Imm not into drugs and I’m not really interested in that topic but I always wondered how drugs can kill someone. Obv I know that the organs shut down and everything but why are they shutting down specifically?
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All drugs/ meds have a specific “therapeutic range” that sets dosage in relation to effect. It goes from the minimum dosage for an effect to occur up to the dosage where unwanted or adverse reactions start to show up. This “window” can be very narrow for some high potency substances with serious side effects, like respiratory depression (e.g. opioides) or cardiac events (e.g. digitoxin), especially when these substances have high interaction potential with metabolic enzymes (e.g. cytochrome induction/inhibition) or synergistic physiological effects (e.g. alcohol + benzo + opioid = extreme GABA overstimulation paired with central respiratory depression, that leads to the brain “ignoring” the breathing reflex). There is no substance without side-effect, because they always “fit” in more than one receptor in the body. Some are just more obvious than others. That’s why some drugs are under strict supervision and others can be bought without a prescription. But you can OD with Aspirin as well if you really want to.
ELI5 edit: all drugs have unwanted effects. In some cases side-effects can interfere with vital body functions, especially in regard to applied dosage.
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