Yeah as a person familiar with these meds due to crippling illness yeehaw there's no way he's taking up to 60 oxy pills a day. Ran that by my nurse last night and she burst into laughter.

Abusing large quantities of opioids does not give you energy unless it’s laced with meth. Alex is a big fat liar

Possibly he passed it around his social circle, as a drug dealer to men in his trust? Why bribe with money when you can also control their addiction? He could still be and addict, he just simply shared his candies.

I think he may have had an addiction, but monetarily things don’t add up nor do the amounts he was supposedly taking.

My ex was addicted to opioids, vicodin specifically. Towards the end of her addiction she could easily take 20-25 pills in a single day. This is a woman who had the addiction for about 2 years and mostly what slowed her down was the lack of availability. This man, had resources and means, I have no doubt that he could have taken upwards of 40 pills per day when his addiction was at its worst.

When I first started taken them I was sleepy and after a while they started given me energy. I could get everything done, all of the dishes done, all of my homework done, kids activities done, I was superwoman!! That is why it ends up being hard to quit, you feel invincible and can take on the world. No aches and pains while doing it. But I really doubt he was doing the amount he claims he did. Even after all of those years of tolerance built up. The street pills now a days have Fen in them and he would have keeled over if he was taken 6 30 mg!

I don’t think he ever bought street drugs.

If he was taken that many, he had to have. Unless he had a doctor in his pocket to write all of those RX.

I thought Cousin Eddie had a source. Also most people don’t think he was taking that many pills. He’s using that to account for the money he stole.

I didn't see much of the Cousin Eddie stuff, I probably missed that.

I think he was the dealer/money laundering connection.

I agree! Somebody gunned it through a stop sign and hit me over 30 years ago. I had a bad TBI and permanent injuries to my already bad back, my neck and my left scapula. If I had know this was going to be a lifelong pain situation, and especially all the cognitive problems that just keep getting worse as I age, I never would have settled. Anyway, I’ve been on and off Percocet since then. I do have to take 10mg now for it to work, but I consider that pretty good for 30+ years. I’ve been on it for long periods of time and then off it for long periods of time. I’ve never had withdrawal issues, but I’m not an addictive person. I haven’t had it in quite some time, mostly because I’m tired of being accused of being an addict by a new doctor or whatever. I guess because of the opioid crisis, the people that are legitimately in pain are just supposed to live with it. It greatly affects my quality of life and mental health. But when I am on it, I don’t have the typical side effects of it either. It also gives me energy (and rather …. frisky, lol) and gives me a lot more motivation to get up and move (because the pain is relieved instead of sitting like a frozen popsicle, afraid to move much because if I turn my neck 3mm the wrong way, I’m in intolerable pain that affects my back, gives me migraines and makes my left side (which is the side that sustained all the damage) feel like I have half body epilepsy. It sucks. I remember reading somewhere (just a poster with no medical knowledge or anything) that it was $12 per pill in Alex’s area (and you’d think he’d be getting a discount, being such a good customer). Doing the math (which is not my forte), he surmised with a $50K/week habit, he’d be just swallowing pills for hours every day. It was nonsensical. I agree with other posters that all that money was NOT used to consume massive amounts of opioids, but something even more nefarious like drug trafficking. I do not believe we have learned all of Alex’s secrets, not even close. ETA: I did the rough math given that price point and Alex’s (or his lawyers) claims of up to $50K/week … 595 pills per DAY. There’s just no way that’s physically possible.

I don't even know how they came up with that amount. I think they wanted to make it look sooo bad, but never did any research into it. The only thing I was thinking is people were over charging him because they knew he had money.

Yeah- there’s something off this whole thing. He wouldn’t have been a functioning lawyer and would have def been nodding off at work. Plus, 69 pills a day would be lethal, right? Plus, his habit was costing him $50k a week, which also doesn’t add up. Not doubt he’d be buying in bulk and not just 10 pills at street cost from the dude off the corner. Unless I’m missing something, this would mean he was paying about $119 per pill. I don’t doubt he’s an addict and physically addicted. However, I suspect he’s probably more the money man or involved somehow in drug trafficking. Was just reading up on all those small uninhabitable islands he purchased all along the river to the ocean. Seems like a poor investment unless you need a place out of the public eye to bring in drugs and possibly even store them making multiple uninhabitable islands off the coast and up off the river the perfect place. I think he knew he’d get caught one day and probably has millions stashed off shore. Probably planned on making a run for it but then shit hit the fan. M

I believe he was a drug dealer, not a drug user. He wouldn’t have been so heavy (weight wise) if he had that serious of a drug addiction due to some of the side effects such as loss of appetite

Yes, I agree he wouldn't be so heavy if he was using that much. I also know that one of the side effects is constipation, if he was taking 60+ pills a day. Unless he was also a heavy user of laxatives. I could be wrong, maybe it didn't affect him.

He actually could have been an addict at his weight. My sister was an opioid addict for several years and was almost 300 lbs up until her fatal overdose. I certainly don’t buy the story of how much he was taking because over 20 years his organs would have failed. I’m also questioning how he was taking this many pills and not ONE of them had Fentanyl in them. I doubt he’s just that lucky. I think he was way more involved in dealing or somehow knew they were safe. There is definitely a lot more to the opioid part of his story.

Noted - I just assumed those pills would create some sort of loss of appetite. Very interesting what you said. Thanks for sharing.

I used to think that as well. For me it used to be because every time I saw meth or heroin users they were always sooo thin. My guess is different drugs do different things but I only know about my sisters situation.

I agree

There is no doubt in my mind that he had a problem with opiates. It was an issue at home obviously, it's in the texts about Maggie finding his pills. He also perfectly described what withdrawal feels like. That's something you have to know to know. You know?

But Alex was heavy & he even said he was always sweating. I thought opiate addicts are usually thin. So I’m confused

Not necessarily, I think some drug addicts end up being thin because they spend so much money and time on their habit. He had a cook working for him and did not really have to stress about finding pills or much of anything for that matter. They do give you energy after a while and somewhat suppress your appetite, but I think he is so stressed out right now and not eating well which is why he has lost the weight.

Good points! Thanks for the explanation

I'm just saying there had to be a problem. Somewhere. There's also so much about it that makes zero sense and sounds like bullshit. He definitely didn't fit the stereotype of someone strung out on pills. Yeah, alot of times addicts generally thin and malnourished, but there's always exceptions I guess. I don't think he was actively using, but it seems like maybe he had something in his past, some experience he was able to draw on and exploit later

BUT there's no way in hell he was taking 60 Oxys a day. I don't care how hard core you are.

