A doctor who saw Prince in the days before he died had prescribed oxycodone under the name of Prince's friend to protect the musician's privacy, according to an affidavit unsealed Monday.
The document is one of several affidavits and search warrants unsealed in Carver County District Court as the investigation into Prince's death continues.
Prince was 57 when he was found alone and unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park home on April 21. Autopsy results showed he died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic drug 50 times more powerful than heroin.
According to the search warrants, authorities searched Paisley Park, cellphone records of Prince's associates, and Prince's email accounts to try to determine where he got the fentanyl that killed him.
The documents suggest Prince was struggling with an addiction to prescription opioids. Just six days before he died, Prince fell ill on a plane and made an emergency stop in Illinois as he was returning home from a concert in Atlanta. First responders revived him with two doses of a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
One affidavit says Dr. Michael Todd Schulenberg, who saw Prince last April 7 and again on April 20, admitted to authorities that he prescribed oxycodone for Prince the same day as the emergency plane landing "but put the prescription in Kirk Johnson's name for Prince's privacy."
Johnson is Prince's longtime friend and close associate. Authorities also searched Johnson's cellphone records, to see who he was communicating with in the month before Prince died.
I think Price's doctor is already in trouble.
ReplyDeleteThe opiod epidemic is out of hand in the US. Too many doctors are prescribing it for pain.
I don't buy the excuse "for his privacy." The pharmacist filling the order would have reported it as being too much for one patient.
Sad but a fact of life.
Price = Prince (Sigh!)
ReplyDeleteMiss him and the music that was to be
ReplyDeleteSpeaking Of Drugs: Stopped by a Cop from my precinct on Sunday. Said he'd seen me give a known addict $ on the street numerous times. He asked me to stop. He said, "When she ODs, it's your $ that paid for the fatal dose. Stop giving this girl money." Wow! Big Brother really IS watching you!
ReplyDeleteSome doctors are intentionally getting patients addicted. I think Prince had some scripts in his own name as he was seen at the pharmacy himself. Someone who needs to be revived needs to be kept in hospital for observation,at least overnight. You often hear about ODs soon after this happens.
ReplyDeleteThis has been going on since before Eddie Fisher became a star.
ReplyDeleteWhy not blame Prince for Prince's death?
ReplyDeleteIf a drug is 50x stronger than heroin, wouldn't one kill you? Obviously he doctor-shopped, and unless there's a big database of everything you've ever been prescribed..which would be a violation of privacy laws..doc 7 doesn't know what he told doc 4. You'd think the people around him would care, just so they could go on riding the $train
ReplyDeleteMy sister passed away from lung cancer recently. She was diagnosed in June 2016. She was given oxycodone by the attending physician. She went to the cancer center to begin her treatments. After she completed radiation and was taking chemo for a month or two, the cancer doctor decided to take away her oxycodone because he "didn't want her to get addicted". She had stage 4 lung cancer FFS. He gave her myloxicam, (arthritis medicine), instead. She had to quit the oxycodone cold turkey. She was in pain from the cancer and from withdrawals for almost 2 months Fortunately, under her new insurance, she had to have a family practitioner. She started seeing the family practitioner in addition to her cancer doctor, the new doctor gave her back her pain meds. She lived for two more months after that.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the opioid epidemic, a good number of states DO have databases that list what controlled substances, their dosages, date of fill, number of pills, and prescriber name, listed by patient name and date of birth. In a few states, physicians are REQUIRED (by law) to query that database before they write any new opioid prescription, change a dose or frequency, or change to/from immediate release/extended release formulations.
ReplyDeleteNot all of those state databases talk to each other, although some do. Writing a prescription in another person's name, however, is a way to circumvent that, as is a patient filling prescriptions in different states.
From what I understand from the Internet people, you NEVER blame the victim. Even if - ESPECIALLY if - the victim is stupid.
ReplyDeleteI'm really sorry for your loss, A Nun. That oncologist sounds like a top-flight a**hole. So glad that the family practitioner came through for your sister. She deserved better!
ReplyDeleteSadly agree? Loved the man's music, but he was ultimately the one responsible for his untimely death. Addiction is a terrible thing, but he was the one who ingested the pills, "Dr Shopped", had pills put in others names, purchased them illegally, checked out after ODing against Dr's orders etc. Seems he knew he needed and wanted help from the pamphlets they found and the fact that the addiction specialist's son was there to get him, but, sadly, help was just too late. I'm so tired of hearing stories about the senseless opioid & herion epidemic in our country. Some of the stories are just heartbreaking (especially the children who witness it and are left behind). My heart goes out to those struggling and the people who love them.
ReplyDelete