When my shaking ten-year-old begged me to hurry home, I had no idea a nightmare was waiting. I raced inside to find my husband and child cold and motionless on the living room rug. Paramedics rushed in, but the lead officer grabbed my arm, shaking his head. “Ma’am, this wasn’t an accident…”

It was the heavily regulated, tamper-proof blister backing of a Schedule II pharmaceutical-grade barbiturate—the exact compound utilized in high-level laboratory sedation protocols. Affixed to the center of the foil was the universal biohazard skull. Clinging to the jagged edges of the ruptured foil was a microscopic residue of white crystalline powder.continue reading …