What is the lethal dose of Nembutal
We will be looking at the lethal dose of Nembutal with respect to Exit International’s perspective, Euthanasia and Prison Executions. Nembutal has many medical uses but like all barbiturates, if taken in excess the results could be fatal.
Nembutal no doubt causes death when used in high doses. It is used for euthanasia for humans as well as animals. It is taken alone, or in combination with complementary agents such as phenytoin, in commercial animal euthanasia injectable solutions.
In the Netherlands, Nembutal is part of the standard protocol for physician-assisted suicide for self-administration by the patient. It is given in liquid form, in a solution of sugar syrup and alcohol, containing 9 grams of Nembutal. This is preceded by an antiemetic to prevent vomiting.
In the United States states specifically Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and California, It is taken by mouth for physician-assisted death. The oral dosage of Nembutal indicated for physician-assisted suicide is 10 grams of liquid.
In Switzerland however the dose for assisted suicide had been raised to 15 grams because with lower doses death was preceded by a coma of up to 10 hours in some cases.
We can see that 3 different countries have 3 different lethal dose which begs the question ”who is correct”.
According to Exit International
The lethal dose pf Nembutal according to Exit International. While there are several florid accounts of failure by people taking a full 100ml bottle of veterinary Nembutal, closer scrutiny shows a much more complex situation. Exit has examined the details and medical records of several such cases.
In the vast majority of cases, one bottle (100ml @ 60mg/ml) of veterinary Nembutal will always be satisfactory and lead to a peaceful death, usually in ~1 – 2 hours. However, there is a small group (estimated at <1%) who may exhibit a prolonged comatose phase before death (sometimes up to 24 hours).
Outright ‘failures” remain extremely rare. Indeed, all of the reported failures investigated by Exit were associated with carly discovery and subsequent medical intervention. This emphasizes the need for careful selection of the place of death.
In some of the analyzed cases, the long comatose phase was associated with the prolonged use of anti-psychotic medication or chronic heavy alcohol use, prior to taking the barbiturate.
It is presumed the induction of liver enzymes by these drugs.
causes increased degradation of the Nembutal, lowering the concentration in the brain. In these situations, increasing the quantity of drug taken (eg. to 2 bottles, 12gm) may not necessarily hasten the death.
Exit has examined the use of several potentiating drugs which may be dissolved into the liquid Nembutal, removing any possibility of extended coma. The most useful, Dilantin, (phenytoin sodium) is discussed in this Chapter.