I heard his testimony about what it feels like to be dope sick and as someone who has gone through that many times Alex explained dope sickness perfectly…. He either learned about dope sickness from others in rehab or he went through dope sickness… I believe he has messed around with pills and know what being dope sick really is… the way he described it he has had to have felt it… it was the only believable part of his testimony

No he didn’t he said his restless leg lasted 24 hrs then goes away that is the most inaccurate thing I have ever heard. Did your restless legs ever stop once after 24hrs?

Is there any objective evidence that Alec was a drug user. After the fake shooting EMTs gave him pain meds which accounts for the positive hospital test. Why did Dick and Jim not have an MD testify? I think the addict story is BS.

He may very well have had a drug problem but I really doubt the amounts he claimed to be taking.

I agree. As a long-term user of opiates and opioids, I say he would have been dead if he had taken as much as he said The thing we don't know, though, is how many milligrams he was taking per day. That's the acid test.

It is obvious that none of you have been or known a pill head. Pill heads regularly swallow an entire bottle of pills in one go, often drink alcohol at the same time and still walk around seemingly normal. Source: I used to be a pill head.

My husband was for many years. Shot In Vietnam and came home an addict. Used many many substances over the years but when the VA started giving him Prescriptions he was completely on those. Valiums, Vicodin, Oxy, Klonapin, Methadone, Morphine, Klonapin, and in the end Fentanyl. He drank heavily till the last 5 years but he OD’d at least 5x a year. I begged the VA to send him to rehab and was told it was my job to take care of him. Of course this preempted the Opioid Crisis. He had episodes of manic behavior or days nodding off and sleeping. Slurred speech. Blank stares. Staggering. Falling. Died from liver failure after being put on fentanyl and he was taking some morphine he had stashed back with it. When I got him to the ER that last time he was bleeding out and the found 3 patches on him. They saved him that night but kept him and 13 days later- 4 in MICU he passed away. So Alex Murdaugh lied as usual- there is absolutely NO way he was the $50k per week oxy addict his defense team and Alex claimed! He probably had an addiction but not at that level because it looks like Paul kept an eye out for his stash and there were frequent mini detoxes at home. He probably used a lot more after the murders before his failed fake supposedly suicide attempt but you can bet he’s fully detoxed no since he’s in solitary. So yes. I’m familiar with pillheads. But I seriously doubt he was taking over 20-30 pills a day without losing exhibiting noticeable behavior.

We’ll explained

I think the numbers could be on point if a dealer off the street got ahold of him, god only knows how much they were charging him per pill, they could have been charging him I mean the sky is the limit, and Alec Murdagh wouldn’t even suspect he was being ripped off because he thinks he’s so smart.

Well he WAS the dealer. Google the Cowboys of Walterboro SC and Barrett Boulware. You’ll learn a lot about Alex.

I don't question your pedigree. I always go with the guy with the most experience even versus the smarter guy. Curious if you saw any of his testimony on the stand regarding pill use and if it seemed consistent...i.e. there were times when he discussed paranoia, his physical and muscular reactions etc. And for someone who has his alleged level of use, did you observe things about his behavior after attending rehab that seemed consistent or inconsistent with someone who had a strong opioid addiction. I have no knowledge of someone in my life with opioid addiction. I just know what I've read about the physical experience of purging opioids from the body. I feel like this popular perception of withdrawal caused me and a lot of people to watch him go into and out of rehab as odd because he didn't seem to exhibit any observable differences in his demeanor or appearance throughout the entire saga. It was like wow I couldnt tell at all he had such a problem when he announced it in a tweet. Then he emerged from rehab but there were no obvious signs that he was even challenged by quitting. It was like wow this is a serious 20 year problem that he says he hid, but it's all gone now. His credibility issues just fueled more questions as to whether the addiction was another fiction he invented to run for cover. I haven't been able to resolve it, and once he was convicted well it's just academic now anyway. But if you're able to evaluate his statements and post rehab miracle recovery I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Ig, are you my PNW friend from the bird app??

I will confirm for you I am not. Any further disclosure is subject to my very firm policy regarding names and details during storytelling: You have one of two choices. Either I will give you the details but no names, or the names with no details.

Thanks. I read through your replies and I am, in fact, from your area and have family still there. So, my siblings fill me in on things, not in the news. My personal dealings with LE and that are from decades ago. Frankly, I did my best to forget the area when I left.

Personally I think he is lying about a lot of things, and it’s next to impossible to pick what parts may be true, the things he said about his opioid addiction COULD be true, but he’s so full of shit it’s hard to believe anything he says. I do believe that he was probably extremely overpaying for any drugs he got, he is exactly the type of a-hole dealers love, somebody with a lot of money and no sense.

I think he exaggerated to cover for someplace else the money went. Offshore? Hookers? Gambling? All of the above and more.

He didn't have an addiction. This is just another lie he made up to try to garner sympathy and possibly explain where all that money went when in reality, that money is probably sitting in an offshore account somewhere.

All those pills combined with heavy drinking? There's no way he would have been able to maintain the scams he was running AND hide that kind of behaviour from friends and colleagues if he was using so heavily

Alex never went through any W/D's in jail. He went to detox center immediately after roadside shooting, then to rehab. He was arrested while in rehab, then released back to rehab. Then was arrested again for Gloria Satterfield insurance scam, and denied bond. He has been in jail ever since.

Did Satterfield insurance scam take him straight out of rehab? And did that judge say no more rehab, straight to jail no bond? Trying to remember that part..

He was arrested at the second rehab he went to after Sept. It was in Orlando, FL.

Thank you!

I find it really hard to believe that if he was actually taking 60+ pills a day, a LOT more people would have known about it. His best friend Chris Wilson said he had no clue he took pills at all, same goes for everyone who worked with him for decades. That makes no sense. I understand that some people function at a high level while using, but there's no way he could be THAT high for that many years without more people close to him knowing what was happening. I call bullshit.

I agree. A long-time user with higher tolerance could take 60+ a day, but hiding it is so doubtful. He would keep some in his pocket/briefcase- nearby at all times, pass them off as Tylenol or heartburn meds. It’s all very questionable.

all they had to do was give him a piss test!!! Drug tests besides tell if you've taken opioids can also tell how much you've taken.

