The Dangers of Mixing Ecstasy with Alcohol

Mixing Ecstasy or MDMA with alcohol might seem like a good time, but there are several risks associated with it that might give even the most drug-addicted of party animals pause. Quite a number of Ecstasy users love experimenting, and they have had their share of mixing their favorite drug with a few or multiple alcoholic drinks in order to keep the buzz up as they party. Alcoholic drinks are simply more socially and legally accepted after all, and Ecstasy is supplied in many a club. However, this is a dangerous cocktail of the dangerous or even fatal kind. Most people underestimate how risky it is to mix Ecstasy with alcohol. It’s because they’re ignorant or they let their own hubris and misguided feelings of indestructibility lead them to a slippery slope of self-destruction of which there might be no turning back.

Hopefully, this article covering the two substances will open some people’s eyes in regards to their lethality when used together or individually. It should also answer their burning questions as to why mixing them has cons that far outweigh the pros when push comes to shove.

What Is Alcohol and What Is Ecstasy?

Alcohol in this context refers to alcoholic drinks or those that contain ethanol, a type of alcohol produced by fermenting sources of sugar like fruits, grains, sugar canes, barley, or even vinegar. In many cultures, alcohol drinking plays an important part in socializing. You get drinks when you’re having a business meeting, a date, a get-together between friends after work, or any gathering for a special occasion. Most countries have passed laws that regulate the consumption, production, and sale of alcoholic beverages, including laws prohibiting minors or those who are under 21 years of age to drink alcohol. Because of its role in social gatherings and interactions, it’s likelier for adults to become alcoholics than they’d be drug addicts.

As for Ecstasy, it’s the most popular variant of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA. Yes, that comma between 3 and 4 is part of the chemical name of MDMA. Also, it’s considered the most famous and popular of the illicit club drugs out there. In turn, alcohol is the most popular legal drug for parties and social gatherings as well. The nightclubs where you can get Ecstasy also serve alcohol, so it’s not a stretch of the imagination for alcoholics and/or Ecstasy addicts to mix and match their drugs of choice together. They usually combine the two without a second thought at that. Alas, the effects of this combo won’t leave you as “ecstatic” as Ecstasy’s name would suggest.

They can cause serious harm to your body to the point of death, and MDMA specifically has a serious impact on the way your brain functions. If you’re an alcoholic or you’re dependent on MDMA, you should seek treatment for your addiction problems ASAP.

Why Is The Alcohol and Ecstasy Cocktail Mix So Popular?

Why are the addictive substances of alcohol and Ecstasy commonly mixed together? This is as opposed to any other drug and alcohol combination, mind you. The primary reason for this is because they’re among the most commonly available and bought substances in the world, with alcohol more so because it’s been legalized in many countries for years. Meanwhile, Ecstasy is a common party drug, and many people believe that a party is complete only if there’s alcohol or booze involved. Thus, with them being available there, it’s not a stretch to see them mixed together by their users, particularly partygoers.

Many people are ignorant of the risk associated mixing MDMA with alcohol. Ecstasy mixed with alcohol and fellow club drug Molly (which is also composed of MDMA like Ecstasy) is a lethal cocktail indeed that’s so risky you might as well be drinking bleach or antifreeze. Molly in particular is the version of MDMA that’s known for being cut with unsafe and questionable chemicals, thus making it the edgier party drug compared to Ecstasy. Ergo, the combination of two types of MDMA drug with alcohol can lead to some serious repercussions to say the least.

Effects of Alcohol and Ecstasy

Even though many alcoholics presume it’s a stimulant, it’s actually the opposite. It’s a depressant. You feel elated because it suppresses your mind and makes you, well, less smart than usual. Your mental faculties are impaired as well as your judgment, which also explains why people confuse alcohol as a stimulant instead of a depressant. They can’t know better due to the impairing abilities of alcohol. Alcoholic stupor is an illusion of stimulation.

When you drink alcohol, it’s distributed all over the parts of your body that contain water, such as your brain, thus impairing them. The brain after all is responsible for your behavior and cognitive thinking.

The side effects of using alcohol include:

• Dehydration
• Inhibition loss
• Impaired judgment
• Decreased alertness
• Lack of concentration
• Hot flashes or flushing
• Decreased coordination

Ecstasy or MDMA is the opposite of alcohol. It’s a stimulant instead of a depressant. What that means is that instead of being impaired or feeling less alert, your brain will release chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin in reaction to the drug in order to raise your awareness considerably. So Ecstasy is less like alcohol and more like coffee or even meth in general terms. It wakes you up and fills you up with feelings excitement and pleasure, even to the point of experiencing outright euphoria or a high.

