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 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.

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:

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]