Alcohol and Opioids
Polysubstance use, or using more than one drug within a short period, is extremely dangerous. IN NO WAY do the Health Education and Promotion staff promote this behavior by posting this information. We know it will not guarantee that Hilltoppers will make the healthiest choices. But in the same way that learning an equation may or may not make you want to do math, informing them of the consequences of their choices may or may not aid them in making the better one!
The side effects of alcohol alone are serious, but they enhance the side effects of other drugs. Your reactions to the substances will be stronger, and your behavior will become even more unpredictable.
When someone intentionally mixes drugs, it is called intentional polysubstance use. The person takes the secondary drug to increase or decrease the effects of the primary drug, sometimes with a desire to experience the effects of the combination.
But polysubstance use can be unintentional, which occurs when the person uses a drug that has been mixed or cut with other substances without their knowledge OR they use a secondary drug.
Sometimes, people attempt to "balance out" one drug with another. Students will mix alcohol (depressant) with marijuana (hallucinogen) or ecstasy (depressant) with cocaine (stimulant) thinking the side effects will "cancel each other out".
In truth, the side effects are being masked and you are trickedinto thinking the drugs are no longer in effect. This increases the risk of overdose and seriously damaging the brain, heart, and other organs.
It may be hard to tell whether a person is high or experiencing an overdose. If you aren’t sure, treat it like an overdose—you could save a life.
- Call 911!
- If you are unsure what to do, explain the situation and ask what you should do next. The operator will help you!
- Administer Naxolone nasal spray or auto-injector if the individual has taken opioids.
- Examples of opioids are heroin, morphine, fentanyl, and prescriptions opioids.
- Be gentle, but make sure the person stays awake and is breathing.
- Lay the person on their side to prevent choking on vomit.
- Stay with the person until emergency assistance arrives.
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