This is why it’s named “Ecstasy”. It literally fills you with that very feeling. However, along with this euphoric high are several Ecstasy side effects such as:

• Paranoia
• Panic attacks
• Jaw clenching
• Blurred vision
• Cardiac arrest
• Muscle cramping
• High blood pressure
• Increased heart rate
• Aggression (especially when mixed with alcohol or other drugs)

To increase their euphoria, users might take more alcohol or MDMA. As a result, you can experience the following symptoms of Ecstasy overdose:

• Seizures
• Heart failure
• Panic attacks
• High blood pressure
• A feeling of faintness
• Loss of consciousness

Dangerous Consequences of Mixing Alcohol and Ecstasy

At clubs, the so-called party people tend to mix Ecstasy with alcohol because they’re both available in such environments and they think, “Why not?” Coupled with the innate foolishness of youth wherein they view themselves as invincible or indestructible and there’s a recipe for disaster right there. Let’s not forget to mention the people who mix Molly with alcohol or all three—Ecstasy, Molly, and alcohol—at the same time! In such places, it’s overcrowded and hot. MDMA type drugs tend to get you ecstatic or euphoric, making you forget to stay hydrated. You take in alcohol instead of water.

1. Overheating and Dehydration: This is absolutely dangerous because you might end up dehydrated when all is said and done. In your confusion while high, you might even drink alcohol to quench your thirst without realizing you’re only making things worse for you. Alcohol has a diuretic and dehydrating effect, such that you’ll end up with a higher risk of overheating exactly because this type of drink will leave you more dehydrated instead of hydrated even though it’s a liquid. Your body can overheat, which can lead to kidney and liver failure, coma, and outright death.
2. Cardiac Arrest and Clouded Judgment: Aside from the ever-present dangers of overheating and dehydration, you should also watch out for mixing a stimulant (Ecstasy) and depressant (alcohol) together. Opposites might attract, but in this context opposites can also put loads of pressure on your heart, which could then lead to the possibility of cardiac arrest. On top of all that, taking in both alcohol and Ecstasy clouds your judgment because your brain is in a drunken stupor while also stimulated with euphoria at the same time. This can make you do harmful or fatal things because of poor decision making. An accident might be around the corner for those who mix these substances together for ingestion.
3. A Tug of Wag of Depressant versus Stimulant: You might be curious what the effect is of combining two opposite drugs together: a depressant and stimulant. When it comes to combining Ecstasy and alcohol specifically, it curiously preserves your drunken stupor while also preventing the sedation associated with drunkenness. Although you might feel that Ecstasy helps mediate your alcoholic intoxication and its effects on your physical or bodily activity, studies have proven that cognitive ability remains impaired when consuming both substances in one go. You’re not stimulated enough to become sober.
4. Lowers Inhibitions and Sexual Arousal: Ecstasy isn’t only known as a club or party drug but also a sex drug. Taking MDMA doesn’t necessarily lead to sexual arousal in the same way that taking in an aphrodisiac like, for instance, clams. However, it does lower your inhibition, which can then lead to spontaneous sexual actions. This is the same deal with alcohol. It’s not an aphrodisiac per se but because your inhibitions are lowered and your though processes are impaired, it can lead to that conclusion. When they’re taken together, however, they arguably turn into an aphrodisiac since scientific study participants have reported greater sexual arousal from them. You can become quite frisky with them, leading to unprotected sex.
5. Ecstasy and Alcohol Overdose: Because you might feel unimpaired by drinking alcohol when high on Ecstasy, your chances of alcohol poisoning can greatly increase. At least without Ecstasy, you can feel the intoxication affect you, so you know when to stop drinking. Ecstasy also has a dangerous side effect that keeps your body from metabolizing other substances such as alcohol, which explains why your risk of overdose on alcohol as well as over drugs can rapidly increase from your Ecstasy intake. Some users might even take more alcohol or Ecstasy to increase their euphoria, aided by their impaired thinking.
6. Ecstasy and Alcohol Deaths: Aside from MDMA, Ecstasy pills might contain other substances. Some of these pills don’t even contain MDMA at all but instead other harmful drugs that are supposed to stimulate MDMA euphoria. You might therefore have difficulty knowing what substances you’re putting into yourself and your body by taking a so-called Ecstasy pill. Some of these drug interactions with alcohol can end up dangerous or even fatal as a result. You should know the source of your Ecstasy pills and if they’re legit. At the very least, with MDMA, you have an idea what to expect and what to avoid care of this article.
7. Is It Safe To Drink On Ecstasy? In light of the myriad of dangers, it doesn’t look like drinking on Ecstasy with alcohol isn’t worth the supposed euphoric buzz it’s supposed to bring. It’s more of a bad trip, really. Yes, this combo of drugs can intensify your sexual arousal and prolong that euphoria. However, it comes at the expense of unintended and dangerous drug interactions depending on what’s in your Ecstasy pill. It can also make you unaware you’re being dehydrated, overheated, or outright poisoned by excessive alcoholic intake. You can indulge in risky behavior like unprotected sex or driving while under the influence of two drugs.

