Alkohol / Ethanol & GHB

Critical Risk: Profound central nervous system and respiratory depression

Critical RiskSubstance-specific1 Shared Receptors

Risk Assessment

Critical Risk

GHB and alcohol are both strong central nervous system depressants. Combined, they can cause profound sedation, loss of consciousness and dangerous respiratory depression, even at amounts that might seem moderate individually. The margin between a desired effect and a dangerous overdose narrows considerably when the two are mixed.

Pharmacological Mechanism

GABA-B-Agonismus + GABA-A-Potenzierung = synergistische ZNS-Depression

Mechanism data is language-neutral pharmacological notation.

Substance Profiles

Alkohol / Ethanol

Depressiva

GABA-A-PotenzierungNMDA-AntagonismusEndorphinfreisetzung

GABA-ANMDA

GHB

Depressiva

GABA-B-AgonistGHB-Rezeptor-Agonist

GABA-AGABA-B

Shared Receptors

Both substances bind to the following receptors, increasing the risk of pharmacological interactions.

GABA-A

Evidence Base

Curated Interaction DataAvailable

Data ProvenanceSubstance-specific

Community Mentions0

Shared Receptors1

Sources

Safer Use Guidelines

The combination of GHB and alcohol is associated with a high risk of unconsciousness and life-threatening respiratory depression.
If a person cannot be woken, is breathing slowly or irregularly, place them in the recovery position and call emergency services immediately.
Because the dangerous threshold is much lower when combined, this mix carries a substantially elevated overdose risk.

This page is based on curated pharmacological data and/or community signals. It is intended for scientific education and harm reduction only. It does not replace professional medical advice. Not all interactions are covered — always consult a healthcare professional when in doubt. In emergencies, call your local emergency number.

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