The only side effects I noticed was that the Vicodin made me talkative and then sleepy and after 3 doses, it made my skin itch. Its basically Tylenol and codeine. No feelings of power. I'm not certain that 100mg would do much to someone who is physically addicted. I've seen clients who were chronic pain patients and had been on stronger opiates for longer. I think whiney, manipulative and depressed would fit many of them. Some had advanced technical degrees and some like firearms and not one of them would have committed this sort of atrocity.
I think it is more likely that he intended to either go out in blaze of glory or be caught and imprisoned and he was pre-medicating to avoid pain. I also think he was simply a sociopath all on his own, w/o recourse to meds or even recreational drugs.
That said, I've known people who were addicted to Oxycodone and Oxycontin long after their initial pain had gone away and who were just as likely to sell their drugs as take them. I'd think that a true addiction would preclude ever giving up a dose.
Failure to finish a graduate degree or maintain grades could just as easily be because he wasn't nearly as smart as he thought he was.
The media keeps repeating "undergraduate degree in neuroscience". Could someone explain this sort of credential? Wouldn't that just be a BS with a concentration in psychology?
I assume that means a Bachelor of Science (BS) in neuroscience.... what I haven't seen is his Master's degree credentials? Wouldn't he need to first complete a Master's degree before entering a PhD program? It's quite possible this has been revealed and I missed it as I've only scanned a few articles here and there.....