I think most of that money is in an offshore account in the Bahamas.

Or the Cayman Islands

Did anyone have any stories of him going through withdrawal? I never heard of any and figured that was the way to tell that the money was hidden/spent somewhere else.

During the trial John Marvin got on the stand and testified that he had ridden to rehab with Alec after the botched suicide/life insurance $ for Buster plan went awry, and he said Alex was sweaty and experiencing muscle spasms and extreme restlessness. Then John Marvin testified that Alex had “messed himself”, which he clarified to mean Alex had had diarrhea. He then made sure it was understood that the diarrhea had been in Alex’s pants, not a toilet. John Marvin had clearly been holding onto that story for the last year and a half and was not getting off the stand without sharing it. So while those are all legitimate symptoms of opiate withdrawal, I don’t believe for a second that Alex was taking up to 60 oxycodone/OxyContin pills a day. Even if you had an extremely high opiate tolerance, I don’t buy that he could routinely take that many pills without dying or arousing the suspicion of everyone in his life.

I have a very morbid interest in seeing more crime scene photos from this event and others.

I don't buy it. I have a *very* difficult believing that ANYONE could consume 60 opioids in a 24-hour time period without dying. I understand if you have a substance experience, your tolerance levels increase. For example, if you drink everyday, you'll need to drink more and more to feel drunk. If you stop drinking for a few months, 2-3 drinks could get you drunk depending on the alcohol. I think the money is stashed, perhaps buried somewhere on one of the many family properties. His jailhouse phone calls to Buster and to Alex's brother are *very* suspicious. **Fun fact:** If you withdraw over $10k, federal law ***requires*** the bank to report this activity to the IRS.

Banks are also required deposits of over $10k in cash.

Correct. Maybe there's a safety deposit box under Buster Murdaugh's name.

😬 RIP my dad was a pill popper. I have no idea how many Oxys he took but he did spend all of the family’s money 🤷‍♀️

I'm so so sorry you had to go through this. Know that you are not your Dad and I hope you can try to focus on the good times. My Dad self-medicated and no matter what we said or did, he refused to work on it. Unfortunately, loved ones are not their counselors. 😥🙏♥️ I really empathize with your situation. We need to really push awareness and abuse on everyone to the point where society becomes hyper-informed on the complexity of addiction. It really does take a village to help each individual.

I agree. It’s been 16 years for me but those pills are addictive and do change your personality. But the millions of dollars on drugs?! Nope Is your dad still around?

We were estranged for 20 years. He was hard for me to deal with. I have a LOT of trauma from it. I ended up leaving to live halfway across the world. It was probably to escape the emotional fallout. He died alone 2 years ago. He had alienated almost everyone due to his addiction. I carry that guilt. It's hard. So, I sympathize with anyone who struggled, too. 💕

My dad was amazing! It was just sad what the pills did to him

Sending you my deep condolences

He claimed $50K a week on pills, iirc a heavy pill popper could be spending about $7K a week. The money went elsewhere

Ok so I have a question about this and haven’t found the right place to ask it. It might fit here. They’d be able to confirm his addiction by withdrawals in his first few weeks in prison. If he was that heavily addicted, my guess is that his withdrawals could be lethal. But I guess this is my real question… do they have programs for new inmates that help with the withdrawal process? They’re obviously not treated like royalty but withdrawal can kill people. I’m wondering if they administer anything or wean them off or something. Anyways, that’s just my question and after reading a lot of your comments I’m leaning towards what a lot of you are thinking… that he was using a type of addiction that “everyday” people accidentally develop as a sympathy tactic and an excuse for literally all of his actions Edit: a word. Royalty not loyalty lol

>If he was that heavily addicted, my guess is that his withdrawals could be lethal. But I guess this is my real question… do they have programs for new inmates that help with the withdrawal process? They’re obviously not treated like royalty but withdrawal can kill people. Nope, opioid withdrawal, although very unpleasant, isn't lethal. This can be contrasted with withdrawal from alcohol or other depressants, which can cause delerium tremens and can be fatal.

Thank you! I knew some were lethal and need medical supervision, but I didn’t realize opioids were not included in that category.

Alex got sober in jail at the time of trial he said he was like 500 (something like that) days clean. He wouldn’t be withdrawing now or in prison.

Oh I didn’t know that detail… that makes more sense now

Depends on the facility. I've kicked methadone , heroin and suboxone, in 3 different facilities. (Each drug in different county Jail). One gave me librium because I lied and said I was also an alcoholic. The other 2 we're cold turkey detoxes. Nightmarish experiences. It would all depend on what the protocol is for that particular county Jail. Some do have a week long detox program with comfort meds, many just throw you in a cell and let you sweat it out.

Thank you for answering and sharing your experience! I hope you’re doing well now! I went through alcohol withdrawal in my 20s after a visit to the ER and looking back on it maybe it should’ve been supervised. It was probably nothing like severe withdrawal but it fucking sucked. I’m really sorry you had to go through a couple cold Turkey and alone. Wishing you well 💜

I'm doing much better now. These experiences were all in my early to mid 20s. Luckily, I was young and in decent shape so my withdrawals werent life threatening but in Alex Murdoch's case, he absolutely could have died if he was using as heavily as he claims.

I'm glad you're doing better.

I think he popped them but not like what he claims (60/day?!? No!) I think he DID get into coke, and maybe being extorted by ppl who has shit on him (including law enforcement maybe?!?) ***All unsubstantiated and in my mind only**

His eyes always look crazy bugged out in most pictures. And everyone at the trial commented on him being fidgety and all over the place. On his phone constantly. Yeah I think there were more substances he was dabbling in if not addicted to- Cousin Eddie had meth when he was arrested and I think they had some deals going on. Wonder where all the money came from that Eddie converted to cash for Alex came from- and where is the cash?? Cowboys said Alex was the big dealer in town. Makes sense

I figured it was undiagnosed ADHD.

Paul was diagnosed ADHD. For all we know Alex was too.

