Dr. Horace Wells became a heavy user of ether, chloroform, and nitrous oxide during his time in prison, leading to his tragic death. Despite his addiction, he continued to perform dental procedures on patients who found his use of laughing gas to be highly enjoyable.
The podcast explores the cold case of the murder of a mycologist and the odd practice of trying new mushrooms on yourself after feeding them to your children, or maybe even your dog.
Wells, a dentist, performed successful dental procedures on numerous patients, using nitrous oxide, and wanted to present his findings to the Harvard medical establishment, but his first public demonstration went horribly wrong, leading him to become hooked on chloroform and nitrous oxide and ending his career as a pioneer in anesthesia.
The speaker discusses the drug use of Hank Williams, mentioning his heavy usage of ether, chloroform, and nitrous oxide that eventually led to his death.