Evidence: Drugs are bad for you...

[Bungleau]

From Yahoo Weird News...

Modesto man tries to amputate own arm MODESTO, Calif. - Police say a man tried to cut off his own arm at a restaurant in Modesto, Calif., because he thought he had injected air into a vein while shooting cocaine and feared he would die unless he took drastic action. Authorities say 33-year-old Michael Lasiter rushed into the Denny's restaurant late Friday and started stabbing himself in one arm with a butter knife he grabbed from a table. They say that when that knife didn't work Lasiter took a butcher knife from the kitchen and dug it into his arm. Police Sgt. Brian Findlen says Lasiter told officers he thought he needed to amputate his arm to keep himself from dying from the cocaine injection. Lasiter was taken to a hospital for treatment of severe cuts. The Denny's closed for the night. ___ Information from: The Modesto Bee, http://www.modbee.com

Um... yeah. I just don't know what to say here... evidence that your mind may not be in full control, for sure.

I guess he didn't think about what would happen *after* he amputated his arm. That whole blood-loss thing...

There's a joke waiting to be made about the fact that it took place at a Denny's, but I'll leave that alone.. .for now...

[thecarrotdude]

What happens if you inject air into your vein?

[VulcanRider]

I think I've heard that when the air bubble gets to your heart it disrupts your heartbeat and can kill you. Kind of like a water pump losing its prime.

[Sever]

The guy must've been off his chops. Any self respecting junky knows that it takes more than a fit full of air to stop your heart beating. Sheesh.

[VulcanRider]

"self respecting junky"

There's an oxymoron...

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by thecarrotdude What happens if you inject air into your vein?

Wikipedia to the rescue.

An air embolism, or more generally gas embolism, is a medical condition caused by gas bubbles in the bloodstream (embolism in a medical context refers to any large moving mass or defect in the blood stream). Small amounts of air often get into the blood circulation accidentally during surgery and other medical procedures, but most of these in veins are stopped at the lungs, and a venous air embolism that shows symptoms are very rare. Death may occur if a large bubble of gas becomes lodged in the heart, stopping blood from flowing from the right ventricle to the lungs (this is similar to vapor lock in engine fuel systems). However, the amount of gas necessary for this to happen is quite variable, and also depends on a number of other factors, such as body position.

[Kakero]

Which reminds me of the scene in the Grudge 2 where this female doctor inject herself with nothing inside and died.