Recognize the risks and benefits of prescription medications. 
Do not mix prescription medications together or combine them with alcohol. This can have serious, even potentially fatal effects. Read You Need to Know about Prescription Drug Abuse (pdf).
A drug-alcohol interaction means that alcohol either adds to, or exacerbates the effects of the drugs, or diminishes the effects of the drug. Both can be extremely dangerous.
Find out more about how alcohol interacts with prescription medications.
Interactions can differ depending on the type of prescription drug.
- Mixing alcohol with prescription sedatives (tranquilizers and depressants – i.e., Xanax®, Valium®, Ativan®) can decrease heart rate and slow breathing, which can potentially be fatal.
- Similarly, mixing prescription opioids (i.e., OxyCotin®, Percocet®) with alcohol can decrease heart rate and breathing to dangerously low levels, potentially resulting in a coma or death.
- Mixing alcohol with prescription stimulants (i.e., Adderall® or Concerta®) can be dangerous. Stimulants conceal the depressant effects of the alcohol, which can lead to over consuming alcohol, possibly leading to overdose, and mixing them may elevate blood pressure.
Learn more about Commonly Abused Drugs.
Partnership for Safer Medication Use
The following partners have collaborated
to provide you with this information on how to
safely use prescription medications:
The UHC Fontaine Center
UHC Health Promotion Department
UHC Pharmacy
UGA College of Pharmacy
to provide you with this information on how to
safely use prescription medications:
The UHC Fontaine Center
UHC Health Promotion Department
UHC Pharmacy
UGA College of Pharmacy