User:MacGyverMagic/Discussions/Morphine

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[edit] Morphine

For a piece of fiction I'd like to know at what dosage morphine is lethal, but neither the Wikipedia article nor Google is very forthcoming (I get LD50 values for codeine on the same page). Can anyone give me a rough estimate and tell me how many % medical solutions of morphine usually are? For this particular piece of fiction, I need to know if morphine can be lethal in small volumes of say 1-5 ml. - Mgm|(talk) 21:42, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

[1] has a lot of toxicology information. The LD50 varies from about 100mg/kg given intravenously to 500mg/kg orally. ‣ᓛᖁ♀ᑐ 22:18, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
Have you tried asking these folks?  ;-) hydnjo talk 02:14, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
By the way, the main cause of death for most opioids is due to respiratory depression. If the person has been taking the drug for a while, they may become tolerant to these effects. Basically, if your fictional character has been taking the drug for a while and has become tolerant, it might take more than your average lethal dose to remove him/her from the stage. --Uthbrian (talk) 03:03, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
You could consider a stronger opiod such as demerol. - Cybergoth 03:06, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
If you choose Demerol (meperidine), the character might experience convulsions as he/she dies from the toxic overdose. Choose your own adventure! --Uthbrian (talk) 03:38, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
I'm not sure my killer has access to it, but it would be something to look into. - Mgm|(talk) 09:23, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
Why would you need the exact number for a piece of fiction? Seems to me that any number that would sound plausible would be fine. Of course, maybe your target demographic is nit-pickers. :) --BluePlatypus 08:26, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
  • I needed to know if the particular dose needed could be hidden in a certain sized container. Thank you all for the input. - Mgm|(talk) 08:53, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
Blue, I think that's being a tad unfair to MacGyver's readers. Maybe he/she is an author who goes to great lengths to achieve authenticity and credibility. Better that than producing some poorly researched text that is full of technical holes - that really would be a target for nit-pickers. JackofOz 10:56, 7 February 2006 (UTC)