Expert: GMan - 6/5/2009

Question
What up GMan. Thank you for for all of your insight. I'm only on page 6 and have learned a ton.  My question is about this article I came across on this link http://members.tripod.com/~Agaric40/info/spin.html  At the bottom, this article ends with Miguel talking about Bradley having an enlarged heart condition for about a year prior to his death.  This seems to imply that a pre-existing heart condition may have had something to do with his death. I hadn't heard about that.  What's you take on this?

Andy

Answer
Hey Andy,

Sorry for the slight delay. I was up in Humbolt County for the weekend.

Anyway, Yeah, they say that Brad had a "big heart" but that's no joke. He was a party-er; just like we all were, but as sublime got more popular, the drugs became more prevalent, stronger, better, etc. Brad was the one to "push the envelope" out off the 3; out of all of us. With not only drugs but also his music... with everything.

A white boy doing reggae? That shit was unheard of back then & NOBODY in the LB scene gave him half a chance of pulling it off on a big scale. They were wrong; obviously.

But, yeah, he got into speed real big time & then heroin, & ONE of the MANY side effects or consequences to doing JUST those two drugs...

To be noted: He did everything and anything.

... is the inflammation of one's heart.

He would have killed himself eventually, trust me, if he didn't stop using indefinitely. You can ask anyone that was around back then. It was just a matter of time. So, if he would have just quit for good and for life, his heart would have returned to normal eventually.

As it was, his "on again, off again" use of heroin only aggravated the issue. It's like blowing a balloon up and letting the air out over & over again. The skin wears out, stretches, etc. & causes a multitude of problems because your heart doesn't know what to do at any given time because it knows no "normal" cycle. He could have; or probably would have had a heart attack and/or his heart might even have exploded based on ONLY his PAST drug use,... so he would have been walking a fine line for years even if he would have stopped using completely.

The enlarging of the heart weakens it so when you NEED it to pump blood, it doesn't, sometimes causing cardiac arrest. Heroin causes respiratory depression (the breathing reflex is suppressed) and it slows down your heart rate, so when this happens, you need your heart to kick into high gear so you don't overdose. Having an enlarged heart slows this reflex down because the heart is weaker. This is probably what happened to Brad.

Also, the story goes that the Heroin that Brad got from a promoter in Chico was WAY stronger than the Mexican tar that he was used to shooting thus causing his death with his "normal" dosage, but I'm not so sure about that theory. Brad was using heavily for years and, I believe, he would known to take it easy with some unknown dope & the fact that he had been clean for a while would have most likely made him more cautious than usual.

So, A final factor that could have contributed to his overdose is "place conditioning". (Brad was on the road in a hotel he didn't know in San Francisco) Heroin use is a highly ritualized behavior. Longtime heroin users display increased tolerance to the drug in locations where they have repeatedly administered heroin. When the user injects in a different location, this environment-conditioned tolerance does not occur, resulting in a greater drug effect. The user's typical dose of the drug, in the face of decreased tolerance, becomes far too high and can be toxic, leading to overdose.

Heroin is a very tricky drug. It makes you feel better than you thought you ever could, all the while fucking up your insides(not to mention your mind)without you even being aware of it. One of these problems with Brad was his drug-related heart condition.

I hope this helps.

"All Sublime All The Time"

Peace,
GMan