1. SPEEDBALL
Sara A. & Sarah P.

2. What is it?
Speedball is the mixture of a depressant and a stimulant in a single shot. The common drugs that are used when speedballing are cocaine and heroin.

3. When did it originate?
Speedballing originated in the late 1800’s where upperclassmen and soldiers combined morphine and cocaine hydrochloride. In the mid 1900’s, users started combining heroin and cocaine hydrochloride which was most popular with the young. The common form of it in the 21st century is heroin with freebase cocaine. It is believed that King George V died due to a mix of cocaine and morphine by his physician.

4. What are the effects?
The injection of speedball causes the neurotransmitter dopamine which is responsible for pleasure in the brain to be released beyond normal levels which leads to euphoria. Heroin boosts the release of dopamine by 70% while cocaine boosts it by 400% though the mixture of both increases the levels to 1000%

5. What are the effects of heroin?
Heroin mimics endorphins which causes sedation and the inability to feel pain. It also inhibits noradrenaline which stops adrenaline from kicking in therefore reducing alertness.

6. What are the effects of cocaine?
Cocaine boosts serotonin levels therefore causing an elevated mood. It also boosts noradrenaline which increases alertness.

7. Why people use it?
Speedballing allows users to experience the intense rush of cocaine followed by the relaxing effects of heroin. The two drugs also counter-effect each other. Since cocaine has a short lived high followed by a crash, the effects of heroin kick in to reduce this. On the other hand, because heroin has sedating effects, adding cocaine increases alertness therefore allowing the users to stay awake and enjoy the high.

8. What are the dangers of speedball?
Users have high chances of overdosing since they don’t feel the extreme effects of either drug therefore inject multiple times at once. This also leads to higher risks of HIV due to the multiple injections. Another danger of speedballing is on the organs as it causes a rapid change between being energetic and sedated. This leads to heart attacks, seizures, respiratory failure and unconsciousness. It also causes double dependence on heroin and cocaine therefore leading to addiction.

9. What are the withdrawal symptoms?
Restlessness
Vomiting
Shaking
Insomnia
Muscle aches
Paranoia
Bone pain