Essay on The Demise of John Belushi - 1243 Words

From Saturday Night Live to his most infamous performance of a perpetually intoxicated fraternity member in Animal House, John Belushi has and continues to entertain audiences of various generations. His photograph is one that can often be found adorning the dormitory walls of modern college students hoping to have an experience in college that the cult hero would be proud of. His most recent performance that garnered any kind of critical acclaim, however, was given over thirty years ago with his portrayal of Jake Blues in the comedic classic The Blues Brothers. John Belushi has never been described as a one hit wonder; his most recent performance was given during what many consider the height of his popularity within the media. The†¦show more content†¦He expired sometime that morning before being discovered by his personal trainer around noon and was pronounced dead on March 15th, 1982 at 12:45pm. A speedball is a deadly combination of a stimulant and a depressant, most c ommonly cocaine and an opiate of some kind, usually either heroin or morphine. The concoction was extremely popular at the time of Belushi’s death, however Belushi is not the only well-known celebrity to have died of a Speedball mixture. Ironically enough, Chris Farley, one of the other most famous cast members of Saturday Night Live and a lifetime admirer of Belushi, died of a speedball mixture of cocaine and morphine sulfate in 1997. The chosen stimulant and depressant are premixed before being taken intravenously. The combination can also be taken through inhaling or snorting the two powders together, but the intravenous version is considered more common. Because of the nature of both chemicals used in the drug mixture, a speedball has an extremely high risk of physical dependence and can cause powerful withdrawal symptoms. The reason for mixing the stimulant with the depressant is an attempt to maximize the euphoric effects of both drugs while supposedly reducing the chan ce of anxiety attributed to stimulants or sedation attributed to depressants. The risk of HIV contraction is much