If you’re thinking of mixing cocaine and alcohol, we advise you to NOT DO IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
Mixing cocaine and alcohol creates a new super drug in your system called cocaethylene, and this substance drastically increases your chances of heart disease, stroke, liver failure, seizures, and even committing crimes or acts of violence.
It can even result in sudden death.
It’s true. Mixing cocaine and alcohol makes it difficult to tell how intoxicated you are, which could lead to alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, or fatal accidents (much more on this below).
Combining cocaine with alcohol is like playing a game of Russian roulette: You never know what’s going to happen. You could easily end up in the hospital or worse.
According to a study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association (SAMSHA) entitled Findings from Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits 2022, 21% of all drug-related emergency room visits were due to mixing two or more substances together. And the most common combinations were alcohol with cocaine, meth, or cannabis.
It’s clear: combining alcohol with any other drug can be life-threatening.
Please read on to learn more about the dangers of alcohol abuse, cocaine abuse, and what could happen if you decide you want to have a bump while drinking.

What Happens When You Mix Cocaine and Alcohol?
It might seem like you’re just having “more fun”, but when you mix cocaine and alcohol, you’re combining one of the world’s most harmful depressants with an extremely powerful stimulant.
The result is that you intensify the effects of both drugs and open yourself to extremely dangerous side effects.
You see, mixing cocaine and alcohol creates a new super drug in your system known as cocaethylene, and this drug puts a ton of strain on your cardiovascular system, brain, and body in general. Anything you’d feel from either drug normallyโthe anxiety attacks, depression, impulsivity, euphoria, etc.โwill all be magnified and last longer.
It gets worse, too. Mixing a stimulant with a depressant essentially “cancels out” each drug’s effects temporarily. This puts you at elevated risk of each drug’s life-threatening effects.
Normally, alcohol makes you tired, and you just want to go home and sleep. But not when you add cocaine into the mix. When you take cocaine and alcohol at the same time, you want to party all night. It makes it so you can’t even tell how much alcohol you’ve had. No matter what you do, you don’t feel drunk at all.
Mixing alcohol with cocaine increases your risk of dependence, organ damage, accidents due to intoxication, and even overdose simply because you increase your consumption of both substances.
What is Cocaethylene?
Cocaethylene is a potent metabolite that forms in your body when you mix cocaine and alcohol. Think of it like a super drug that your body creates after you mix these two substances together.
While it might sound like it makes the party more fun, itโs actually incredibly dangerous. According to a study, Cocaethylene, a metabolite of cocaine and ethanol, is a potent blocker of cardiac sodium channels, in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and referenced in the National Library of Medicine, “Cocaethylene is an active metabolite of cocaine believed to play a causative role in the increased incidence of sudden death in individuals who coadminister ethanol with cocaine.”
Cocaethylene is far more toxic than either drug on its own. So, it essentially takes all of the risks of taking coke or alcohol and supercharges them.
And it is incredibly dangerous for your heart. It makes your heart work harder and increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke. The same study found that it blocks cardiac sodium channels, which are essential to heart function. When these channels are blocked, it makes it difficult for electrical signals to travel properly. This can cause your heart to stop beating normally, which could be fatal (and sadly is a lot of the time in partygoers).
7 Dangerous Things That Happen When You Mix Cocaine and Alcohol
1. Sudden Death
We’re sorry to be so blunt, but mixing cocaine and alcohol could be deadly due to cocaethylene’s effects on your cardiovascular system.
Remember what the study said about immediate death in the previous section?
This new substance puts intense strain on your heart and puts you at greater risk of a heart attack.
According to a study published in February 2022 in Cureus and available on the National Library of Medicine’s website entitled Cocaethylene: When Cocaine and Alcohol Are Taken Together, cocaethylene is 10 times more cardiotoxic than cocaine.
It also increases your alcohol consumption drastically, because cocaine’s stimulating effects make it difficult to tell how much alcohol you’ve had.
