[Farm93]

THC is now believed to help those addicted to opioids.  Right?  So the whole cocktail is pretty logical.  There is a person that has had multiple back surgeries.  Generally he is in pain day to day, but needed to be mobile for a variety of PR related events.  Then knew he was in for a painful plane trip home and took a few things for the flight and/or the anxiety of knowing the plane trip might create additional pain.

I almost understand the likely sequence.  There are millions of Americans in similar situations.  They start taking painkillers after a surgery.  They keep medicating to get back to work, and then they can't imagine making it through a day without them.  Sad, but really rather common.

Given those meds though it seems hard to understand why he would ever plan on driving after a transcontinental plane trip.  You'd think he would have drivers for any vehicle transportation required after a plane trip.

Have to believe his days as a golfer are over since professional golfing is not helpful for those with chronic back issues. 

[Farm93]

THC is now believed to help those addicted to opioids.  Right?  So the whole cocktail is pretty logical.  There is a person that has had multiple back surgeries.  Generally he is in pain day to day, but needed to be mobile for a variety of PR related events.  Then knew he was in for a painful plane trip home and took a few things for the flight and/or the anxiety of knowing the plane trip might create additional pain.

I almost understand the likely sequence.  There are millions of Americans in similar situations.  They start taking painkillers after a surgery.  They keep medicating to get back to work, and then they can't imagine making it through a day without them.  Sad, but really rather common.

Given those meds though it seems hard to understand why he would ever plan on driving after a transcontinental plane trip.  You'd think he would have drivers for any vehicle transportation required after a plane trip.

Have to believe his days as a golfer are over since professional golfing is not helpful for those with chronic back issues. 

[BostonCard]

Medications are not effective for chronic back pain.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2...-back-pain

BC

[BostonCard]

Medications are not effective for chronic back pain.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2...-back-pain

BC

[Mick]

Medications are not effective for chronic back pain.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2...-back-pain

BC

I think you'd be better off with acupuncture.

[Mick]

Medications are not effective for chronic back pain.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2...-back-pain

BC

I think you'd be better off with acupuncture.

[needle]

This is going to sound like I'm defending Tiger, but what amounts of these drugs were found and how long do they stay in one's system?

Or, can we assume he likely took all of those different drugs within, say, the same 12-hour period.

[needle]

This is going to sound like I'm defending Tiger, but what amounts of these drugs were found and how long do they stay in one's system?

Or, can we assume he likely took all of those different drugs within, say, the same 12-hour period.

[BostonCard]

Dilaudid is fairly short acting.  It has a half-life of about 2 hours.
Zolpidem (Ambien) also has a pretty short half-life (2 - 3 hours), though there are delayed release tablets designed to shift the drug's peak dose to later in the night such that levels can be detected later.
Hydrocodone's half-life is about 4 hours.

The others have longer half-lives;
alprazolam (Xanax) is about 12 hours
THC has a half-life of about 4 hours, but the half-life of its primary metabolite (which I think is what is tested for) is 25 - 36 hours

Generally speaking, depending on dose, a drug is detectable through about 5 half-lives, but that to an extent depends on the limits of detection of the test.  It seems likely that at least a couple of the drugs were taken within 12 hours.  Not sure about Xanax or THC.

BC

[BostonCard]

Dilaudid is fairly short acting.  It has a half-life of about 2 hours.
Zolpidem (Ambien) also has a pretty short half-life (2 - 3 hours), though there are delayed release tablets designed to shift the drug's peak dose to later in the night such that levels can be detected later.
Hydrocodone's half-life is about 4 hours.

The others have longer half-lives;
alprazolam (Xanax) is about 12 hours
THC has a half-life of about 4 hours, but the half-life of its primary metabolite (which I think is what is tested for) is 25 - 36 hours

Generally speaking, depending on dose, a drug is detectable through about 5 half-lives, but that to an extent depends on the limits of detection of the test.  It seems likely that at least a couple of the drugs were taken within 12 hours.  Not sure about Xanax or THC.

BC