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The weekend is just around the corner. How are you going to celebrate it? With booze and drugs? Watch out! Because not all drugs can be mixed and knocked back with a beer. Seriously though, in this article we would like to tell you about the safety of some of the most common combinations in poly-drug use.
Booze and drugs - Poly-drug use
Combining mind-altering drugs is called poly-drug use. Polydrugs actually just means a plural of different drugs and/or drinks. Because, let's face it, alcohol is just another drug. Some combinations lead to synergy. This simply means that there is a similar interaction. The effect then becomes stronger than one of the two. Take for instance the relatively safe combination of DMT and magic mushrooms. Because the substances and their effects are so similar, they will stack up and give you an extra strong trip - stronger than the trip that either of them already offer on their own. But the fact that they both do the same thing doesn't always lead to great effects. Alcohol and ketamine both cause impaired functioning of the nervous system. Especially around the locomotor system. This can cause you to pass out, vomit or a combination of both and choke on your own vomit - in summary: very dangerous!
Use the abovementioned document as a reference. With this overview, you can see at a single glance which substances you can and cannot combine. Divided into 6 safety classes. Please note: the information provided in this document was obtained from third parties and is a snapshot of research that was current at the time of publication. You can download the large version as a PDF file by clicking on the picture.
Weed and Alcohol
Weed and alcohol is probably the most common combination you'll find on the streets and in pubs. Yet in nightlife, alcohol gives weed a bad name. Alcohol takes away your inhibitions, which makes you speak up. A few glasses later you are more likely to say what you think at that moment and this can lead to irritability in others. If weed is also involved, weed is suddenly the bad guy, since alcohol is the only legal drug in most countries.
Weed and alcohol go well together, but only if you have experience with both and know when you have had enough of one or the other. Nightlife aside - combining weed with alcohol increases the risk of headaches, dizziness and nausea. Furthermore, this relatively unpredictable combination can go wrong, leaving you feeling more paranoid than with (a lot of) weed alone. If the combination of weed and alcohol goes wrong, it can be particularly unpleasant. Nevertheless, weed and alcohol is perhaps the most commonly used combination of drugs. This is true in countries where they are permitted, but also in countries where weed is prohibited or tolerated.
Alcohol and XTC
The combination of alcohol and XTC is a well-known party mix. At house parties and festivals, where the alcohol flows freely, XTC is also used. Whether it is allowed or not. So the question is whether combining alcohol and XTC is also safe. The Trimbos Institute, which specializes in these kinds of drug-related issues, says you are more likely to get headaches and nausea and that you are likely to experience a severe hangover. Because alcohol impairs your judgment, you are likely to consume more XTC (MDMA) than you should. Alcohol and XTC both reduce inhibitions and you may do things that you later regret.
The active substance in XTC, MDMA, is known to cause a Tuesday dip. This is a kind of emotional hangover that can last a day or two and sometimes longer. You feel dull, depressed and in some cases even anxious. This is caused by an exhaustion of your serotonin balance. XTC gives this happy hormone a strong boost, but when serotonin is depleted, it takes a while for your body to replace it. You can imagine how unpleasant that is in combination with a hangover from the alcohol.
Need a little something to help you out of your Tuesday dip? Then take L-tryptophan or 5-HTP to recover more quickly! You can find these and other supplements to make the first half of the week a lot more pleasant in our special category filled with all kinds of anti-hangover products.
Dull, depressed and in some cases also anxious: that is the typical Tuesday dip.
XTC and Magic Mushrooms
Mushrooms and Magic Truffles contain the psychedelic substances psilocybin, psilocin and baeocystine. That is why you can trip a lot with magic mushrooms and truffles. Combining XTC and magic mushrooms is not a crazy thought. Since the social and love enhancing effects of MDMA in XTC can be quite pleasant. In combination with the euphoric feelings that accompany a mushroom trip, XTC can make the experience of a mushroom trip quite intense. At first it's fun, later it can become a lot more unpredictable. It strongly depends on the setting whether combining XTC and magic mushrooms will be a success. Mushrooms are definitely not a party drug, although they are often used as such.
Weed and Magic Mushrooms / Truffles
And what if you want to combine weed and magic mushrooms? Is that a good idea? It depends on which source you refer to. But according to the information of the Trimbos Institute it is not a good idea. This is because weed (including hashish and concentrates) can make a psychedelic trip much more intense. Delusions and hallucinations can be intensified and your thoughts are all over the place. That is why this combination can be risky, even at home. The effects of magic mushrooms can also be experienced again. In any case, wait with smoking weed until you have noticeably passed the peak of your trip. And make sure there is someone around you who you trust and who is sober. But that advice should always be followed when tripping on magic mushrooms or truffles.
Magic Mushrooms and Alcohol
No. Do not do it. Alcohol increases the chance of a bad trip considerably. Alcohol and mushrooms only go together in Italian cuisine. The anxiety and unpredictability that mushrooms and alcohol cause together is not worth the experiment.
Safe Smart drugs
Now a word about safe smart drugs. Did you know that there are plenty of drugs that you can combine with alcohol and weed? Our smartshop is full of them. Take kanna for example. This natural South-African tranquillizer combines very well with a drink or a joint. It enhances the overall effect. Kanna gives a feeling of connection, increases your empathy and gives you a euphoric feeling. XTC light, but from nature. Speaking of which - other smart drugs that are great at parties are Kryptonite, Party-E, and Lemon X. All three give you a boost of energy, a greatly improved mood and they are safe to combine with booze or weed.
A big absentee from the list is the smart drug salvia divinorum - a strong psychedelic herb from our smartshop. Salvia works just a bit differently than the usual psychedelics like LSD, magic mushrooms and 2C-B for example. Where these drugs can give you all kinds of beautiful visions, salvia is quite confusing. For this reason we strongly advise against combining salvia with anything at all. Salvinorin A, the active ingredient in salvia, is the strongest psychedelic drug found in nature, so just stick to the leaves or extracts.
Combining Drugs and Medication
As we have no medical background, we cannot tell you what you can take in combination with drugs or alcohol. From what we can find online, we only see research on combinations that could be very dangerous or incomplete research. In no case do any reliable sources say, “This is a good idea, man!” Logically, combining antidepressants and psychedelics is very dangerous. Psychoses are lurking. We strongly advise you not to do it. Also watch out for combining kratom. Kratom is a bit like opioids, which means that you can only safely combine it with a soda.
More information about kratom? Read the description on the kratom category page.
Risky Business, Combining
Whatever conclusion you draw after reading this article, combining drugs is never without risk. It may have gone well for you, but that does not mean it is a good idea for everyone to combine different drugs. We therefore do not recommend you to experiment. So: do you not like high risks, but do you dare to take a gamble? First check if the combination you are planning is wise on our spreadsheet. If you've made it to the end of the article, you'll certainly find it back.
By the way, also read the article why psilohuasca is so dangerous. This combination of magic mushrooms and MAO-inhibitors is very dangerous!