Prince Died From Fentanyl Overdose

Prince Died From Fentanyl Overdose

June 2, 2016 -- Pop superstar Prince, found dead more than a month ago at his estate outside Minneapolis, died from an overdose of the powerful opioid fentanyl, authorities said Thursday.

Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, was 57. In its report, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office lists his cause of death as “fentanyl toxicity,” saying the overdose was accidental.

“The decedent self-administered fentanyl,” the report says. The office said in a statement that the Carver County Sheriff’s Office continues its investigation, and said the medical examiner’s office would have no further statement.

Prince was fully clothed in black socks, hat, pants, shirt, and a grey undershirt when he was found dead April 21 in an elevator at his Chanhassen, MN, home, the report says.

How he got fentanyl isn't known. It's the most potent opioid available for medical treatment. But in recent years, it has become a favorite of opioid addicts, because it's extremely potent and packs a near-instantaneous high.

That’s also what makes it so deadly. It can kill in seconds, and fentanyl overdoses are a growing problem in the U.S.

The drug was introduced into medical practices as an IV anesthetic in the 1960s. Today it's legally available by prescription as a treatment for cancer pain that returns while you're on other opioids. But it's also made in clandestine labs and imported into the U.S. as a street drug.

People who become addicted to prescription opioids often turn to street drugs when it becomes too hard or expensive to get refills of the prescriptions they’re abusing.

Fentanyl is cheaper than heroin, so drug dealers lace their products with it to increase their profit margins. People who buy heroin often don’t know that it has been cut with fentanyl.

“It’s 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine and 20 to 40 times stronger than heroin,” says Melvin Patterson, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Mixing fentanyl with heroin or cocaine makes them more potent, and boosts the potential danger, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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