The interaction of alcohol and cocaine: A review

Alcohol and cocaine are often ingested simultaneously, as recreational drugs. What is their combined effect on humans? Because cocaine is a stimulant and alcohol a depressant, one might expect that concurrent use of cocaine and alcohol would attenuate certain attributes of both; however, each drug achieves its effects through an assortment of mechanisms. The effects of these combined mechanisms are routinely discounted by the user and often by professionals as well. Recent information on the mechanisms and psychopharmacology of their interaction is reviewed.