nervous system. This can make them feel anxious and cause mood swings.

On the other hand, meth can intensify anxiety, often causing feelings of restlessness, agitation, and intense fear.

The mix of alcohol’s depressing effects and meth’s stimulating properties can make these feelings worse. This can lead to a mental state where anxiety gets out of control.

Meth use can also cause hallucinations and paranoia, and when combined with alcohol, these effects become even more pronounced. The user may start to have delusions, strong fear, or suspicion of others, so it becomes very hard to act rationally and safely.

The Long-Term Consequences of Regularly Mixing Alcohol and Meth

Over time, the repeated use of both substances together can cause profound damage that can be difficult to reverse.

Addiction

One of the biggest long-term risks of mixing alcohol and meth is becoming addicted to both. 

Meth and alcohol work in such a way that they can reinforce each other’s addictive properties. Meth gives a strong high, while alcohol can calm the anxiety or restlessness that meth causes.

Together, they create a powerful combination that can make it even more difficult for someone to stop using either substance. This creates a harmful cycle of abuse. The person becomes more dependent on alcohol and meth to get by.

As time goes on, cravings get stronger. The need for both substances increases and can lead to a full-blown addiction.

Long-Term Brain Damage

Using alcohol and meth regularly can lead to long-term brain damage. This damage can affect thinking, memory, and emotions. Both substances impact the brain’s reward system but in very different ways.

Alcohol damages the brain’s ability to regulate neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, leading to mood instability and cognitive decline.

Meth causes too much dopamine to be released. Over time, this harms the brain’s ability to make and respond to dopamine naturally. This double attack on the brain can cause cognitive decline that includes memory issues, trouble focusing, and difficulty understanding information.

Emotional instability becomes more common as the brain’s ability to regulate feelings becomes impaired. The long-term result can be a lower quality of life, making it hard to keep a job, maintain relationships, or take care of personal well-being.

Increased Risk of Mental Health Disorders

The combination of alcohol and meth can also have a devastating impact on mental health. Long-term use of these substances can trigger or worsen existing mental health conditions.

Alcohol is a known depressant. Regular use can lower serotonin levels in the brain. This can lead to feelings of hopelessness and sadness.

Meth, on the other hand, can lead to heightened anxiety, irritability, and even psychosis, including hallucinations and paranoia.

When used together, these two substances can worsen mental health issues. This creates a cycle of emotional and psychological distress that is hard to escape. For some, these mental health issues may persist long after they’ve stopped using, making it harder to recover emotionally.

Find Treatment Today

If you or someone you know is having problems with alcohol and meth, it’s important to act now.

The longer these substances are used together, the more harm they can cause to both the body and mind, but recovery is possible with the right support, and you don’t have to face this challenge alone.

Contact New Jersey Addiction Interventions today. We can help you or your loved one begin the journey to recovery.

Don’t wait—your path to a healthier, sober future begins now.

References:

1. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): Alcohol’s Effects on Health
2. National Institute of Health (NIH): Methamphetamine
3. Science Direct: Combined and sequential effects of alcohol and methamphetamine in animal models