This is an interesting question and something I've thought about before. Is it possible that set and setting can play some significant role in whether or not an individual takes that last fateful nod...
I know that this isn't your question exactly, but I wonder, is it possible that an individual who has just dosed opiates can find himself in such a warm and comfortable environment (like in a sauna, for example) that it only exacerbates the respiratory depression and whatever else. In other words, had that individual taken the same dose of opiates at the same time of day and then gone to work instead at, say, a meat-packing plant where the temperature is kept really chilly, I mean, is it possible that he might not have died? In other other words, can environment really make that big a difference in whether or not an opiate user stops breathing and dies?
It's an interesting thought, and I'm sure someone here more knowledgeable than I will chime in soon... *whistles* ...
