Speedball

A “speedball,” not to be confused with the speedball drink, is a combination of drugs that people use to achieve a specific, extremely intense type of high. In general, a speedball combines a stimulant and a depressant drug. The most common speedball composition includes cocaine and heroin, two incredibly powerful drugs on their own. Other common types of speedball include:

• Xanax and methamphetamine
• Cocaine and alcohol
• Ecstasy and marijuana
• Cocaine and benzodiazepines
• Alcohol and amphetamines

Whatever the combination, speedballs are extremely potent and dangerous in any dosage.

How Speedballs Are Used

When alcohol is not involved in the composition of a speedball, the drug combination is usually injected. Cocaine and heroin typically come in powdered form already, so they can easily be combined and dissolved into liquid form. When tablets like opioids or benzodiazepines are included, the user only has to crush them up and perform the same process.

Speedballs can also be snorted. Injection is more common, however, because its effects set in more quickly and more intensely, resulting in a more extreme speedball high.

Speedball Drug Effects

What does a speedball feel like, and why do people take this potentially lethal drug cocktail? Most users report that the combination of two drugs with opposite effects delivers an enhanced high without the negative side effects of either substance. In reality, however, the effects of speedballing are often quite different and consist of the side effects of cocaine and heroin together. A speedball high is often accompanied by:

• Confusion
• Blurred vision
• Paranoia
• Drowsiness
• Stupor or incoherence
• Insomnia
• Impaired coordination and motor skills

One of the dangers of speedballs is that people tend to feel like they have a heightened tolerance or that they’re less intoxicated than they really are. This distortion of perception, unfortunately, contributes to a high number of overdoses.

Speedball Overdose Symptoms

The symptoms of a speedball overdose can vary depending on the composition of the drug, but the main cause of overdose deaths are:

• Respiratory failure
• Aneurysm
• Heart attack
• Stroke

Fentanyl Speedballs

Speedballs of any kind are incredibly dangerous, but the introduction of fentanyl speedballs has greatly increased the drug cocktail’s lethality. Fentanyl in speedballs is often used to increase potency while keeping cost down, and many dealers don’t tell their customers that they’re consuming a drug 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

Unintentionally consuming a speedball of cocaine including fentanyl can be deadly, and unfortunately, the rate of such overdoses are on the rise as the use of fentanyl spreads.

Treat Speedball Addiction at Gateway

As speedballs are a combination of two highly addictive classes of drugs, it is very possible to develop an addiction to both components. Without treatment, speedballing can quickly destroy your life.

If you want to learn more about cocaine and heroin addiction treatment, contact Gateway at 877.379.8031. Our range of programs and services offers treatment for people from all backgrounds and walks of life.

Gateway Foundation

Gateway Foundation is a recognized leader in evidence-based addiction treatment proven to get results. Our experts in Addiction Medicine—including highly educated clinical and medical professionals and expert psychiatrists and nurses—deliver care that never stops. For over 50 years, Gateway Foundation has been helping individuals and their families recover from addictions and behavioral health issues and is the only provider that covers the entire state of Illinois with 16 facilities from the Wisconsin Border to the Kentucky Border. Gateway has specific programs focusing on substance use disorders, trauma, depression, anxiety, and other co-occurring issues. We’re licensed by the state of Illinois and accredited by the Joint Commission. We are in-network with all the major commercial insurance plans. Gateway Foundation: Addiction medicine, saving lives.