# \[Toxicology of Butalbital - edited title\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxicology-of-butalbital-edited-title/669206>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 18, 2013, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxicology-of-butalbital-edited-title/669206 "2013-09-18T07:53:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ledouxt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@ledouxt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ledouxt)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxicology-of-butalbital-edited-title/669206/1 "2013-09-18T07:53:32Z")

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My daughter was shot in the head and died. The Medical Examiner found 1.7 mcg/mL Butalbital in her heart blood. Does that mean she was high as a kite or just mildly medicated for a tension headache?

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**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxicology-of-butalbital-edited-title/669206/2 "2013-09-18T14:37:17Z")

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According to this [powerpoint](http://tsforum.event123.no/FHI/ICADTS2010/pop.cfm?FuseAction=Doc&pAction=View&pDocumentId=27348) presentation the amount you listed would be in the therapeutic levels. The presentation states that a single 100 mg dose would result in a peak level of 2mcg/ml (expressed as mg/L)

I should state that I am not a toxicologist and this was just a quick search. Hopefully someone more informed will come along to confirm this or point out my mistake.

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**Author:** ![ledouxt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@ledouxt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ledouxt)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxicology-of-butalbital-edited-title/669206/3 "2013-09-18T22:51:43Z")

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Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question yorick73. The PowerPoint was very helpful and I can use it in the future. I appreciate your input.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxicology-of-butalbital-edited-title/669206/4 "2013-09-19T03:59:40Z")

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Moderator Note: The above posts were made in an old thread. I have split them off in a new thread with a new title.

Colibri  
General Questions Moderator