NO MORE BS: Multi-Drug Intoxication and George Floyd – Speedballing

WebMD.com details specifically what multi-drug intoxication is, and a portion of the definition is quoted below:

“Combined drug intoxication (CDI) occurs when two or more substances are taken simultaneously and can result in serious life-threatening conditions, including death.  While some medications can be safely taken together, combined drug intoxication happens when the toxicity of two or more substances negatively affects the body.”

Multiple drug intoxication can occur accidentally and purposefully to counteract the adverse effects of one drug by including another drug, for example, extending a Heroin high through adding Cocaine.  First responders, including police, paramedics, and others, stand on the front-line of a chemistry experiment gone wrong and never know until blood toxicology reports are returned what they are walking into.  Not excusing unprofessional behavior from those responding; but, I am placing blame upon those choosing to inject, smoke, snort, or pop the pills.  The professionals on the front-line deserve the benefit of the doubt, especially when multi-drug intoxication is suspected.

Direct from the trial records, covered by the New York Post reporters, we find the following in a second search of the vehicles involved in the George Floyd legal trial.

“Forensics investigators found two pills in the center console of the Benz that proved to be methamphetamine and Fentanyl, Anderson said.  Also found in the vehicle was a pipe with traces of THC and packets of Suboxone, a drug used by patients addicted to opioids.”

For those uneducated in street drug terms, speedballing is covered in a publicly available PowerPoint put together by the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, the Florida Department of Children and Families, and JBS International.  I encourage you to review this PowerPoint, as it explicitly details what happens to the human body when multiple drugs are consumed, including meth and Fentanyl.  Knowing truly is half the battle as G. I. Joe proclaimed all through the 1980s.

I make no accusations, but I find that Politifact.com used other media sources to debunk a Facebook claim instead of actual documents, revealing and embarrassing to all media outlets.  Long have I searched for and wanted to read the toxicology report from the George Floyd Autopsy.  Again, I am not a medical professional nor a chemist, and I use publicly available tools to investigate.  The George Floyd Toxicology report clearly states the following were present in George Floyd’s body on his day of death:

• • • Caffeine – Positive
    • Cotinine – Positive
    • 4-ANPP – 0.65ng/ml
    • 11-Hydroxy Delta-99 THC – 1.2ng/ml
    • Delta-9 Carboxy THC – 42ng/ml
    • Delta-9 THC – 2.9ng/ml
    • Methamphetamine – 19ng/ml
    • Fentanyl – 11ng/ml
    • NorFentanyl – 5.6ng/ml
    • Cannabinoids – Presumed Positive
    • Fentanyl/Metabolite – Presumed Positive
    • Morphine – Free – 86ng/ml

The “Reference Comments” at the bottom of the toxicology report is very revealing.  When he chose to attack police and resist arrest, George Floyd was a walking timebomb of chemicals.  We have nicotine from tobacco use, NoDoz, THC from smoking marijuana, plus the strong suspicion of a speedball containing meth and Fentanyl, among other chemical substances.  Consider this for a moment; the Florida PowerPoint states that Fentanyl and Meth would act as a “push/pull” on the brain and body.

Abusing two or more drugs simultaneously increases adverse side effects and increases health risks.  Negative side effects could include all or some of the following:

• • • Anxiety
    • High Blood Pressure
    • Strong or Irregular Heartbeat
    • Suppressed Breathing Abilities
    • General Confusion
    • Incoherence
    • Blurred Vision
    • Stupor, Drowsiness
    • Paranoia
    • Mental Impairment
    • Uncoordinated Motor Skills
    • Death from Stroke
    • Death from Heart Attack
    • Death from Aneurysm
    • Death from Respiratory Failure
    • Death from a rapid change in Heartbeat pace from Depressed to Overspeed
    • Death from Cardiac Arrhythmias

Important to consider, when depressants and stimulants are mixed, the combination of lethality is challenging to judge, and fatal overdoses occur from misjudging the amounts of drugs being consumed.  Because no one is reporting how long George Floyd was speedballing, or if he was speedballing, we could not judge the severity of cognitive, physical, and psychological effects from these drugs being used/abused.  Unless it was never reported, George Floyd’s family has never been asked about his behavior when sober or on this multi-drug cocktail; I have found zero records investigating George Floyd.  These records could still be in the defense lawyer’s hands due to the coming defense of Derek Chauvin in appeals court.

Regardless, America has two problems represented in the George Floyd case.  Neither problem involves how police do their jobs, and everything to do with the media and Hollywood representing drug use as popular and risk-free, and the continued drug problems America has been facing since the 1960s explosion of illicit drugs.  Illegal and illicit drug use is fueled by social acceptance, which Hollywood and the media empower.  The statistics from 2020 and the COVID-Farrago are still being calculated and gathered.  However, the preliminary numbers show increased alcohol and drug use up significantly during the lockdowns, reflecting the second method that increases illegal drug use and abuse, government intrusion, and restrictions.

When the press goes above and beyond to punish the police and honor and glorify a criminal, criminal activity increases due to media protection and the desired payday through the judicial process.  How much money has the family of George Floyd been able to gather? Just from the city, we find a payday of $27Million!  Those are tax dollars being paid for political purposes, and the taxpayers in Minneapolis, especially after all the terrorism, should be just as mad as the rest of the country.  Why was the payday made, the media!  Why the rush to pay off the family, the press!

The media fact-checked using their echo chambers, quoted each other instead of asking real questions and obtaining real answers, and the politicians caved like a cheap suit!  Take a minute and read the different stories from the George Floyd incident or any other major media circus.  You will find the echo chambers, the faux emotional investing, the pandering to audience emotional investment, and the media trying to be judge, jury, and executioner long before all the facts of an incident are known.  I have heard others describe the media circus as “stage-managed” with copied talking points, locked-in themes, and punishment for everyone who doesn’t toe the line the media is managing.

I will never say someone has to be perfect all the time.  Mistakes happen!  How those mistakes are handled defines the professionalism of the parties involved.  The media make things worse, and while I will not see the press muzzled, I consider their unethical, immoral, and borderline illegal behavior to be reprehensible and worthy of judicial punishment until behavior improves!  The media is a part of the problem, Hollywood is part of the problem, and both parties feed off each other to the detriment of American society.

Yet, let’s discuss the 800# Gorilla in the room openly.  Drug use is climbing; when drug use climbs, drug abuse follows like moonlight to sunlight.  Worse, when drug use increases, social problems increase dynamically, families are destroyed, and the drugs usually make friendly people into beasts capable of eating another person’s face.  Lest you think the 2012 and 2013 incidents were singular, “… a stun gun and K-9 dog were initially unable to stop [the suspect] from continuing to attempt to eat the victim. Four deputies eventually pried [the suspect] off and arrested him. … [the suspect], a former high school football defensive lineman and wrestler, may have been on hallucinogenic drugs when he attacked.”  “A former teammate told The Palm Beach Post that coaches were frustrated with [the suspects] aggression, even at 6-feet tall and 200 pounds. “The coaches would always try to get him mad and play angry, and he never had it in him. I didn’t think he would hurt a fly.”

America, we need solutions to the drug problems in our country.  We need to find and develop new solutions to this age-old problem.  Worse, we need the politicians to stop throwing money at problems and start looking for solutions that will work.  Let us begin to look at drug addiction, use, and abuse, which includes all drugs and alcohol, where those addicted can receive support in breaking the habit but are still held accountable for the problems their drug use/abuse caused.  I am interested in hearing your thoughts on fixing the drug use/abuse problems; I know I do not have all the answers.

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.