Alcohol and LSD

Can You Mix LSD and Alcohol?

LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is a synthetic (man-made) drug that has been abused for its hallucinogenic properties since the 1960s. If consumed in a sufficiently large dose, LSD produces delusions and visual hallucinations that distort the user’s sense of time and identity. It is often called “acid”, an illicit hallucinogenic drug that affects your perceptions for several hours and is detectable on drug addiction screening tests.

LSD (D-lysergic acid diethylamide) is one of the most powerful mind-altering chemicals. It is a clear or white odorless material made from lysergic acid, which is found in a fungus that grows on rye and other grains. [1] Is LSD addictive? LSD is not considered an addictive drug because it doesn’t cause uncontrollable drug-seeking behavior. However, LSD does produce tolerance, so some users who take the drug repeatedly must take higher doses to achieve the same effect. This is an extremely dangerous practice, given the unpredictability of the drug. In addition, LSD produces tolerance to other hallucinogens, including psilocybin.

As the effects of LSD are unpredictable, combining alcohol and LSD is dangerous for you and for your loved one. Adding alcohol into the equation can make a possible bad trip worse and potentially make you aggressive, hostile, or even violent.

LSD and Alcohol Addiction

The effects of taking LSD with other drugs (including those purchased over the counter or prescribed by your doctor) can be unpredictable and dangerous. Using LSD with other substances of abuse increases the chance of a bad trip and can lead to a stroke. Drinking alcohol and LSD may increase the chance of nausea and vomiting.

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LSD and Alcohol Effects

According to Healthline, when you combine alcohol and LSD, it reduces the effects of both substances. [2] This may sound like a good thing if you’re looking to chill out or come down from an especially bad trip, but it’s not that simple. When you mix drugs like alcohol and LSD, you increase the risk of overdose and death. Alcohol consumption further increases the unpredictability of LSD and worsens its adverse effects such as:

Can You Mix Alcohol and LSD? What are the Risks?

All substances come with risks — and alcohol and LSD are no different. As with any polydrug use, the health risks of using both alcohol and LSD depend on factors such as:

• How much of each do you ingest
• Whether or not you’ve eaten
• Your body size and composition
• Any other medications you may be taking
• Preexisting physical and mental health conditions
• Your tolerance to either LSD or alcohol
• Your surroundings

Users of both hallucinogens and depressants such as alcohol and LSD also risk serious harm because of the profound alteration of perception and mood these drugs can cause.

• Users might do things they would never do in real life, like jump out of a window or off a roof, for instance, or they may experience profound suicidal feelings and act on them
• With all drugs, there is also a risk of accidental poisoning from contaminants or other substances mixed with the drug

What is Polysubstance Abuse

The use of alcohol and LSD, or the use of more than one drug, also known as polysubstance use, is common. This includes when two or more are taken together or within a short time period, either intentionally or unintentionally. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 250+ American lives are lost to drugs every day and in 2019, nearly half of drug overdose deaths involved multiple drugs. [3]

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a chronic, relapsing disease with a highly multifaceted pathology that includes (but is not limited to) sensitivity to drug-associated cues, negative affect, and motivation to maintain drug consumption. SUDs are highly prevalent, with 35 million people meeting the criteria for SUD. 

11.3% of individuals diagnosed with a SUD have concurrent alcohol and illicit drug use disorders. Furthermore, having a SUD with one substance increases susceptibility to developing dependence on additional substances. For example, the increased risk of developing heroin dependence is twofold for alcohol misusers, threefold for cannabis users, 15-fold for cocaine users, and 40-fold for prescription misusers. Given the prevalence and risk associated with polysubstance use and current public health crises, examining these disorders through the lens of co-use is essential for translatability and improved treatment efficacy. [4]