Drugs are taken by most people for many reasons - to alleviate pain, to regulate blood cholesterol or to fight diseases. But there is truth in the old saying "the dose maketh the poison".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Around Australia, many people die each year from the use and abuse of both prescription and illicit drugs. Drugs can stop your heart beating or they can make it race rapidly to unsustainable levels. Some drugs can cause you to stop breathing by blocking the messages from your brain to your lungs; and some drugs (and poisons) can cause muscle paralysis resulting in coma and death.
There are many drugs that are safe even when taken in overdose, that includes the majority of over-the-counter drugs (non-prescription). However, the increasing number of new illicit synthetic drugs gives cause for concern.
Many synthetic drugs which are thought to mimic the traditional drugs of abuse (eg stimulants and cannabis), are widely distributed and have become prevalent among young people, resulting in many admissions to emergency wards often requiring invasive treatment and/or resuscitation.
Some die because of using these synthetic drugs and then become the subject of a coronial investigation. Synthetic drugs are also disguised with other like substances, sometimes in combination or as a substitute of the traditional drug of interest. For example stimulants such as ecstasy are often substituted with hallucinogens or other potent drugs that can have fatal consequences.
The current wave of designer opioids (morphine/fentanyl-like drugs) in North America resulted in more than 20,000 deaths in 2016. These potent analogues can cause sudden cardiac arrest and depression of the central nervous system which can lead to rapid cessation of breathing.
Drugs such as fentanyl are 50-100 times more potent than morphine and some derivatives are even stronger, up to 10,000 times more potent.
Of course, there are also combinations of prescription drugs which can result in adverse effects or toxic outcomes. Therapeutic doses or taking too many drugs of the one type can lead to imbalances in endogenous chemicals which can trigger side effects, some with fatal consequences.
Any drug combined with alcohol has the potential to increase the depressant effects of alcohol when taken in excess. It is also known that some drugs are not eliminated by the body in the presence of another drug, this can lead to toxic levels of a drug that may have been consumed in accordance with therapeutic doses.
Response by: A/Prof Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Head of Forensic Science and Chief Toxicologist, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is 1100am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM. Send your questions to AskFuzzy@Zoho.com Twitter @FuzzyLogicSci
