Prince... RIP?!

[steve58]

Accidental opioid overdose ruled as cause of death  :(

[Staggerwing]

There is absolutely no effing reason to prescribe Fentanyl to anyone for home use. It's the nuclear option of opiates and only for use during, and after, surgery in a controlled hospital setting. Whomever gave it to Prince needs to be prosecuted.


BTW, back in 2002 the Russians used it to try and knock out a theater-full of bombed-up Chechen terrorists and 800-odd hostages and things did not go well at all.

[Huw the Poo]

There is absolutely no effing reason to prescribe Fentanyl to anyone for home use. It's the nuclear option of opiates and only for use during, and after, surgery in a controlled hospital setting. Whomever gave it to Prince needs to be prosecuted.

According to Wiki:

"Fentanyl is approximately 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine and roughly 40 to 50 times more potent than pharmaceutical grade (100% pure) heroin."

Christ.

[JasonPratt]

"Oh no, did I give that to Prince by complete accident and not at all by his request as his 'special' doctor?"  ::) 

That sort of thing doesn't happen by accident. I expect the strategy was that small amounts were easier than morphine or heroin to move, use, and keep tucked away somewhere.

[Staggerwing]

"Oh no, did I give that to Prince by complete accident and not at all by his request as his 'special' doctor?"  ::) 

That sort of thing doesn't happen by accident. I expect the strategy was that small amounts were easier than morphine or heroin to move, use, and keep tucked away somewhere.

More than likely Prince probably started to use prescribed opioids after some kind of injury or surgery and just kept on taking them. After that it probably became a matter of 'doctor shopping' until he found one who would keep writing Rx's with no questions (for a 'Princely' retainer, I'm certain.) It is probably fair to say that a surprising number of folks addicted to legally manufactured drugs didn't start because they wanted to get high, but because of what was originally a medical need.

[JasonPratt]

I'm not going to say that's impossible -- maybe he cleaned up his act immensely and then entirely by accident got hooked on opiates (again). It isn't like I've been paying attention to him since I stopped having to listen to Top 40. Maybe he became a very different person from what he used to be.

I guess any fans following his career would have a better idea about that. :) My distantly ill-formed impression, though, is that he was still the same kind of person who did as much booze and drugs as he thought he could get away with. But as noted, that's a distantly ill-formed impression.

What isn't a distantly ill-formed impression, is that anyone so hooked on opiates that he had to take Fentanyl, has long passed the accidental addiction stage, into the criminally irresponsible stage, along with whoever was supplying him. If 100% pure heroin isn't good enough for you...!

It looks, in other words, like a logical extension of his earlier behavior, not like an extended sad accident that anyone could have fallen into.

[bayonetbrant]

http://www.gq.com/story/prince-stories