Can someone please tell me what the immediate dangers are of combining Percocet, Cocaine, and Alcohol?

Question

I have a friend that uses cocaine and alcohol recreationally. He recently suffered and injury, and is on Percocet.

I am trying to tell him that while he is on this drug, he should not drink, or do cocaine, but he is not listening to me, and on a few occasions has done all three in one night.

Can anyone here tell me medically why this is a particularly bad idea? I would like to show him an educated answer.

Answer 1

Speedballing kills.  Speedballing is when you mix painkillers and coke. It's how Chris Farly died.  

Answer 2

1) this sounds like you are writing a school paper; 2) you are substituting the word "recreation" for "addiction".

Alcohol is a depressant which often impairs someones judgment.  Percocet is one of a dozen opiates (Oxycodone being the most frequently abused these days and causes death if inhaled) that causes heart rhythm problems in very large doses. (so does the benzodiazepine family [ie Xanax]). Lastly cocaine causes heart problems because of the terrible demands it places on it.

I don't mind someone killing themselves by taking drugs, but if they take the life of another through impairment caused by that behaviour, they should be locked up forever.

All in all, taking all 3 together means the person will die if this activity is continued.  Get the person into treatment.  Psychological problems lie at the root of his addiction.  Addiction is never the disease, it is a symptom.

Answer 3

Simple answer: It's bad because he could die. Percocet and alcohol are depressants, and in combination could cause him to pass out and vomit, and inhale his vomit, and die. Or just pass out, and stop breathing, and die, like in the case of Heath Ledger, a healthy 28 year old. The cocaine could impair his judgment, so he drinks too much, or takes too much Percocet. The alcohol could also impair judgment and make him do something unsafe or deadly.