The Dangers of Mixing Benzos With Alcohol

The Compound Interest of Depressants 

The first thing to know about benzodiazepines and alcohol is that both substances are central nervous system (CNS) depressants. This class of drugs includes sedatives, tranquilizers, and hypnotics. These drugs are depressants because they slow down activity in the brain. This is an effective way to treat symptoms like anxiety, panic, stress, and some sleep disorders. With this in mind, it also explains how people can abuse alcohol when they experience these symptoms. 

Since these drugs slow down brain activity and the organ’s communication with the body, some of the expected side effects of CNS depressants include drowsiness, lightheadedness, dry mouth, headache, and poor concentration. These can happen whether people use CNS depressants as prescribed or if they abuse them intentionally or unintentionally. However, more extreme side effects can include memory loss, lowered blood pressure, and slowed breathing. Again, when we think about how alcohol use is characterized, or maybe how we experienced alcohol use ourselves, it’s easy to see these are all symptoms of a CNS depressant at work in the body.

This is why mixing benzos with alcohol is a dangerous decision. It becomes a similar risk to taking too much of a benzodiazepine drug or drinking too much alcohol. We know that someone who takes twice the amount of their Xanax prescription (or any benzo) is at risk of overdosing, as well as someone who decides to drink a case of beer instead of one glass. If we hear about someone doing that, we recognize that there is a dangerous likelihood of overdosing. However, many of us don’t realize this is exactly what we are doing when we mix benzos and alcohol together; we’re “compounding the interest” of CNS depressants at work in our bodies, and we run a high risk of overdosing. 

Paying Attention to the Warnings

As stated before, it is true that mixing alcohol and benzos can happen intentionally and unintentionally. However, even people who combine alcohol and benzos are probably not thinking about mixing two CNS depressant drugs; they are probably trying to experience euphoria from different sources at once. Others might think nothing of drinking a few glasses of wine or beer while they already have benzodiazepines in their system. Either way, the updated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning for benzodiazepine use suggests this is a widespread problem. “While benzodiazepines are important therapies for many Americans, they are also commonly abused and misused, often together with opioid pain relievers and other medicines, alcohol, and illicit drugs,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn in February 2020,

When we take the statement that of the 92 million benzodiazepine prescriptions dispensed in 2019, the drug is “commonly abused and misused,” we realize this is certainly not an isolated incident.

But besides authorities such as the FDA telling us the warning signs, we must recognize the warnings we can see when benzos and alcohol are used together. This means we need to know how to identify the signs of an overdose because this can save our lives or the lives of others. While some social signs might point to a benzo-alcohol combination (antisocial behavior, aggression, irritability), the big takeaway is that we should look for the kind of symptoms we might expect in an alcohol overdose or a benzo overdose. CNS depressants can have the same overdose symptoms, but mixing the two can worsen the conditions of both to life-threatening levels. 

Don’t Ignore What You See

If you know someone who uses alcohol or benzos, don’t downplay their outward symptoms just because they are frequent users; it could be that those outward symptoms are signs of multiple CNS depressants at work in their body at the same time. It’s always important to remember that outward symptoms point to inner symptoms of the brain and the vital organs in the body. They’re warning signs we can’t afford to ignore.