Let’s cover that in the next section…
2. You Increase Your Risk of Alcohol Poisoning
Alcohol is a powerful depressant that slows your brain activity and central nervous system. The more you drink, the more you get tired, slur your words, and struggle to move. Those are all signs that you need to slow down.
However, cocaine is a powerful stimulant that counteracts those effects and makes it difficult to determine how much alcohol you've consumed.
That's the main reason why so many ER visits for substance abuse involve mixing cocaine and alcohol: coke lets you party all night, and you don't realise you've had too much until it's too late.
You Could End up in the ICU
Cocaine makes you feel like Superman or Wonder Woman. Alcohol slows your brain down, lowers your inhibitions, and destroys your decision-making capabilities. Combine these two, and you have a deadly duo.
Polysubstance abuse puts you at risk of car accidents, falls, fights, and all other types of dangerous scenarios. And that's why there are so many emergency room visits due to combining these two substances.
According to a study, Patients with detectable cocaethylene are more likely to require intensive care unit admission after trauma, in the November 2010 edition of the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, the presence of cocaethylene significantly increased the likelihood of ICU admission among 417 patients.
You Could Have a Stroke
Both cocaine and alcohol are neurotoxic, meaning that they damage your brain. Now, imagine that, only much more so when you combine the two together. Remember, taking them together drastically increases the effects of both drugs.
This, along with the longer half-life of cocaethylene, could trigger a stroke if you take too much of either substance.
In one study published in the Asian Journal of Neurosurgery entitled Cocaine-Induced Massive Ischemic Stroke Treated by Decompressive Craniectomy with Favorable Outcome, the doctors claim that "cocaethylene raises the risk of stroke due to its longer plasma elimination half-life" and that drinking alcohol and taking cocaine together caused this patient's massive ischemic stroke.
Long story short: Concurrent consumption is life-threatening. It puts you at a higher risk of both cardiovascular problems AND a stroke.
You Increase Your Risk of Committing Violent Acts
You may hear addicts use the term "Russian roulette" when speaking about their drug abuse. That's because you really never know what's going to happen when you take harmful, mind-altering drugs.
There's a dangerous misconception that people drink alcohol just to have fun or take a bump of cocaine to "get the party started".
But there's very little discussion in the public about how both of these drugs increase violence.
For one, there's a clear link between alcohol and violence that's indisputable. According to an article published in Frontiers in Psychology from December 2021 entitled Alcohol, Aggression, and Violence: From Public Health to Neuroscience, alcohol is a factor in 40% of all domestic disputes.
The link between cocaine and violence is similarly indisputable. One article published in Aggression and Violent Behavior and available on Sciencedirect.com entitled The association between cocaine product use and violence outcomes in Brazil: A comprehensive, systematized review by Daldegan-Bueno, Dimitri, et. al., says it perfectly:
"Cocaine use has been shown to be associated with increased intimate partner violence perpetration (aOR: 2.76) (Smith et al., 2012), homicide deaths (0.09 deaths/100 person-year) (Peacock et al., 2021), and with elevated rates of robbery and homicide in urban contexts (Baumer et al., 1998)."
Cocaine is associated with domestic violence, homicide, and higher rates of crime. Now imagine taking both of these substances together. Not a good idea.
You Increase Your Risk of Cocaine and Alcohol Addiction
Cocaine and alcohol are both highly addictive drugs and using them together puts you at higher risk of developing dependence.
One study from the National Library of Medicine entitled Cocaethylene, Simultaneous Alcohol and Cocaine Use, and Liver Fibrosis in People Living with and without HIV by Tamargo, Javier A., et. al., mentioned a 2018 meta-study that states three-quarters of people who use cocaine use alcohol.
What we're saying is that it's very common for people to have both cocaine addiction and alcohol addiction at the same time.
There's a hidden risk here that you need to be aware of...
Taking cocaine and alcohol together allows you to drink more alcohol. And the more alcohol you drink, the more your body craves it, and the more coke you'll need to reach that same high again. This is a deadly recipe for dependence.
