Alcohol and Cocaine: what the published research says
PubMed indexes 8 records that name Alcohol and Cocaine together, either in the title or in an interaction, co-administration, or pharmacokinetic context. Each one is listed below with its study design and, where the abstract states one, the authors’ own conclusion, quoted and linked. This page reports that literature. It does not tell you whether to combine them.
Every statement below is attributed to a named, dated, linked source.
This page lists published research relevant to Alcohol and Cocaine. It deliberately does not state whether the combination is safe, whether it interacts, in which direction, at what dose, or how far apart to take them.
A study appearing here is not proof that an interaction exists. Two substances can be named together in a paper that never tested them in combination, and a source listed as background may cover only one of them.
Findings are quoted from each abstract as the authors wrote them. NutriStack has not re-analysed, pooled, or reconciled them, and they may disagree with each other.
NutriStack’s own interaction assessment for this pair is not published here. It has not completed qualified-human clinical review, so it is withheld from search. See the publication gate.
Nothing here is medical advice. Decisions about prescription medication and supplements belong with your prescriber or pharmacist, who can see your full regimen.
The research
8 studies naming Alcohol and Cocaine.
Strongest relevance first: papers naming both substances in the title, then human trials and systematic reviews.
European addiction research · 2026 · PMID 42525575
Systematic Review
“Co-use of alcohol and cocaine enhances and prolongs the subjective and reinforcing effects of cocaine. Although this may be perceived as an efficient way of drug use, it also poses serious cardiovascular risks.”
Journal of forensic and legal medicine · 2023 · PMID 37832170
Systematic ReviewHuman subjects
“Based on these data we were also able to refute misconceptions about the relation between cocaine and violence published in the popular press and governmental reports, because it appeared that there was hardly any empirical support for this widely shared opinion. Probably, contextual factors, including cocaine use disorder and personality disorder, may better explain the assumed association between cocaine and violence.”
The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 1993 · PMID 8371143
Clinical TrialRandomized Controlled Trial
“When alcohol was given simultaneously, COC plasma levels were higher (possibly as a result of an inhibition of hepatic metabolism of COC produced by alcohol), norcocaine plasma levels almost doubled and cocaethylene was detected in plasma, so that its basic pharmacokinetic profile could be described. The simultaneous use of both drugs produced changes in heart rate and blood pressure that could increase the risk of cardiovascular toxicity associated with the use of COC.”
Journal of clinical medicine · 2024 · PMID 38592322
Review
“Interestingly, the presence of cocaethylene, a unique metabolite generated only via a pharmacokinetic interaction between alcohol and cocaine, carries an 18- to 25-fold increase over the absence of cocaethylene (cocaine-alone users) in the risk of sudden death and is associated with myocardial injury and cardiac arrest, probably due to the inhibition of cardiac ion channels by cocaethylene.”
“Most cardiac-related risk assessment tools do not ask about cocaine use, which can prevent clinicians from making optimal therapeutic choices. Greater awareness of cocaethylene is needed for clinicians, and those who use cocaine should also be aware of the potential for polysubstance use of cocaine and ethanol to produce a potentially potent and long-lasting psychoactive metabolite.”
“Altogether, the work conducted so far indicates the NPS/NPSR system as a potential target to develop new treatments for alcohol and cocaine abuse. An NPSR agonist would be indicated to help individuals to quit alcohol consumption and to alleviate withdrawal syndrome, while NPSR antagonists would be indicated to prevent relapse to alcohol- and cocaine-seeking behavior.”
“So, evaluation of the substance TTL should account for the blood levels of not only cocaine itself, but also its all toxic metabolites. In addition, for rats died of a lethal dose of cocaine (60 or 100 mg/kg) combined with 1 g/kg alcohol, we also determined the TTL at the time of death, demonstrating that death would occur once the TTL reached a threshold (~16 μM).”
The Canadian journal of cardiology · 2022 · PMID 35840019
ReviewHuman subjects
Names both Alcohol and Cocaine in its title.
Limitations
What this evidence cannot tell you.
Search-based evidence indexes have real limits, and it is worth being explicit about them:
Selection. These records were found by searching PubMed titles and abstracts for both substance names alongside interaction and pharmacokinetic terms. Relevant work that phrases things differently, or is not indexed in PubMed, will be missing.
No effect size. The quoted conclusions are the authors’ words about their own study. We have not extracted effect direction or magnitude, and a single study’s conclusion is not a consensus.
Population mismatch. Findings in healthy volunteers, animals, or a specific patient group may not transfer to you, your dose, or your formulation.
Absence is not safety. Few published studies means the combination is under-studied, which is not the same as established as safe.
Nearby evidence
Other pairs with published research.
Pages covering Alcohol or Cocaine alongside a different substance.
NutriStack is a free iPhone app for organising a supplement routine: what you take, when, and what the published record says about it. Its exploratory interaction checker covers Alcohol, Cocaine, and several hundred other substances.
The checker is a research and organisation tool, not a clinical decision aid, and its per-pair assessments are excluded from search until they pass claim-level review.
NutriStack is an informational and organizational tool, not a medical service, and not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting, stopping, or changing any supplement or medication.