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In this chapter a number of other drug options for a peace- ful death are considered. Although sometimes thought of as reliably lethal, each of these possible pharmeceutical options suffers from some factor or issue that makes the choice less desirable than the gold standard, Nembutal.
The drugs to be considered in this chapter include:
• The tricyclic antidepressant - Amitriptyline • The anti-malarial - Chloroquine • The hormone - Insulin • The sedative - Chloral Hydrate
Amitriptyline
Amitriptyline is the most useful in a class of drugs known as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). These drugs can be lethal if taken in a certain way.
The TCAs date back to the early 1960s where they established themselves as useful antidepressants. However, their narrow therapeutic margin (the dose needed for therapy as an antide- pressant and that which is toxic is close) meant that there were dangers in prescribing these drugs, especially to depressed people, from either accidental or intentional overdose.