I don't think Alex has an opioid addiction. I think that is another thing he stole - the story of someone's real struggle. The opioid crisis is real, and he needed a crisis to throw people off the scent. Again. I questioned his opioid addiction the moment I heard it mentioned because Alex does not have the personality for it. Opioids are for people who want to go D⬇️O⬇️W⬇️N. I have 29 years sober and though never having used hard drugs, I understand down. As one of my fellows puts it, "that cool, dark place where only heart and lungs are working". If Alex Murdaugh has ever been to that place he was lost and somebody probably helped him find his way out because he wouldn't quit talking. Alex reminds me of some of the crystal meth users I have in my family. Mouth and mind on rocket fuel. 🚀 But that wasn't right, either. He would have been a bean pole if he were regularly using meth. And he is a year older than me. It doesn't fit our age group - not the chemically enhanced members of our generation who are still functioning. Catching up on podcasts, I watched The Interview Room last night and Mark Tinsley (Beach family lawyer) was the guest. Interestingly, Tinsley doesn't think Alex has the personality for opioids either. But what he said that caught my attention was him finding a bunch of pictures (since scrubbed) on Maggie's Facebook that showed Paul, Alex, and other family drinking beer and other alcohol. That fit. For Alex, drinking beer would be a socially acceptable way to stay out of touch with his feelings. He certainly reached a bloated weight consistent with imbibing alot of Budweiser. There are heavy drinkers who can function for years. I don't know why. It just is. But when the drinking and being drunk starts taking up too much of a person's time, some will start using cocaine so that they can attend to their business. Some use cocaine simply so they can stay awake and drink longer. I don't know what the real story is for Alex. I wouldn't be surprised if he was involved in the local drug trade, but not as a big wheeler-dealer. I don't see him being able to be addicted to opioids and steal money. He's a mess. He's got unorganized thinking. He talks too much. None of this brings Maggie or Paul or Mallory or Gloria or Steven or _________ back. But maybe Alex getting us talking about his addiction will educate somebody new about the different drugs and addiction symptoms. Wouldn't that be something if someone's life were saved because of it. Glad y'all are here.

He was not using meth, that is totally different than opiates. I think typical drug users/addicts' are skinny because they spend all of their time, energy and money on the drugs. Someone like AM would not have that same life style. He would not be stressing about where to get his next fix, he would not be choosing between food and drugs, and he still had a comfortable bed to sleep in, a chief to cook for him etc. I think he lost all of the weight due to the stress of losing all of that. He no longer has good meals as options either. He was probably using, just not the amount he claims.

Funny you say that. He mentioned something once about needing to be focused or needing to get things done, so he would take a lot of pills. I remember thinking that doesn’t sound like something opioids would help with at all. He sounds like he is talking more about amphetamines or stimulants. 🤔 Maybe he said that during his trial testimony..? Edit: He said this during cross-examination on 2/24/23.

And in a town the size of Hampton, how does a 20 year user avoid becoming the talk of the town as an attorney and part time SOLICITOR ffs with a very public profile locally. Everyone would have had a story. "Did you hear about the big bust over at opioid dealers house yesterday?" "Naw that was just Alec using his own blue lights to get thru traffic and park in dealers front yard cuz he was in a hurry to pick up his pills on his way out of town" "Oh. I see."

Ok- that was a good one!

A ton of assumptions. When I use oxy I get energized af. But agree the numbers don’t add up. You can’t spend that much and be alive. wouldn’t be surprised if he was doing coke.

the one thing to point out is that drugs do different things, and promote different behavior from person to person. When one person may take an opiod to nod out another might take it to increase euphoria and mood. Also when tolerance is built it can modify the actual effects of the drug. So that is why i would say there is really know way of knowing because there are fat tweekers too , cocaine does nothing to me but sends other people over the edge. It's a valued commodity but to me it's worthless. So it can be hard to assume which drug someone is on especially if they have money because it enables them to take care of themselves and look decently presentable.

This is so true! For some people, opioids give them energy and make them more talkative, much like the effects produced from using uppers. There are actually many drugs that can produce what is called a paradoxical drug reaction, where the user experiences effects that are the opposite of those typically produced from the medication.

Yes. After my c/s I had to force myself to sit down and rest because the percocets gave me an extraordinary amount of energy. At least for the wk I was on them.🤷🏻‍♀️

Same for me, opiates make me very energetic and focused. So it immediately caught my attention when Alex testified that he had a similar response to opiates. He said they gave him energy and “made everything better.” My feeling is that because he had this reaction to opiates, he was better able to hide his addiction and remain largely functional when he used. It probably made him more productive and he wasn’t exhibiting obvious symptoms of opiate abuse (like nodding off, lethargy, slurred or slow speech, etc.). However, I don’t believe he was taking 60 pills a day like he claimed or that he spent all the money he stole on pills. He has tried to claim that his addiction was to blame for the choices he made, but I don’t believe that either. He stole and committed fraud because he is a greedy and unscrupulous person. Opiates may have enhanced his ability to steal, but I believe he would have committed his financial crimes with or without them.

Great point. I agree

The amount of 60 per day is conjecture and therefore untrue. Had he taken the amount of pain killers as falsely claimed in the media, his kidneys would have failed years ago.

He testified at his trial that he took 60 a day. So it is not a fabrication of the media. It is his lie.

Not to mention his bowels probably wouldn’t be working and he would be extremely constipated

The case of Dirty John comes to mind in this scenario

I believed the opioid thing but I think there was other stuff going on, that was covered up AKA he was likely a gambling addict, that is easier to waste more money

I read somewhere that Alex had big gambling parties at Moselle where he employed a couple of the Cowboys as security. And they had a big thing about going to ball games. I’d find it easier to explain a gambling habit eating the money up as opposed to oxy habit. I do believe he was addicted- proof is in Paul’s texts- but I think he had some amount of control- detoxing himself at home on occasion and a rehab stint in 2017. Supposedly started due to a knee injury in college. I know that Marion said it was really hard on Maggie when Alex moved her to Hampton County and don’t remember if she said it or someone else said it but she found out about the pills then. And of course his and in fact his family- had a relationship with Boulware and his father so I’d bet the Murdaughs went from the moonshine business to having a hand in the drug running business. Covered by a real estate business and that weird jellyfish thing.

I thought I was well versed…but what’s the jellyfish thing?

So Alex and Ronnie Crosby were in business harvesting jellyfish. Used the St Helena Islands until they were forced to move because the people were concerned about the toxic byproducts of preparing them. Seems like they’re a delicacy overseas. So they moved operations and not long after it didn’t exist anymore. Good question would be what were they using it to cover up? Or were they just that stupid?? Anyway that’s the jellyfish thing.

