Cross addiction is the term used to describe a transfer of addictions, when we exchange one harmful dependency for another.
The cycle of addiction can only be broken by getting clean and remaining totally abstinent from all mind-altering drugs. But total abstinence is difficult for most of us to accept, which is why we use varying cocktails of other drugs to help us withdraw from our main drug of choice.
Painkillers instead of alcohol, valium for cannabis, alcohol for cocaine; there are varying cocktails of drugs that are mixed for their countering or complementary effects. Alcoholics often use cannabis, for example, as a supposedly 'safe' drug while they are not drinking. The same often holds true for heroin and cocaine addicts.
So why is it harmful to smoke a joint if you are a recovering alcoholic? Why shouldn't you have a glass of wine with dinner if you're a recovering cocaine addict? Because the result is always the same; relapse. The switch from one chemical to another has wrecked thousands of people's efforts to recover.
