Belushi, John

John Belushi both overdosed on speedballs, a mixture of heroin and cocaine, and college basketball star Len Bias and Cleveland Browns football player Don Rogers both overdosed on cocaine. 

The metabolism of cocaine leaves the person with an abnormal letdown, called "crashing". In an attempt to soften this severe depression cocaine is often compounded with heroin called a "speedball". This is common among those who started out as either heroin or cocaine abusers. The comedian John Belushi died from such a mixture. 

Physiologically, cocaine is a powerful stimulant that quickens the heartbeat, but it wears off much faster than heroin, which works to depress the heart rate. The stimulant effect of the cocaine and the depressant effect of heroin wreak havoc on the heart, which can lose its rhythm. Cocaine frequently masks how much heroin has been consumed, and when the cocaine s effects dissipate, heart failure can result. John Belushi and River Pheonix both died this way after taking speedballs. 

Rush, Roll, Higgins, 1998). The combination of cocaine (or amphetamine) and heroin (or other opiate) is called a speedbair and is particularly popular among heroin addicts. Morphine and cocaine combinations have been studied in the laboratory, and as with alcohol, morphine appeared to enhance the pleasurable effects of cocaine but also increased the cardiovascular effects. Combinations of cocaine and heroin have sometimes been blamed for drug overdose deaths (as in the deaths of comedian John Belushi and actor River Phoenix), and the synergistic effects on blood pressure and heart rate may be a factor (Foltin Fischman, 1992 Rush et al., 1998). 

Woodward, B. (1984). Wired Ihe short life and fast times of John Belushi. New York Pocket Books. 

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