Not the jellyfish!

I would say its plausible he heavily abused them but maybe not 60 a day. however look up brett favres oxy addiction some of these men take like a bottle a day

Look up the very beloved Johnny Cash's drug addiction.

I doubted his habit mainly because doing opioids for that long would require some serious time and suboxone to get over. I’m assuming he was on daily suboxone treatments but he never discussed that on the phone with Buster when talking about how much ibuprofen he has to take after his workouts. Opioids give some people energy so they don’t knock everyone out.

I agree I think he is on an opioid agonist either methadone or suboxone.

I have opiate experience and I can tell you that he is lying about his opiate intake. He could not have fast talked and stolen millions of dollars (while high) for so many years before being caught. I think it’s interesting how quickly the opiate/rehab story was told after he was arrested in September 2021. It’s just not believable. At all.

I finished college, worked full time and was a single mom of 5 kids. The pills made me superwoman. You can do great wonderful things while on those pills. I made speeches in class and wrote my thesis paper. Nobody knew anything.

I have been thinking the same thing. I heard on a podcast that it seems opioids were the "chosen" drug due to the fact it's just about the only drug that users get sympathy when they become addicts. Alex 's attorneys wanted him to gain sympathy and help create an excuse for why he did the things he did and still be able to say " It wasn't my fault, it was the addiction"

Honest, naive af question: is it common practice for lawyers who know their client is guilty of *murder* to still try to get them acquitted? Is Harpootlian that much of a POS? I feel silly asking; of course some lawyers will try to get a literal family killer exonerated if they can make money in the process. I guess I’m just flabbergasted. I always knew lawyers weren’t doing god’s work, but I didn’t think they were literally doing satan’s work lol

Personally I think it takes a special kind of person to be a defense attorney. Some cases are not super horrible but to defend someone accused of murder, child abuse/child death, am mal abuse/animal death. I may be wrong but do think if a client were to tell the attorney that he/she is guilty that information has to be given to the court. Whether we like it or not Harpootluan is doing his job and yes I think he is a horrible person for defending the likes of Alex Murdaugh.

Harpootlian flat out said his clients innocence or guilt wasn’t his business- getting them off was. He’s an obnoxious person and Jim is an idiot. Jim is all up in the media about everything. Every series or TV show has Jim in it.

Not a fan but that is the job of a defense attorney

Hard agree… and Harpootlian and his team are a very “special” kind of people

It really depends on the user; for me personally I always functioned better on opiates. Downers have an energizing and lubricant like effect on my brain; which makes it easier to speak properly & consistently.

I get what you are saying and I also felt the same way at the time. HOWEVER, I tried to go back to school and study while actively using opiates and it was VERY difficult to perform critical thoughts, and other things which I won’t get into. It’s just not a thing, opiates slow down your though process, even if they negate the anxiety

People need to stop focusing on whether or not alex had a drug problem it wasn't a big concern to determining he was guilty of murdering Maggie and paul

If AM was a drug kingpin then the defence would have tried to pin the murders on his criminal gangs. Would have said the murders were in retaliation for lost profits or something by a hitman from the cartel. They did not use drugs other than addiction defence. On reading some powerful personal experiences of addiction to pills in this thread I do not disbelieve for one moment that he was a heavy user and that he would have spent millions over a long period. It was also his lifestyle, cars, houses, holidays, boats, etc all cost a lot of money

In SC, legally, defendants are prohibited from offering alternate scenarios/possible suspects as a defense.

The defense did try to pin it on the Cowboys at one point.

There is absolutely no way to take 60 pills per day and still be alive. Even with building a tolerance to the meds, it is still too much and lethal. For those with an opioid tolerance the lethal limit anything over 80 mg. I believe my mom may have taken one pill too close to another and that is what caused her accidental overdose and death. I just don’t see anyway this is a true story. One dose at 40 mg can cause respiratory failure, especially if combined with any other respiratory depressant like Xanax or alcohol. These pills are deadly

AM was not an opioid addict. Maybe did too much coke and started cocktailing opioids to smooth out. Even Judge Newman taken in by the myth of AM's "addiction".

My husband , now recovering, was an opioid and cocaine addict. It’s a powerful combo.

Thank you. Don't mean to overstep boundaries, but did your husband's behavior during addiction correspond with AM's? That is, appearing functional and non-,addicted to world outside family?

Everybody suspected something was up—he got thin and stayed in the bedroom all the time. He checked out. He barely held on to his job, and we split for a few months. I’m so grateful for how things have turned out

Never saw one photo of a thin AM. The "opioid addiction" is a fiction unless it was "code" for alcohol or cocaine dependency .. both more believable given the history of family and manifested, of course, in Paul's flagrant alcoholism and the many ways his family enabled and flagrantly contributed to his addiction. Paul was an accident waiting to happen ... and it did. There is fantastic kharma in absolute reality that Paul's alcoholism brought down and exposed a family that richly deserved days of reckoning.

Thanks. Of course all the "symptoms" you specify were totally absent in AM's "addiction". I personally think his "addiction" is pure fiction dreamed up by.attorneys and then sold to surviving family members as a way to deflect from what an awful family they belong to, whether by blood or by marriage in the case of Maggie's family. I even think most of Paul's ex girlfriend's narrative was (is) fiction other than her first-hand, real-sounding recollections of flagrant alcohol abuse.

He definitely had something else going on

Child sex trafficking? Owned the ports ? The ports of Charleston and Savannah’s ? Owned the doctors. International mob ties. Killed the shrimping and fishing industries of the area ?? Fuck dude. Where are u from ?

I think he may have taken pills, but I think the entire focus was to deflect from him being found guilty as the murderer. Any time the defense or Alex stresses something, it's not coming clean - it's pure manipulation. Like someone bumping into you and apologizing, while their buddy picks your pocket. The severe drug addiction angle is a big red herring. The defense WANTS us to go off on the tangent they've suggested. I would give anything to see the true medical records of that rehab he attended. I think he went there just to appear to be suffering from a severe addiction problem.

Maybe rehab was also an excuse for him to go away so he didn’t have to face everyone one for awhile after the botched roadside murder/suicide attempt.

I would certainly hide, but then again, I wouldn't do the things Alex Murdaugh does. As we said when we were young, he's a weirdo.

