2 ms·

My vote would go to caffeine, not only is the damage minimal (at low doses) to your body, its LD50 is also really hard to hit without trying exceptionally hard

My vote would go to caffeine, not only is the damage minimal (at low doses) to your body, its LD50 is also really hard to hit without trying exceptionally hard (though not unheard of). Lots of people OD on heroin and die accidentally, its extraordinarily rare for someone on tea/coffee to OD and die.

DanBC 11y ago
I agree that heroin is a really bad idea. But the reasons people die by accidental overdose are: 1) they've recently tried to quit and thus have a lower threshold. 2) they've somehow got much purer product than they're used to. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-33126995 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-3312699... Heroin for addicts could be much safer than it is now.
XzetaU8 11y ago
Adrenal insufficiency or Fatigue as they call it is a real problem from coffee OD though, Instead of caffeine i recommend Piracetam, far far lower LD50 score than caffeine and it's virtually impossible to OD or die from taking too much from this stuff.
- ghshephard 11y ago
  Indeed - it looks like the LD50 for Piracetam is about 15x that of caffeine in terms of mg/kg body mass. http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9926585 http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9926585 - caffeine Toxicological Data on Ingredients: Piracetam: ORAL (LD50): Acute: 2000 mg/kg [Mouse]. http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927475 http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927475 - Piracetam Caffeine LD50 Acute: 192 mg/kg [Rat]. 127 mg/kg [Mouse]. 224 mg/kg [ Rabbit]. Presuming human equivalence to mice - A 185 pound person would need to ingest about 168 grams of piracetam as compared to around 10 grams of caffeine. But - it's really important to note that both are toxic to the point of being fatal in easily digestible, relatively small amounts. Caffeine, in particular, can creep up on you pretty quickly - penguin mints are 1/2 gram per tin. (75 * 7 mg/mint).

DanBC 11y ago

I agree that heroin is a really bad idea. But the reasons people die by accidental overdose are: 1) they've recently tried to quit and thus have a lower threshold. 2) they've somehow got much purer product than they're used to. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-33126995 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-3312699... Heroin for addicts could be much safer than it is now.

XzetaU8 11y ago

Adrenal insufficiency or Fatigue as they call it is a real problem from coffee OD though, Instead of caffeine i recommend Piracetam, far far lower LD50 score than caffeine and it's virtually impossible to OD or die from taking too much from this stuff.

ghshephard 11y ago
Indeed - it looks like the LD50 for Piracetam is about 15x that of caffeine in terms of mg/kg body mass. http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9926585 http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9926585 - caffeine Toxicological Data on Ingredients: Piracetam: ORAL (LD50): Acute: 2000 mg/kg [Mouse]. http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927475 http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927475 - Piracetam Caffeine LD50 Acute: 192 mg/kg [Rat]. 127 mg/kg [Mouse]. 224 mg/kg [ Rabbit]. Presuming human equivalence to mice - A 185 pound person would need to ingest about 168 grams of piracetam as compared to around 10 grams of caffeine. But - it's really important to note that both are toxic to the point of being fatal in easily digestible, relatively small amounts. Caffeine, in particular, can creep up on you pretty quickly - penguin mints are 1/2 gram per tin. (75 * 7 mg/mint).