What Happens When You Combine Alcohol With Magic Mushrooms?
Drugs and alcohol can be plenty dangerous enough all on their own. But when multiple substances are combined, such as alcohol and mushrooms, those individual dangers can escalate and even lead to much more dangerous risks due to the way they interact with one another and affect the brain and body. If you’re wondering about the physical and psychological signs of alcohol addiction in a loved one, you might also have to be worried about other drugs they might be taking and how those can amplify and change the effects of drinking.
Table of contents
» How Do Alcohol and Psilocybin Interact in the Body?
» What Are the Risks of Mixing Alcohol and Magic Mushrooms?
» Can Combining Alcohol and Mushrooms Cause Psychosis?
» How Can You Stay Safe After Mixing Substances?
» Key Takeaways on Alcohol and Mushrooms
» Resources
How Do Alcohol and Psilocybin Interact in the Body?
To better understand the risks of combining alcohol and mushrooms, it’s helpful to know how each of these substances can affect the user and how they interact together. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, slowing down the user’s brain and nervous system and leading to short-term effects like:
- Impaired judgment and memory
- Coordination problems (slower reaction times and lessened balance)
- Euphoria
- Relaxation
- Lowered inhibitions
- Problems with impulse control
- Mood swings
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness
- Loss of consciousness or coma
Magic mushrooms are hallucinogenic, disrupting how the brain normally works by changing the amount of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Short-term effects include things like:
- Altered perceptions
- Hallucinations
- Intense feelings and emotions
- Introspection
- Feeling connected to others and the outside world
- Mood changes
- Anxiety or paranoia
- Confusion
- Psychosis
- Hallucinations
- Nausea and vomiting
- Dilated pupils
- Drowsiness
- Sweating
- Fast heart rate
If these two drugs are taken at the same time, the effects of each substance can be amplified or even become different than usual, leading to things like:
- Increased stomach upset and chance of nausea or vomiting
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure
- More severe impact on coordination and motor skills
- Dehydration
- Headaches and muscle pain
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures
- Bad “trips”
- Increased anxiety or paranoia
- Even more impaired decision-making and risky behaviors
- Extreme confusion
What Are the Risks of Mixing Alcohol and Magic Mushrooms?
Alcohol is a potent central nervous system depressant, so it’s no surprise that it’s one of the big things to watch out for when thinking about potentially dangerous drug interactions. While it’s legal and widely available, alcohol is known to be risky in many combinations with other substances. Here are some of the riskiest combinations:
- Alcohol and Energy Drinks or Caffeine: Normally, as someone consumes alcohol, their body will tell them they’re getting tired, and they’ll be more likely to quit drinking and go to sleep. However, strong energy drinks or high doses of caffeine can make someone not feel tired and not be aware of just how drunk they really are, and that can increase the risk of overdosing on alcohol, potentially suffering from alcohol poisoning.
- Alcohol and Stimulants: The same problem that can happen with alcohol and energy drinks is also a risk when combining drinking with stimulants like ADHD medications. These two substances together can significantly increase the risk of serious problems, including heart attacks and other serious issues.
- Alcohol and Opioids: Opioids are a central nervous system depressant, just like alcohol, and if they’re taken together, the user’s body can dangerously slow down. This can lead to labored, shallow, or even stopped breathing, brain damage, and death.
- Alcohol and Cocaine: This particular combination causes the body to produce a substance known as cocaethylene that can put great stress on the heart and lead to death or severe cardiovascular problems.
- Alcohol and Mushrooms: Combining alcohol with psychedelics or hallucinogens like magic mushrooms, LSD, or ketamine can lead to severely altered moods, perceptions, and ways of thinking that last for a while and can become dangerous and distressing.
Taking two or more substances at the same time can become dangerous and even deadly in a hurry, which is why it’s so important not to engage in this risky behavior. However, even if these risks are known, potential interactions are a real threat for those who regularly use any kind of substance, including people who are addicted to magic mushroom gummies, who might feel like they can’t stop using drugs and are more likely to experiment with potentially dangerous combinations.
Can Combining Alcohol and Mushrooms Cause Psychosis?
One of the many risks to worry about when combining alcohol and mushrooms is indeed psychosis, longer or intense “bad trips,” and even overdosing on mushrooms. Psychosis is the loss of a sense of reality, meaning it’s beyond just the perception changes and altered moods that someone on a psychedelic like mushrooms might expect to experience. Instead, it can bring about scary and intense problems like:
- Hallucinations, such as hearing voices or seeing things that aren’t real.
- Delusions, or false beliefs that can’t be beaten out by being shown or told that they’re false and not real.
- Struggling to communicate clearly or follow a conversation
- Reduced emotional affect or expression
- Withdrawing from socializing with others
Psychosis is a problem that can be caused by many different things, including mental health conditions like schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, as well as genetics, issues with brain chemistry balance, and even medical problems like brain tumors or serious infections. However, it’s important to note that psychosis can also be brought on as a result of substance use, such as combining alcohol and mushrooms.
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How Can You Stay Safe After Mixing Substances?
If you’re thinking about combining multiple drugs, even if one of them is a legal substance like alcohol, and wondering how you can stay safe, there’s an unpleasant truth you need to accept: There is no safe way to mix substances because it’s impossible to know just how they’ll interact and affect your brain and body.
Mixing two central nervous system depressants, for example, might make one person sleepy and fatigued while leading to severe respiratory problems, stopped breathing, and even death in another. This same issue can happen if someone takes a stimulant, such as cocaine or ADHD medication, with an opioid, alcohol, benzodiazepine, or other central nervous system depressant.
It’s already dangerous enough to take a psychedelic on its own. When combined with alcohol, the risks can become greatly amplified, leading to things like bad trips, confusion, paranoia, and emotional distress, as well as seizures or death. That’s why it’s so important not to mix substances.
If you or someone you love is spiraling out of control with substance use and mixing substances, it’s a major sign of a drug or alcohol problem, and you need to get help right away before things get even worse. Recognizing the warning signs of potential substance use problems and knowing about your own risk factors in this matter, such as understanding if alcohol addiction runs in families, can help you monitor these potential problems and realize when it’s time to get help.
Key Takeaways on Alcohol and Mushrooms
- Combining multiple drugs can lead to dangerous amplification of effects or even new ways that the substances can affect the brain and body.
- Alcohol and mushrooms are a potentially dangerous drug combination that can lead to problems like bad trips, paranoia, nausea and vomiting, and even psychosis.
- Alcohol has potentially dangerous interactions with many different substances, including other central nervous system depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens.
- People who regularly misuse drugs, even legal substances like alcohol, are at a higher risk of potentially dangerous drug interactions.
- There is no safe way to combine multiple drugs.
If you or a loved one is struggling with drug and alcohol misuse or experimentation with combining substances, it’s time to get help today, before it’s too late. WhiteSands Treatment in Florida offers the compassionate and expert care you need to break the chains of addiction and get back on track toward a better life, free of drugs. Call us at 877-855-3470 to get started on the road to recovery today.
Resources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Drinking Alcohol While Using Other Drugs Can Be Deadly
- Medical News Today – The Effects of Mixing Mushrooms and Alcohol
- University of California Santa Barbara Student Health Service Alcohol & Drug Program – Risky Alcohol/Drug Combinations & Safety Tips
If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.
About the Author
Jackie has been involved in the substance abuse and addiction treatment sector for over five years and this is something that she is truly eager about. She has a passion for writing and continuously works to create informative pieces that not only educate and inform the public about the disease of addiction but also provide solutions for those who struggle with drug and alcohol abuse.