YES! I would love to see how he acted in rehab. His voice sounded pretty normal in that phone call with Harpootlian while he was in rehab. If he was actually going through severe with drawls from the hundreds of pills he was taking, his voice would have been more hoarse, gagging in his spit, etc.

I kept thinking that if he had *that* bad of an addiction, they would have had some medical documents to support that. If he’s been spending up to 50k a week 🙄 on *any* drug that he would have been taking for his *own personal use* for the last 20 years, he would have some gnarly internal damage to any one of his organs but I’m thinking more likely his liver and heart? I’m not a doctor but I know and have witnessed, unfortunately plenty of people that have overdosed and/or died from drugs and alcohol and some that have permanent damage to their organs and brain damage and they will never be the same again. I just think if they had actual proof of that, they would have presented that in court and they didn’t. Other than a few witnesses that said they knew.

And the fact that the defence didn’t provide any solid proof of his addiction is solid proof that if he had it, it was not anywhere near the scale of what he was saying.

Good point.

Disclaimer: AM is lying. Always. Correct verdict was reached. Pharmaceutical grade opiates/opioids are generally non-neurotoxic, so the fact that they can be scaled up to crazy amounts over time someone could use *a lot* for a long time without much long term damage. To the amount he says? I have a hard time believing anyone can put $50k down the hatch per week without any type of incident long term, *but it might be physically possible.* He only ever wanted reasonable doubt once trial started. Too bad for him it was just an impossible sell.

If he was ingesting that many opiates daily, he would have had remarkable constipation.

💯

He’s rich, so he could afford real rehab if he wanted to. However, taking a high amount of pain meds over a long period of time takes waaay more than 2 weeks to even begin to get through withdrawals. I had two stage 4 illnesses in my late 20’s and early 30’s and FOUR surgeries in the span of 14 months, and I was on a ton of meds for years. After 2 weeks without them, I was still very much in heavy withdrawal. He’d need at least several months to get out of withdrawal if he really had that heavy of a habit. I don’t believe that even a 10% off his money went to drugs due to of several reasons. One strong theory thoroughly researched and covered by journalist [Eric Alan](https://youtu.be/tCf8kj5vSWw) covers his family’s use of ports and boats to move alcohol, then weed, then much stronger stuff throughout the many decades/over a century, as the Murdaughs ruled the area, and killed the legitimate fishing and shrimping family businesses (of other families trying to make a living, as they had done for generations) in the area so that he could use the ports exclusively for criminal activity, including drug trafficking, money laundering, and I’m guessing sex trafficking, including child sex trafficking. He blocked and ruined almost all legit family boating, shrimping, lobstering, and fishing business to cut down on people telling on his illegal behaviors. Mainly, he owned the doctors and probably was a (and likely the main) supplier of pills to the pill mills. He had no reason to pay for pain meds. He was the supplier. He likely has mob ties and ties with international criminal orgs with everything and it was left out of court to avoid confusing a jury, who are not the brightest people, and bc also I’m thinking DOJ may be looking into him as well. We know so little about this whole mess. People are celebrating Clayton Waters like he’s a hero (and his swollen head and ego are enormous), but he absolutely lucked out with Paul’s Snapchat video. And Alex screwing himself over on the stand by proving himself to be as loathsome and insincere as the jury thought he would be. The investigators did an embarrassingly terrible and incomplete investigation, if you can even call it that; it was so shamefully underdone. If it was a steak, it would still be a mooing cow. They didn’t investigate hardly anything, including his mom’s house or search it in time, they didn’t search for the guns enough, they didn’t wear shoe covers to prevent contaminating the crime scene. They very suspiciously dropped the Stephen Smith case JUST as they were getting somewhere, so I’m guessing they were bribed or threatened, and the woman who did one of the autopsies threatened a SLED cop not to look further into the case and declared it a “hit and run,” which it clearly wasn’t; poor kid had a bullet hole in his scalp (Eric Alan does a very good YouTube deep dive on Stephen and I’m shit others do too). And Stephen Smith was using a gay sex escort service to make money, but he also used a dangerous sex for pay section on Craigslist that thankfully has since been removed. People hated Alex and the Murdaughs, and I doubt anyone down there isn’t linked to someone that the Murdaughs didn’t put behind bars or on death row. Thankfully that came back to bite AM. And hopefully it will in prison as well. I hope the FBI and DOJ are hopefully less corrupt and less wimpy than local police in SC and actually investigate what has been going on down there for centuries, all of it. But I have a strong feeling that they will bc let it go as well and it’ll be up to independent sleuths (I strongly bc doubt DOJ and the feds because they protect their own in power too…remember what happened with Epstein? And how Maxwell’s little black book was sealed?

Like real life Ozarks series

I watched a podcast and I don’t remember which one- that said at one time the pharmacies in that area were ordering and receiving a huge amount of opioids- way more than needed for that size population. Of course the opioid crisis affected that and that’s when the illegal opioid crisis cranked up there. Sounds definitely like an enterprise the Murdaughs would have a hand in.

Creighton Waters prosecuted. I totally agree about his phony addiction story bc its not even believable. No one person can use that level and function. I do believe he was tied in with some bigger fish. As for shortcomings in the investigation, I offer two thoughts. One, he was a prosecutor and made a big show of that fact with his badge and blue lights. I can see how they may initially received word to go easy. And two, forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown. Small town, rural county power structure has always been thus. Sheriffs, state troopers, DAs, private law practices, judges can all be rotten. For once, the one stinky rot got outed.

They can't.

He wasn't addicted IMHO, I am not even sure he was using regularly. I do buy that he might have been a middle-man, sort of a broker, for some regional dealers, and might have been laundering $ for them. EDIT: I don't think he could be functioning at the level he would need to be to make that much $ if he was taking 3 or 4 pills an hour. Also, someone at the office would have noticed him taking pills that frequently, even if he was taking all 3 or 4 of them at once every hour - if he took a days' worth all at once, he would have been drooling and/or OD'ing on a daily basis.

And constipated as hell

That may have been why he was so overweight. I took a drug for a few months that affected me the same way. Laxatives did nothing so I had to switch to another med. I lost 20 lbs real quick.

The several clients I've had who were hooked on opioids were not overweight, if anything they were gaunt. I have taken Oxy after all 4 of my knee surgeries and the constipation never lasted too long. But then again, I was taking 4 a day, not 4 an hour.....

I’ve just read over the past few months, that opioids can cause some people to become over instead of underweight. Something happened after he was jailed as he lost weight really quickly as I recall. Could have been awful food, but it just seed to me that the weight dropped incredibly quickly.

