Nitrogen Narcosis is the effect of nitrogen under pressure on a human brain. As nitrogen is pressurized in a human brain it begins to have narcotic affects on the person. The martini law states that every 50 feet a diver descends is like one dry martini on an empty stomach. This narcotic affect usually leads to impaired judgment and vision fixation but can be as extreme as hallucinations. At the extreme depth Chrissy was at it was equivalent to 5 martinis. This pressure caused him to hallucinate and forego many training and safety procedures. 

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The narcotic affect of nitrogen can be eliminated entirely by the use of Heliox which replaces the nitrogen with helium in a divers breathing gas. Chris and Chrissy opted to not use Heliox because of how expensive it was.