I agree with Norma J, at this point I think it was an accidental overdose.

Thoughts of suicide may have been present, but I just don't feel just yet convinced that he was consciously taking his life.

Lately the media and coroners have been covering even more up than usual, so it may be doubtful that we ever know for sure.

I can see taking sleeping pills to, obviously, sleep, but taking more than is required if they have no effect at first, not thinking of the leathal reprecussions (spelling?).

bob dylan to play heath ledger in bio pic!

When one is severely depressed and on a downward spiral, they tend not to ascribe the same care to dosages of drugs that most people would out of simple self-preservation.

One builds up a quick tolerance to opiate-based pain pills and and ends up taking more and more of them during any given time period. In the case of the heroin shooter, the likelihood of accidental overdose arises from this characteristic of that narcotic. In a lot of cases (and aside from overdoses by newcomers), those that overdose get so high that to feel the next hit, they inject a lethal dose.

Although common sense will inform one to steer clear, I'm not poo-pooing opiates totally. In the end, one has to make that judgement for themselves anyway. Just about all the opiates I've ever done have been administered orally after scraping and crushing pills or the eating the powder from a capsule in the case of Mepregan. If you take to much you end up tired anyway. A little bit here and there gives remarkable energy and awareness. And it's better to get lots of, albeit smaller, hits. And no, I'm not on it now and haven't been for awhile. (oh boy, revealing too much dirt...none in my possession usually haha) It sucks that I'm down to my last beer.

if you shoot up in an unfamiliar environment or not in the usual place (PS do not ever shoot up behind a locked door, that's bad news) the chance of OD is increased by a fairly significant margin

Why would the chances of over-dosing in an unfamiliar environment be more likely?

i don't know, let me look it up


Prevention: Use one drug at a time, or use less of each drug. Do your heroin first and pace your drinking.
Tolerance (your body’s ability to process a certain amount of a drug)
Tolerance develops over time, so the amount of a drug a long-time user needs to feel the drug’s effects is a lot greater than a newer user. Tolerance also wavers depending on several factors including, weight, size, illness, stress, compromised immune system (from hepatitis for example), and age. Your tolerance actually decreases over time, which is why there are more deaths among older users. Most importantly, tolerance can decrease rapidly when someone has taken a break from using a substance whether intentionally while in drug treatment or on methadone detox, or unintentionally while in jail or the hospital. Research has also shown that tolerance is effected when a person uses drugs in a new or unfamiliar environment, and therefore at a higher risk for overdose.


i still don't know why but okay.

Because one's cognitive and motor skills are impaired with high dosages, (they are arguably increased in low dosages (in the not-yet-addicted anyway)) the unfamiliar and possibly chaotic environment may throw their "safe" routine off.
In one other type of example, an environment in which one is paranoid may cause one to shoot their whole bag rather than hiding or ditching it.

yeah, that's it. it totally makes sense.

And why is their routine "thrown off" in unfamiliar environments? Well, they're dealing with Morpheus, the God Of Dreams. Remember my comments on dreams? The addict's sense of time gets altered by use of a drug that allows one to stay conscious while accessing unconscious contents.

And this (see italicized portion above) is one of the reasons why in blues and jazz and the rock 'n' roll lore, one has to do smack to become great. It's true, but only to an extent. I think it's pretty evident that one can become great in other, less life-risking, tightrope-walking ways as well.

if you do too much smack your creativity can just be completely drained, though

Drugs, in general, stimulate creativty in the beginning, but lessen it in the end. Gateway drugs? Drug use can be a gateway to possibility, but addiction is a gateway to hell. Take it from someone who knows and is currently in a self-made purgatory and halfway there. Drugs are, in the end, a paradise, but an artificial one. They are meant to be used as tools for raising one's level of consciouness or for medical applications. But, like Ahhnold proclaims, pot really isn't a drug (other than that it's illegal). Now high-grade marijuana is a drug, and has the potential by some to be abused. And, of course, alcohol is a drug; it's a fairly dangerous toxin.

high grade weed is the only way to live

yeah, for going on twenty years now
ha

In an ideal world, the smartest people would be allowed to use drugs haha.

no shit, i absolutely hate it when people can't handle drugs or alcohol and start acting like dumbasses and being really obnoxious

but being a dumb ass can be fun
i love getting up to stupid things when on drugs
like playing Tom Clancy on a closed hotel golf course planting mines into trees and jumping through barbwire with a wounded hand..its fun

THAT kind of stuff is a lot of fun. it's fun when everyone participates in stupid activities. i once got drunk at mr. cantankerous' parents' house and jumped out of the window on the second floor of the carriage house into the pool with no clothes on.

it can be a not-doing sometimes

(cryptic haha)

Was that an unfamiliar environment and you just wanted to take a shower?
ha aha.
Back on topic, it's pretty sad news..not much to comment, actually.... new gilliam movie cancelled for a while, I suppose.