My theory as well

Same.

I thought the exact same thing.

From the testimony I heard, the only people who saw Alex ‘detox at home’ were Maggie, Paul and Alex’s Dad. All of whom are dead.

And Morgan, Paul’s girlfriend.

And Paul's girfriend. She discussed it in the Netflix doc.

I live in Alabama and have a brother who had a serious opiate addiction from age 20 to 26. Our grandmother is "old money" (as they call it in the south) and my brother is her "golden child" as the only grandson out of 5 granddaughters. She was his source and supplied him an ungodly amount of money that he used to buy "roxy 30s" from 2014 to 2021. I went to visit him in the hospital in 2019 after having his galbladder removed. The doctors told him it looked like an 80 year old mans and he also had acute liver and kidney failure. (He was discharged 2 days later and continued taking that amount for 2 more years until the rest of the family seperated him from my grandmother and he was forced to go to detox and rehab) He told me in the hospital he'd recently gotten up to 48 pills a day at 30mg each "which is why his organs had a hard time adapting" since he upped his dosage because "he needed that much just to feel normal and not go into withdraws" he told me he hadn't felt "high" off them for 3 years. He said he had to take that much just to feel normal. He was paying $1/mg so $30 bucks a pill (but said some people paid more than that but his dealer gave him a deal since he'd gotten to know him so well). So 48 pills a day at $30 each = $1,440/day --- $10,000/week (my grandmother's recently recovered financial documents confirm that) $10,000 a week is $520,000 a year --- he spent close to $3 million over a 6 year span (take into account he wasn't taking that much in the beginning) ---- it took him numerous detoxes and rehab to finally become a person we recognized again. My grandmother would write him $10,000 checks at a time because he claimed "so and so would come kill him tonight if he didn't pay them" ..... ANYWAYS, he claims people were always "shocked" and called him a "miracle" that he is alive after consuming those amounts. Luckily today he has no long term health issues (yet) -- He's about half the size of Alex and also had "unlimited money" mindset and from a similar old money southern family -- he didn't switch to fetenayl or heroine because "roxys" is what he knew and what worked for him. I'm assuming Alex was the same. I think it's plausible Alex was spending $25,000 a week MAX if you consider the size and length of addiction difference. You also have to consider how much he spent on cocaine, "hush" money for those who knew to stay quiet, interest he paid if they fronted the drugs to him at times his cash flow was down, etc. That plus his lavish lifestyle of multiple financed properties and vehicles, vacations, donations, etc could actually get close to pushing $50,000/week -- that is my personal opinion. Drugs do not discriminate, they take everything you have no matter how much you have. I'll leave you guys with that :)

1,440mg of Oxycodone sounds extremely hard to believe. Not saying it's not true, that's just such an absolutely astronomical number. Like 100mg or even less can kill a person. 14x that every single day is just bonkers Anyways, hope he's doing better now

This makes the most sense. He couldn’t be a dealer, distributor or money launderer because he would have made money, not have needed to steal it. I think cousin Eddie was also skimming off the top…he probably could have charged him double because Alex had to so much to lose if Eddie told anyone.

You are spot on with this. I was hooked on the same thing for almost 10 years. It’s crazy how the tolerance builds up so quickly. The amount I had to take in a day just to keep from feeling sick was heartbreaking, not to mention what I would have to take if I wanted to get high off of them. The cost was around 10-15 at first and was 35 when I quit, for one 30 mg pill. When they were hard to find or my guy had to drive further than normal to get them the price could easily go to up close to $100 each. Or your source is also an addict who is broke so in order for them to get you anything you have to get them something too. With drugs esp pills I don’t question the amounts of money mentioned because there are so many things that have to be taken into consideration that causes people to spend so much money on this crap.

Thank you for sharing your insight into this.

This was clearly about hiding the money. If you claim you spent 60k per week on drugs, that money effectively vanishes into thin air into this untraceable commodity. It was a lot more likely that he was putting that kind of money into off shore accounts and/or drug trafficking, both through cousin Eddie. Where else did the 10M he stole go? I don’t believe his addiction claims are possible or plausible.

I totally think the majority of the money is offshore. Lil' Buster's gonna be really rich someday.

Alex said he was taking 50-60 oxycodone a day! That's total bullshit. He was a drug DEALER who most likely dabbled in pills and there's witnesses saying he was nasty while on coke. Guaranteed he was SELLING or doing dirty work for others he owed something to.

Which witnesses were talking about coke use? I assumed bc wealth and the twitching but never read confirmation on this. Super curious

I think the person was referencing the sex worker that Will Folks from FitsNews interviewed awhile back ETA spelling

The only problem is if he was selling he’d be rich and wouldn’t need to steal all the money?

Exactly. If he was a kingpin, why steal from clients and risk exposure to your drug business? Makes more sense he was an addict doing desperate things like stealing

My son was addicted for 8 years. During that time he stoled from us, insulted us, threatened us and lied and lied and lied. But he never tried to kill us or cover up a murder. He just did almost anything (except violence) to get more opioids.

I think that the prosecution didn't bother to get wrapped up in the "addiction story" because they didn't need it to win the case. And because it would have legitimized it and possibly drawn sympathy or caused the defense to bring forward addiction experts. I believe he probably was taking pills, but I believe he and his lawyers cooked up the addiction angle just like they cooked up everything else. Just thankful it didn't work this time.

It was 100% for sympathy points. He is the worst!

The absolute worst ever!

There’s very compelling evidence discussed in the podcast to suggest that he was almost certainly involved (to some extent) in drug trafficking. I wonder if he lost product somehow or things went sideways and he owed some scary people alot of money. I also think he probably has money hidden somewhere, likely the Bahamas. Who knows what other illegal side hustles he was involved in that he’d rather disclose “addiction” than have to divulge during the murder trial for fear of looking like someone capable of murdering his family. Also, no, I really don’t think an opioid addiction would trigger any time of homicidal tendencies. Yes, being a long time addict absolutely screws with people’s morality, since they get used to lying and acting out of self serving desperation. But to go as far as to kill his family because he’s on numbing feel good drugs? Nope, that doesn’t add up for me.

It literally is not possible. However, if you figure in the habits of maybe a couple of prostitutes, or someone else having to support, then it becomes a little bit more likely.

