Fishdude, the Quinlan coma case happened in the mid-1970's, which I am old enough to remember very well. I could still be wrong but even then barbituates were not commonly prescribed for the reason you so correctly state. Barbs therapeutic dosage is very close to their lethal dosage as compared with benzos, which have a much higher safety margin between therapeutic & toxic dosages.

That is why barbs are recommended as THE drug of choice for suicide in the book "Final Exit," a kind of scary book

that is essentially a recipe book for "self deliverance" (their euphemism for suicide) of the PAINFULLY & terminally ill.
Naturally, one can't help but surmise that many "self deliverers" wouldn't be in that position with adequate pain control.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here. Nuff said.

Anyway, I'm still pretty sure it was Valium that Ms Quinlan took. Padmakara has a good point that it could have been Quinlan's individual drug sensitivity playing into her unfortunate outcome. Regardless, the moral for all of us is that drugs & alcohol do not mix.

Wishing all a pain reduced day

I love this forum!