Drug of the Week: "Pharm Parties"

For this week, we decided to discuss the topic of "Pharm Parties." Having never been to one, neither one of us have much experience with what actually takes place. But, we thought we would give some advice based on what we know and note some information most people probably do not think about at these parties.

Be careful when taking random prescription medications and throwing them all in one bowl. This will most likely create side effects no one would want to experience.

For example, a drug called Flagyl (an antibiotic) can cause someone to become violently ill and vomit if taken even 3 days before drinking alcohol.

Other antibiotics, such as amoxicillin, can decrease the effectiveness of birth control. So, if a girl takes a handful of pills with any of these in there, her birth control may not work and she should seek alternate forms of contraception.

Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, and other related drugs with depressant effects can cause extreme sedation when mixed with alcohol.

There are a lot of medications out there, and NUMEROUS medications interact with each other and can cause very harmful side effects and even death when taken together.

Before you bring that pill to your mouth, think for a second and understand that not every drug works the same way, and before you know how that one works, do not use it!