What Is A Speedball? 6 Alarming Facts About This Drug Blend

Many people who experiment with drugs are often not aware of the dangers associated with taking these illicit substances. When you take medication that was not prescribed to you or if you do not have a legitimate condition that you need to treat, these substances can cause havoc to your brain and body. But what’s more dangerous is combining different drugs to achieve an intense effect. One drug combination that is quite popular is the “speedball”. If you’re not familiar with the speedball, read on to discover some important facts about this drug blend.

A speedball is a mixture of two drugs, usually cocaine and heroin

So, what is a speedball exactly? A speedball drug is a combination of two drugs. The most common speedball is a mixture of heroin and cocaine, which is what most people are familiar with. Cocaine is a powerful stimulant while heroin is an opioid pain reliever. Combining these two potent substances is supposed to provide a strong euphoric effect. However, there can be different speedball combinations of drugs including heroin and morphine, heroin and meth, or benzos and cocaine.

People take speedballs to get a push and pull effect

Cocaine as a stimulant is supposed to be an “upper”, which means it will make you more hyperactive and alert while heroin provides the opposite effect. As heroin is a known sedative painkiller, it’s supposed to make you feel relaxed.  Because of the contrasting effects, people take this speedball combination wanting to get the “push-pull” effect. They think that they can enjoy an enhanced high without feeling the negative effects of either drug as these are countered by the other drug. However, many speedball users admit that this is not always the case. Instead, taking a speedball heightens the effects of both drugs including the negative side effects. Taking speedballs is known to cause serious side effects such as extreme confusion, paranoia, incoherence, insomnia and coordination problems.

Combination of commonly prescribed drugs are called “Kiddie Speedballs”

Unlike speedballs made with illicit substances such as cocaine and heroin, there are also speedballs made with commonly prescribed drugs. These speedballs are often referred to as “Kiddie Speedballs” and are created by mixing prescription drugs that have opposite effects.

Usually, stimulants like Adderall or Ritalin are combined with downers such as OxyContin or Vicodin.  This is often a practice done by college students and young adults who may not have access to illicit substances. For parents, it is important to keep medicine cabinets empty of prescription medications that could be abused by your children.

Speedballs are often injected but can also be taken in other methods

To get the ultimate effect of speedballs, most users take the drug through injection. When the drugs come in powder or tablet form, users often crush these drugs and dissolve them into liquid form so they can easily be injected. Injecting the drug is supposed to provide a more extreme high. There are also users who try to take the drugs by snorting the mixture. Whatever method a speedball is taken, abusing the combination can potentially result in a drug overdose.

Speedball overdose can be deadly

Many speedball users are attracted by the promise that taking this drug is supposed to give them extreme euphoria, without realizing that they are risking their lives in doing so. It is highly possible to experience overdose just by taking one drug like cocaine or heroin, moreso,  if you combine these two deadly drugs. When you consume large amounts of speedballs, this could result in overdose, which can then lead to death. Some serious side effects that could happen include stroke, aneurysm, respiratory failure, and heart attack.

Speedballs can be mixed with dangerous substances without your knowledge

Many drug dealers mix other substances to pure drugs in order to save money or make the drugs more potent. Instead of selling pure cocaine or heroin, drug dealers often mix a cheap but extremely potent opioid called fentanyl. This results in a fentanyl speedball. While there are drug users who knowingly take fentanyl speedballs, there have been many cases of speedball overdose that took place because users were not aware that what the drug combo they were taking were cut with fentanyl.

The problem with this is that if users are not aware that the speedball has fentanyl in it, the risk of overdose is higher. Common victims are usually drug users who buy drugs from social media or from virtual strangers.

If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, help is available.

Contact Anaheim Lighthouse today.