Warning Signs of Dehydration and Overheating on Ecstasy

Because combing Ecstasy with alcohol is so commonplace and popular, it’s important for those who do this to know the dangers of this cocktail. They should also learn to recognize the warning signs of dehydration and overheating when your alcoholic drink is of the MDMA blend variety. This includes the following:

• Headache
• Confusion
• Nausea and vomiting
• Inability to talk properly
• Fainting, collapsing or convulsing
• Not sweating, even when dancing
• Feeling very hot and unwell overall
• Inability to urinate or urine becomes thick and dark
• Heart rate and pulse remain elevated even during rest

If you notice any such signs on your friends or yourself, you should sit down, take in some water slowly and don’t drink it all at once, and then seek medical assistance ASAP, perhaps even call 911 or whichever emergency number you have to call. Even if you feel like you’re overreacting, it’s better to be safe than to be sorry.

Depression That’s Linked to Alcohol or MDMA

Alcohol is a depressant, which means regularly drinking it lowers your serotonin levels. Serotonin, in turn, is the brain chemical responsible for making you happy, hence it being called the happy hormone. Yes, that’s part of the reason why people turn to alcohol in order to relieve their stress or to find momentary happiness. It is therefore ironic when alcoholic drinks instead lead to suffering, depression, and anxiety by those who drink them too much or have become addicted to them, thus their transformation into alcohol addicts or alcoholics.

Meanwhile, Ecstasy can cause an artificial serotonin surge in your brain, which makes you feel euphoric and ecstatic in the first place. As a result, your brain’s natural serotonin production system will be shut down temporarily to react to this hijacking. After becoming so high after consuming Ecstasy, you will subsequently drop to the lowest of lows in terms of depression following your MDMA use. It can take a whole day to a week for natural serotonin production to resume and replenish your supply.

You shouldn’t be surprised that combining Ecstasy with alcohol can increase your depression feelings, with its effects lasting longer and whatnot. If you’re suffering from clinical depression, Ecstasy might do more harm than good to your condition. This disorder, whether caused by substance abuse or naturally, is one of the biggest risk factors for becoming an addict. You might end up seeking more substances to drive away this state of sadness or unfeeling. Alas, substance abuse only exacerbates depression, which leads to a cycle of seeking more and more drugs that make your depression worse and worse until addiction has finally set in.

Further Dangers of MDMA Use

Whether you purchased MDMA in the form of Ecstasy or Molly, your chances of getting a drug with pure MDMA is slim to none. According to an article published on a 2013 issue of Playboy, author Frank Owen searched for pure MDMA from all the pill supplies for Ecstasy and Molly. He purchased 3 different pills and tested them for MDMA with a multi-drug screening test. He found out that many of them contained little MDMA. They instead contained mostly bath salts and many other dangerous drugs like opioids, meth, and even cocaine as well as several unidentifiable ingredients.

From 2010 to as recently as 2014, the New York Police Department seized Molly. Only 13 percent of this cousin of Ecstasy contained any traces of MDMA. The rest of the pills were instead composed of different chemicals and drugs, which included MePP, Pentedrone, 4-MMC, 4-MEC, MDPV, and Methylone. In other words, most users of what they think is MDMA isn’t actually MDMA, whether they’re taking Ecstasy or Molly pills. They’re instead a cocktail of dangerous chemicals and drugs that require separate articles on how they interact with alcohol. It’s impossible to know how your body will react when these substances interact with an alcoholic drink. This has also led to many Ecstasy-related deaths recently. Buyer beware indeed.

If you have further questions in regards to the consequences of mixing Ecstasy with alcohol, feel free to call Lanna Rehab’s 24/7 hotline in order to get more information. You can also book a flight and reservation at their inpatient facility in case you feel like rehabilitating an alcohol or MDMA addiction.

Lanna Rehab Can Help You Deal with Mixing Ecstasy with Alcohol

Extreme party animals might think that mixing Ecstasy with alcohol immediately translates to a good time, but that’s only because they’re unaware of the dangers associated with it. Or they don’t care. You should learn more about the effects of mixing those two together and the dangers associated with them. You should also learn to kick the habit when it comes to alcoholism or Ecstasy addiction by availing of a rehab tourism package from the inpatient clinic of Lanna Rehab in Chiang Mai, Thailand. They’ve made it so that even when taking into consideration travel expenses, their services remain cheaper than many stateside or local rehab centers in your area.

To learn more about these quality deals on detoxification, withdrawal symptom management, psychotherapy, and emergency services at Lanna, just call their 24/7 hotline right this minute. You won’t regret it.