MINNEAPOLIS, WI (CelebrityAccess) — New details have come to light in the overdose death of musician Prince earlier this year, with investigators determining that the artist was in possession of the powerful opioid drug fentanyl at the time of his death.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that pills testing positive for fentanyl were discovered at Paisley Park inside an Aleve bottle, falsely labeled as “Watson 385” pills, a drug more commonly known as Vicodin.
Fentanyl is a highly addictive opioid that is one of the most powerful prescription painkillers. The drug is often sold illicitly as heroin, or as a cut agent for heroin and is responsible for overdoses across the U.S.
An autopsy report released in June by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office said Prince died from an accidental, self-administered overdose of fentanyl, but it is unclear how he obtained the drug for which he did not have a prescription. During a previous incident several weeks before when he overdosed on the opioid painkiller Percocet, he did not test positive for fentanyl, suggesting that his use of the drug was not long term.
Both local law enforcement officers and agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency are investigating the case, however, according to the Tribune, no one in Carver County is dedicated to the investigation full time.
“My detectives work the case when there’s work to be done, then they’re on to their other open cases,” Jason Kamerud, chief deputy of the Carver County Sheriff’s Office told the Tribune in an e-mail. – Staff Writers
