[Sixstrings]

A British man died after poisoning himself with two spoonfuls of caffeine powder bought over the internet, local media reported Friday.

Michael Lee Bedford, 23, from Mansfield, central England, was at a party in April when he swallowed caffeine powder that a friend bought online for £3.29 ($5.26), Nottingham Coroner’s Court heard Thursday.

He washed the powder down with an energy drink, and around 15 minutes later began sweating and vomiting blood. He later died at King’s Mill Hospital in Nottinghamshire, central England, the Nottingham Post reported.

The court heard that Bedford ignored the product's recommendation to take no more than one sixteenth of a teaspoon and instead took two spoonfuls of the powder -- ingesting a level of caffeine 70 times more than is usually found in a high-energy drink.
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/health/man-dies-of-caffeine-overdose-ncxdc-102910

Sad story.. A good reminder that just because something is "natural" and you can order it off the Internet doesn't mean one should consume it.

I've always thought those "energy" drinks and all the herbal crap are no good for you, but I'm surprised a couple teaspoons of caffeine is so lethal.

[Pretorian]

you can die from an overdose of water or anything else. Still I dont think a normal young man would die from 70 cups of coffee.

[MarkJ]

One of my cousins went to the hospital after consuming mega doses of pre-workout Nitric Oxide supplements as well as energy drinks in addition to unsafe over-the-counter supplements.

Although studies have shown that these ultra expensive pre-workout formulas have zero effect on performance, it remains one of the largest growth categories in the supplement industry.

Since many stimulants, supplements and research chemicals are sold in bulk form, it's important to read the label, understand safe dosing and/or have scales and other measuring devices to meter dosages.
Many of the suppliers of these supplements and chemicals manufactured in China, India, home labs etc, package the products themselves, so who knows how they've been handled and stored, or what added ingredients they contain.

I'm amazed at the amount of guys at the gym that will consume unproven over-the-counter prohormones, designer steroids, research chemicals (clen/nolva/clomid/viagra/cialis/levitra) and supplements with countless ingredients, then wash them down with energy drinks.

[Windmills]

you can die from an overdose of water or anything else. Still I dont think a normal young man would die from 70 cups of coffee.

Maybe he would if he drank them all within 10 seconds.

I think this young man took a little too far the coffee/soda industry message that caffeine is "perfectly safe and has no side effects." Then again, what else is "perfectly safe" supposed to mean?

[TWilliam]

Darwinian selection in action...

but I'm surprised a couple teaspoons of caffeine is so lethal

Human LD50 (the point where half of a test group would die) for caffeine is around 150-200 milligrams per kilo of bodyweight, about 12-16 grams (about half an ounce by weight) for a 180 lb. individual. If this was pure (or nearly pure) caffeine, then yes, a couple of spoonfuls, especially washed down with even more caffeine, could easily be lethal.

There are actually between 1,000 and 10,000 deaths per year either attributed to caffeine or where caffeine is considered a contributing factor...

[Serial_Worrier]

you can die from an overdose of water or anything else. Still I dont think a normal young man would die from 70 cups of coffee.

How long would it take you to drink 70 cups of coffee? Even the most addicted coffee-freaks don't drink more then 10 cups a day, which is probably close to the 1/8 of a teaspoon that he should have used.

[vision-master]

No one has ever died of a marijuana overdose

This is true. It was put in to see if you are paying attention. Animal tests have revealed that extremely high doses of cannabinoids are needed to have lethal effect. This has led scientists to conclude that the ratio of the amount of cannabinoids necessary to get a person intoxicated (i.e., stoned) relative to the amount necessary to kill them is 1 to 40,000. In other words, to overdose, you would have to consume 40,000 times as much marijuana as you needed to get stoned. In contrast, the ratio for alcohol varies between 1 to 4 and 1 to 10. It is easy to see how upwards of 5000 people die from alcohol overdoses every year and no one EVER dies of marijuana overdoses

http://www.drugtext.org/sub/marmyt1.html

[Pretorian]

you can die from an overdose of water or anything else. Still I dont think a normal young man would die from 70 cups of coffee.

How long would it take you to drink 70 cups of coffee? Even the most addicted coffee-freaks don't drink more then 10 cups a day, which is probably close to the 1/8 of a teaspoon that he should have used.

you are probably talking about starbacks venti or something. I read somewhere in Scandinavia postmen (used to) drink 50 cups a day or so. Its sort of a mail tip overthere.

[Serial_Worrier]

you are probably talking about starbacks venti or something. I read somewhere in Scandinavia postmen (used to) drink 50 cups a day or so. Its sort of a mail tip overthere.

