Abstract
Research shows that alcohol and cocaine are frequently used simultaneously; however, few field studies have been conducted on the patterns, functions and contexts of simultaneous cocaine and alcohol use. Simultaneous use is typically defined as using both substances within a three hour period of one another [1]. Several studies have shown that a large majority of treatment clients with cocaine problems also drink alcohol [2]. The health profiles of treatment clients concurrently dependent on cocaine and alcohol compared to those who are dependent on either cocaine alone or alcohol alone has recently been reported [3]. In this study, health consequences across four dimensions of physical, social, mental and economic health were similar for the concurrent and cocaine group, but both of these groups had significantly worse health profiles across all dimensions than those dependent on alcohol alone.
Highlights
Research shows that alcohol and cocaine are frequently used simultaneously; few field studies have been conducted on the patterns, functions and contexts of simultaneous cocaine and alcohol use
Three reasons or functions that may explain why alcohol use is common among cocaine users: 1) more intense feelings of a high beyond either drug alone, 2) less intense feelings of alcohol inebriation, and 3) tempering the discomfort of coming down from cocaine
The reason for the reversal of the effect of financial problems for cocaine versus alcohol dependence is unclear and should be followed up in future research [32,33,34]. These analyses demonstrate the importance of the reasons for simultaneous substance use in explaining alcohol dependence
Summary
Research shows that alcohol and cocaine are frequently used simultaneously; few field studies have been conducted on the patterns, functions and contexts of simultaneous cocaine and alcohol use. The health profiles of treatment clients concurrently dependent on cocaine and alcohol compared to those who are dependent on either cocaine alone or alcohol alone has recently been reported [3]. [7] reported that among the four dimensions for motivations developed by [8], simultaneous users reported enhancement, coping and social reasons as most important [4]. Three reasons or functions that may explain why alcohol use is common among cocaine users: 1) more intense feelings of a high beyond either drug alone (i.e., enhancement), 2) less intense feelings of alcohol inebriation, and 3) tempering the discomfort of coming down from cocaine. Postulate motivations for simultaneous use include: enhancement, modifying the effect of either substance alone, and/or social reasons
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