{"id":4584,"date":"2025-07-12T15:58:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T15:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/4584\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T15:58:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T15:58:03","slug":"how-speedballing-is-creating-a-new-kind-of-drug-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/4584\/","title":{"rendered":"How Speedballing Is Creating a New Kind of Drug Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speedballing<\/a>\u2014the practice of combining a stimulant like cocaine or methamphetamine with an opioid such as heroin or fentanyl\u2014has evolved from a niche subculture to a widespread public health crisis. The practice stems from the early 1900s,<\/a> when World War I soldiers were often treated with a combination of cocaine and morphine.<\/p>\n

Once associated with high-profile figures like John Belushi<\/a>, River Phoenix<\/a> and Chris Farley<\/a>, this dangerous polysubstance use has become a leading cause of overdose deaths<\/a> across the United States since the early- to mid-2010s.<\/p>\n

I am an assistant professor of public health who has written extensively on methamphetamine<\/a> and opioid use<\/a> and the dangerous combination of the two<\/a> in the United States.\u00a0As these dangerous combinations of drugs increasingly flood the market, I see an urgent need and opportunity for a new approach to prevention and treatment.<\/p>\n

Why speedballing? <\/p>\n

Dating back to the 1970s, the term speedballing originally referred to the combination of heroin and cocaine. Combining stimulants and opioids\u2014the former\u2019s \u201crush\u201d with the latter\u2019s calming effect\u2014creates a dangerous physiological conflict.<\/p>\n

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse<\/a>, stimulant-involved overdose fatalities increased markedly from more than 12,000 annually in 2015 to greater than 57,000 in 2022, a 375% increase. Notably, approximately 70% of stimulant-related overdose deaths in 2022<\/a> also involved fentanyl or other synthetic opioids, reflecting the rising prevalence of polysubstance involvement in overdose mortality.<\/p>\n

Users sought to experience the euphoric \u201crush\u201d<\/a> from the stimulant and the calming effects of the opioid. However, with the proliferation of fentanyl\u2014<\/a>which is far more potent than heroin\u2014this combination has become increasingly lethal. Fentanyl is often mixed with cocaine or methamphetamine<\/a>, sometimes without the user\u2019s knowledge, leading to unintentional overdoses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rise in speedballing is part of a broader trend of polysubstance use in the U.S. Since 2010, overdoses involving both stimulants and fentanyl have increased 50-fold<\/a>, now accounting for approximately 35,000 deaths annually.<\/p>\n

This has been called the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic<\/a>. The toxic and contaminated drug supply<\/a> has exacerbated this crisis.<\/p>\n

A dangerous combination of physiological effects <\/p>\n

Stimulants like cocaine increase heart rate and blood pressure<\/a>, while opioids suppress respiratory function<\/a>. This combination can lead to respiratory failure, cardiovascular collapse, and death. People who use both substances are more than twice as likely<\/a> to experience a fatal overdose compared with those using opioids alone.<\/p>\n

The conflicting effects of stimulants and opioids can also exacerbate mental health issues. Users may experience heightened anxiety, depression,<\/a> and paranoia<\/a>. The combination can also impair cognitive functions, leading to confusion and poor decision-making.<\/p>\n

Speedballing can also lead to severe cardiovascular problems, including hypertension<\/a>, heart attack,<\/a> and stroke<\/a>. The strain on the heart and blood vessels from the stimulant, combined with the depressant effects of the opioid, increases the risk of these life-threatening conditions.<\/p>\n

Addressing the crisis <\/p>\n

Increasing awareness about the dangers of speedballing is crucial. I believe that educational campaigns<\/a> can inform the public about the risks of combining stimulants and opioids and the potential for unintentional fentanyl exposure.<\/p>\n

There is a great need for better access to treatment for people with stimulant use ddisorder\u2014a<\/a>\u00a0condition defined as<\/a> the continued use of amphetamine-type substances, cocaine, or other stimulants leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, from mild to severe. Treatments for this and other substance use disorders are underfunded<\/a> and less accessible than those for opioid use disorder. Addressing this gap can help reduce the prevalence of speedballing.<\/p>\n

Implementing harm reduction strategies by public health officials, community organizations, and health care providers, such as providing fentanyl test strips<\/a> and naloxone<\/a>\u2014a medication that reverses opioid overdoses\u2014can\u00a0save lives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These measures allow individuals to test their drugs for the presence of fentanyl and have immediate access to overdose-reversing medication. Implementing these strategies widely is crucial to reducing overdose deaths and improving community health outcomes.\"The<\/p>\n

Andrew Yockey<\/a>, Assistant Professor of Public Health, University of Mississippi<\/a>. This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speedballing\u2014the practice of combining a stimulant like cocaine or methamphetamine with an opioid such as heroin or fentanyl\u2014has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[5161,97,5162,5163,5164],"class_list":{"0":"post-4584","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-drug-abuse","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-opiods","11":"tag-speedballing","12":"tag-stimulants"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}