Given they were delivering mail in arctic conditions that sort-of makes sense. But not for an office worker.

[rockdoc123]

There are actually between 1,000 and 10,000 deaths per year either attributed to caffeine or where caffeine is considered a contributing factor...

I believe that. Countless times I wanted to maim or kill the people in front of me ordering all that mocha latte bullshite at Starbucks when all I wanted was a dark roast, biggest damn cup you have, I don't give a crap what Italian lingo you want to use to describe it.

Or perhaps you meant that these deaths were due to excessive caffeine rather than the lack of??

[Pretorian]

Given they were delivering mail in arctic conditions that sort-of makes sense. But not for an office worker.

I dont know, I think this example (from the book about coffee I read 25 years ago) is from Denmark. On the other hand, they have Greenland, so you might be right.

[TheAntiDoomer]

Actual Almost everything is toxic at a certain level:

Salt, even water. The LD50 for water is LD50 is greater than 90 mL/kg.

http://conspiracyfactory.blogspot.com/2 ... toxic.html

[careinke]

I think the Pot LD50 for Canadian rats is 15 kilos dropped from 30 feet.

[bratticus]

Sad story.. A good reminder that just because something is "natural"

If they could turn pot into a white powder it would kill you too.

[Pretorian]

Actual Almost everything is toxic at a certain level:

Salt, even water. The LD50 for water is LD50 is greater than 90 mL/kg.

http://conspiracyfactory.blogspot.com/2 ... toxic.html

it is very silly to call water toxic. This way you can call your own house deadly dangerous because you can die by hitting the brick wall with your head over, over amd over again

[TWilliam]

If they could turn pot into a white powder it would kill you too.

Not likely. Highly concentrated extracts of cannabis are actually quite common (medical users are frequent consumers since many dislike dealing with it in its 'raw' state), and there are still no recorded deaths attributed to even these forms...

(Incidentally, an LD50 for pure THC has never been established in humans, tho' it has for a few animal species. According to The Report of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse, "an LD50 was not attainable in monkeys and dogs by the oral route. Enormous dose levels (over 3000 mg/kg of Delta 9 THC) were administered without lethality to most animals. ... The non-fatal consumption of 3000 mg/kg A THC by the dog and monkey would be comparable to a 154-pound human eating approximately 46 pounds (21 kilograms) of 1%-marihuana or 10 pounds of 5% hashish at one time. In addition, 92 mg/kg THC intravenously produced no fatalities in monkeys. These doses would be comparable to a 154-pound human smoking at one time almost three pounds (1.28 kg) of 1%-marihuana or 250,000 times the usual smoked dose and over a million times the minimal effective dose assuming 50% destruction of the THC by smoking." 3000 mg/kg of pure THC would be a little less than 210 grams, or about 7 & 1/2 ounces for a 154 lb. person. Good luck snorting nearly half a pound of powder in one sitting... )

it is very silly to call water toxic.

Not silly in the least...

Water intoxication, also known as hyper-hydration, water poisoning, or overhydration, is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by over-consumption of water.

[bratticus]

If they could turn pot into a white powder it would kill you too.

Not likely. Highly concentrated extracts of cannabis are actually quite common (medical users are frequent consumers since many dislike dealing with it in its 'raw' state), and there are still no recorded deaths attributed to even these forms...

Highly concentrated extracts of cannabis are not white powders.

[Ferretlover]

No one has ever died of a marijuana overdose

Has anyone ever determined just how much pot would be needed to be classified as an overdose? As for the dying part, you are avoiding Lung cancer.
Oh, now I see TWilliam's post.

As for the coffee eater: He chose his path and he paid for it. There are plenty of people to take his place.

And, as to the toxicity of water: Yes, it most certainly Can kill you to drink too much.

[TWilliam]

Highly concentrated extracts of cannabis are not white powders.

They wouldn't be, as even pure THC reduces to a viscous oil, but that's irrelevant; the salient characteristic is the concentration.

[TWilliam]

Has anyone ever determined just how much pot would be needed to be classified as an overdose? As for the dying part, you are avoiding Lung cancer.

Actually what research has been done so far indicates that smoking pot may in fact confer a degree of protection against lung cancer. Cigarette smokers who also smoke cannabis have a lower incidence of lung cancer than those who smoke cigarettes alone. Additionally, what risk there is, is associated with the actual inhalation of the combustion byproducts, not with the plant components themselves. That risk can be virtually completely ameliorated by using alternative methods of consumption such as a vaporizer or ingestion.