Can drugs other than alcohol cause “blackouts”?
While the alcohol-induced “blackout” is most well-known, other drugs can cause it. A blackout is nothing more than a brief period of drug-induced short-term amnesia. Thus, some anesthetics used for surgery cause blackouts, but the term is not used with this therapeutic use of drugs, since short-term amnesia of the surgical event is a desired outcome. Other drugs that cause intense intoxication, such as opioids (powerful analgesics such as morphine), cocaine, LSD, and ecstasy can also cause blackouts.
