June Update: A terrible tragedy

I wanted to update you all to share the tragic news of the death of my close friend and long-time collaborator Justin Clark on June 7th. It saddens me to say that Justin's name is likely unfamiliar to many of the people reading this, despite the fact that he played an absolutely crucial role in all three seasons of Hamilton's Pharmacopeia and was the editor of many podcasts I released over this patreon. 

Justin is the second friend I've lost in a ten week span to an accidental drug overdose and his death is something I'm still attempting to process. He was one of my best friends for almost seven years and the impact he had on my life is hard for me to articulate. It's also hard for me to simply remember the "good times" as I could with people I knew less well like Gian, because our relationship was long and complicated and filled with a lot of pain, stemming in part from his addictions. I am now more aware than ever of the way a tragic death can turn into a finger pointing nightmare, something that I've discussed previously but had never experienced first hand.

I plan to release a memorial podcast discussing Justin's life and the complexities of the addictions (primarily dissociative anesthetics) that lead up to his passing in the coming days, but it remains difficult to talk about. As I said in my (now deleted) memorial for Gian, please be careful. The number of overdoses I have seen recently eclipses anything I've ever seen in the past. I don't know exactly what happened to Justin because he hid his drug use from me but I think he was using street ketamine or an RC dissociative. I also know someone who recently overdosed (non-fatally, thankfully) on isotonitazene and woke up in the ICU. 

I have some prerecorded podcasts that I will release before the end of the month, to the many subscribers I thank you for your support and assure you that I have not forgotten about this project. I will continue to release podcasts and respond to your messages, but now is a difficult time. 

Please be safe everyone and tell your friends you love them.