TESTS CONFIRM LETHAL CULT COCKTAIL.Byline: Associated Press Blood tests released Friday show most of the 39 Heaven's Gate cult members ingested a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol before dying in a Rancho Santa Fe mansion. The toxicology reports confirmed earlier findings that the cultists ate pudding or applesauce laced with the anti-seizure drug phenobarbital phenobarbital /phe·no·bar·bi·tal/ (fe?no-bahr´bi-tal) a long-acting barbiturate, used as the base or sodium salt as a sedative, hypnotic, and anticonvulsant. phe·no·bar·bi·tal n. . Most of the members also drank vodka to enhance the drug's potency. The toxicology reports only suggest what killed the Heaven's Gate followers. A final cause of death will be announced April 11, said San Diego County Medical Examiner A public official charged with investigating all sudden, suspicious, unexplained, or unnatural deaths within the area of his or her appointed jurisdiction. A medical examiner differs from a Coroner in that a medical examiner is a physician. Brian Blackbourne. The blood tests do not address the issue of suffocation suffocation: see asphyxia. , although plastic bags were found on some bodies. Investigators believe the bags were placed over the members' heads after they drank the deadly potion po·tion n. A liquid medicinal dose or drink. potion a large dose of liquid medicine. . HIV tests - done at the request of family members and to answer questions from the media - also came back negative. The cult members' bodies were discovered March 26 after they killed themselves in the belief they would catch a spaceship to the ``Next Level.'' All members had phenobarbital in their blood, and levels ranged from 28 to 164 micrograms in each milliliter milliliter /mil·li·li·ter/ (mL) (-le?ter) one thousandth (10-3) of a liter. mil·li·li·ter n. Abbr. of blood, Blackbourne said. The average was 72 micrograms per milliliter. Anything over 100 micrograms per milliliter is considered lethal, he said. Blood-alcohol contents ranged from .04 to .15 percent and averaged .11 percent. All but six members had signs of alcohol in their blood, he said. California drivers are considered drunk if their level is above .08 percent. The pain killer Vicodin, or hydrocordone, was also found in the blood of four members. The amount averaged .4 micrograms per milliliter. Doses in the range of .13 to .60 micrograms per milliliter are considered fatal. Investigators also discovered a short-acting barbiturate barbiturate (bärbĭch`ərāt'), any one of a group of drugs that act as depressants on the central nervous system. High doses depress both nerve and muscle activity and inhibit oxygen consumption in the tissues. called butalbital in one person and a component of Vicodin, called acetaminophen acetaminophen (əsēt'əmĭn`əfĭn), an analgesic and fever-reducing medicine similar in effect to aspirin. It is an active ingredient in many over-the-counter medicines, including Tylenol and Midol. , in six people. Blackbourne did not say whether the findings were significant. He did not return several telephone calls Friday. |
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