Alcohol, Cannabis and Opioids addresses polysubstance patterns that elevate overdose risk and complicate diagnosis, withdrawal, and long-term care. This page translates evidence into clinical choices: how alcohol potentiates respiratory depression with opioids; how cannabis affects cognition, motivation, and anxiety; and how to stage care when substances co-occur. If you’re comparing events like a polysubstance use conference, you’ll find guidance on risk communication, sequencing detox, and tailoring pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy to mixed profiles. Because opioid-related risk is central, we connect to Opioid Use Disorder for induction strategies, retention, and overdose prevention embedded in stepped-care pathways.

Care plans balance safety with engagement. Acute management stabilises sleep, nutrition, and withdrawal, then moves into maintenance choices—MOUD for opioid use, targeted AUD meds, and CBT/MI/CM matched to goals. Harm-reduction is integral: naloxone distribution, safer-use education, and drug-checking reduce mortality while building trust for treatment entry. Alcohol’s hepatic effects, cannabis-related anxiety/psychosis risk, and opioid tolerance shift medication options and monitoring; sleep and pain require careful non-sedating strategies to avoid compounding risk. Family involvement, peer coaching, and practical supports (transport, childcare, workplace accommodations) sustain gains beyond clinic walls, while dashboards track cravings, function, and safety events to guide QI.