It's also very possible that after a big session, you'll suffer from both cocaine withdrawal symptoms AND alcohol withdrawal symptoms. So you need to remain vigilant.
If you notice any of the following issues, please get treatment as soon as possible:
- Your tolerance to both drugs is increasing
- You're having problems at work or school due to your cocaine and alcohol use
- You're having family issues or neglecting personal relationships due to drugs
- You're isolating yourself in order to use
- You're lying or hiding your substance use
- Severe health complications such as liver damage
- Increasingly frequent binge drinking episodes
Mental Health Issues
Alcohol and cocaine use are associated with a range of negative psychological effects and cognitive impairments:
Mixing these two substances creates mental health problems greater than either of the two drugs separately. It's a growing concern all over the world. In fact, there's been a recent surge in "self-inflicted" deaths in the UK from people taking alcohol concurrently with cocaine.
One 21-year-old boy fell off a cliff near his home in Derbyshire after concurrent cocaine and alcohol use. His father found 8g of cocaine and a bottle of liquor near where he fell.
Love Island contestants Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon (and her boyfriend as well, sadly) all died from this combination. It's heart-wrenching to even think about it. The coroner found that cocaine, ethanol, and antidepressants were found in Mike's system after he was found dead in his apartment. Sophie's autopsy found the same.
Mixing these two drugs is incredibly dangerous to your mental health. It's like you're combining extreme depression with extreme impulsivity. Concurrent use of stimulants and depressants is NOT good for your mental health.
Treatment Options for Addiction
If you or someone you know is struggling with cocaine addiction or alcohol addiction (or addiction to any psychoactive substance), we want you to know that there's hope. Your life does not have to be this way.
There are proven treatments for addiction that work to eliminate your desire to use, repair you emotionally and physically, and put you on the path to living a healthier, happier life.
Here are the best treatments for alcoholics and cocaine users:
- Outpatient Rehabilitation: Outpatient treatment programmes take place in a mixture of settings. You don't always have to leave home, and you can do it on your own time. You might need to go to a treatment centre from time to time, but it'll mostly be a mix between your home, a medical clinic, and a psychological treatment centre. For most types of addiction, outpatient can be just as effective and far less disruptive.
- Medication-Assisted Treatment: Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) helps people recover from addiction by combining medicines with counselling and support from medical professionals. The goal here is to use medication to make it easier for you to deal with the physical and mental symptoms of addiction. When you feel better, it's easier to follow through on recovery and stay sober.
- Inpatient Rehabilitation: Inpatient alcohol addiction treatment is when you go to an addiction treatment programme for a longer period of time (usually 4-12 weeks). This is reserved for severe addictions. While at an addiction treatment centre, you'll receive therapy, 24/7 care, mental health support, and live in a safe, structured environment.
- Support Groups: We highly recommend that anyone suffering from addiction join a support group. They are free and have proven to improve recovery outcomes significantly. Alcoholics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous are the two most famous groups. However, you can find support groups for both alcohol and cocaine on Facebook and in your local area as well. In these groups, you'll learn coping skills, hear stories from other addicts, and can talk to others about mental health conditions.
How the Cabin Chiang Mai Can Help
The Cabin is Asia's longest-running and most respected luxury rehab, and we offer inpatient treatment programmes for alcohol and cocaine, unlike anything you'll find in the Western World. And it will come at a fraction of the price you'd pay anywhere in the US, Australia, Canada, or the UK.
Imagine waking up each day in a peaceful, serene mountain paradise surrounded by support staff 100% dedicated to your recovery.
Here, you can enjoy the recovery process in the stunning mountains of Thailand while participating in nature excursions, yoga, and even Muay Thai boxing training.
All of this happens in a peaceful, supportive environment where we combine Eastern holistic healing with Western medicine. Don't worry, it might seem far away, but even with travel expenses, it'll still be a fraction of what you'd pay at an expensive Western rehab.
Reach out today for your free evaluation. We're ready to help you reclaim your life from drugs and alcohol.