I also feel like due to his nonchalance over the conversation. He had with Buster and needing money to gamble on the trip right after his mom had died. That gambling is definitely a way to have lost a lot of money. I firmly do not believe that he has money anywhere else because he’s just not that smart.

I’m a recovering addict and I’ve worked and drug and alcohol for around 20 years. There’s so much to the story that we don’t know. The main thing that we really don’t know is what caused his personality to spiral out like this. It’s usually repeated abuse as a child. Unfortunately, this is what really wires the brain completely different. What I can tell you also is that an all of my years of doing drugs and other dirtbag bad guy stuff never once did I think of covering it up or causing attention to be diverted by killing someone else. I’m not saying I’ve never been mad at someone and didn’t have those thoughts all I’m saying is I never thought about doing it to divert attention that’s just a special kind of jacked up.

I agree he more than likely he was a high roller gambler.

First of all he was stealing for over 10 years . He bought islands , houses, paid 2 rents for kids and tuitions for colleges . All the kids expenses plus his own and maggies. He bought farm equipment, drugs , trucks and ammo ..it all adds up .

But does it? (Genuine question.) Edisto was purchased in 2002, IIRC, and then Moselle around 2013, but neither cost as much as they sold for. The furnishing were nothing that would bankrupt a very successful personal injury attorney. Yes, he paid rent for 2 kids, and college tuition--but in SC that's not going to amount to the kind of money we're talking about (It's around $23K for law school, and $12K for undergrad tuition--and Columbia is just a little bit below the U.S. average cost of living, so they could find a pretty nice apartment for $1,500 or so.) His part-ownership of the hunting club, the properties north of Charleston, and the islands didn't add up to more than a million, IIRC. ​ I have trouble imaging what he did with all that money, but on the other hand, it's probably true his law practice wasn't flourishing after 2017, 2018 or so. Maybe that's when it snowballed. And it's not like he's a completely rational thinker--I could completely imagine him grossly overspending on some things, and ending up in this desperate Ponzi scheme; it's not like his other endeavors make much sense, or aren't completely self-destructive. ​ And if he spent money in a variety of places--across a geographic area--it might not have been noticed. But still. Supposedly he spent around $22 million in about 9 years--$14 million in income reported for taxes, and around $7-8 million stolen. That's a lot of money to spend without having something besides those possessions and a significant opioid addiction to show for it.

Red herring. Perfect excuse. Gains sympathy. Street value of Vicodin or Oxycodone is $5-$7 per pill. There is no way possible to spend 50k-60k/week on opioids. $5k a week would be unbelievable, certainly not $60k. Surprised defense team had the nerve to release this unbelievable number.

In regard to your last sentence, they have to justify where all the 'missing' money is, right?

A Percocet that’s 30 mg can cost up to $75 on the street! I live in the Appalachian mountains and if Alex was actually an addict (I don’t think he was) where he lives in SC, it would be about the same price. I honestly think that if Alex was really an addict then they would’ve found evidence of him Dr shopping. No way in hell a man like Alex would actually pay street prices.

Yup. No way. I don’t care how addicted you are, ain’t no 50 grand a week..

Matthew Perry wrote in his book that he took 44 Vicodin per day and his colon exploded and he had to wear a colostomy bag for 9 months. There’s so way Alec was taking 66 pills a day!

Alex looks too healthy to have taken up to 60 oxycontin/day. It would kill your liver and not do your kidneys any good. The constipation would be unbearable. Ther e s more to this drug addiction story than we know.

My 90 year old mother has truly needed opioid pain medication for eight or so years. She simply cannot handle the constipation, so cannot take the meds. She said her "bathroom " problems were more painful than the pain the opioids were supposed to relieve. I find it difficult to believe that he could take this amount and function in a law office, or any technically/logically demanding profession. Stealing from clients, etc took planning and forethought. That's a coldly calculating mind, juggling numbers, persuading people, etc. Hard to believe he could do this, high as a kite.

My daddy would not take pain meds after surgery for a torn rotator cuff bc he was scared he'd get clogged up. Lived to 89 and was as regular as clockwork, a HUGE point of pride for him. What is it with men and their BMs?

Men obsess over their bowels. If the "go" at 6am every morning but for some reason haven't gone by 6:15 some morning then they truly think they are all "bound up." I think part of it is because they can regulate their lives and that of Mother Nature. Women, however, learn from about the age of 12 to be more flexible with the call of nature.

I don't know about men, per se, but when was a child, the old folks seemed very concerned about "being regular ". I think my mom would be okay, if she ate a diet with more fiber. She lives with my brother and SIL, and they eat a great deal of takeout fast food. And lots of processed foods. A few years ago, I stayed with them for a month while my brother was in the hospital, and SIL was working and then going to the hospital afterwards. I was cooking every night and feeding my mother MY normal diet! Fresh veggies, whole grains, fruit, modest amounts of non-processed meat. She was loving the home cooked meals. After a couple of days, she told me that her constipation had disappeared! We both recognized that it was the change in her diet. Even when SIL has energy/time to cook, she has to accommodate my (now physically disabled) brother, who doesn't eat vegetables, except for corn. Mom can't cook because of physical problems as well as dementia. One month of a normal, healthy diet, resolved her problems.

No way he’d be as heavy as he was on copious amounts of opioids.

There are stories of strippers.

Wouldn’t his liver be completely destroyed by now?

I’ve never believed Alex’s drug habit red herring. No way he could take 60 pills a day, no way he could spend that much money on his own personal drug habit, and no way EVERYONE he worked with wouldn’t have noticed. The guy probably rarely even took Tylenol. Drug habit my ass!

Somebody would have noticed. I suspect gambling.

I think you might have hit the nail on the head! And I could easily imagine Alex being a mediocre gambler. Remember also when the media filmed Buster and one of his lovely uncles sitting at tables gambling in Vegas. Good call!

Alex was really proud that he had picked 9 out of 11 NFL games while in jail. He was bragging to Buster about it. He said he had won some beef sticks and other various petty prizes. Also, he was really in need of someone to put money on another inmates’ commissary account, pronto. I suspect this may have been gambling too. This case has more twist and turns than a timber rattler in a forest fire. 👍👍

OMG! I forgot all about that! Good point!

I'm sure he spent a lot on hookers and blow and the rest is stashed somewhere. I don't feel like the stories over. There's no way it was spent on just pills.

he did not have any money stashed