Addicted to painkillers
Updated on 10 July 2009
Stephanie West talks to one doctor about the dangers of the prescription drugs that may have led to Michael Jackson's death.
As The Jackson Family's still waits for the toxicology results that may finally ascertain what killed Michael Jackson, his death certificate listed the cause of death as "deferred" pending more results.
But many, including his friend Lou Ferrigno, said stress played a part in the singer's death, not least because of his huge debts. He had also been under pressure as he rehearsed for his forthcoming This Is It tour, and as the LA coroners department confirmed they had taken medication away from the mansion where he collapsed, there is speculation the singer had turned to sedatives to calm his anxiety and to try and get some sleep.
As well as taking opiate painkillers, which he had first been prescribed after he was seriously burned filming a Pepsi advert in the 1980s, a nurse and nutritionist who had advised him recently claimed he had also turned to Diprivan, a powerful anaesthesia drug usually given only under medical supervision in hospitals.
But death by a conconction of sleeping pills and painkillers is what claimed Heath Ledger recently, and it is also what contributed to Elvis' heart failure at the age of 42.
Dr. David Sack, who is the chief executive officer of Promises Treatment Centres, clinics reknowned for treating alcohol and drug addiction at centres across Los Angeles, says they have long recognised a growing problem in the abuse of opiate prescription drugs.
He says many people believe that prescription drugs are safer than street drugs, but that is not the case when they are self-prescribed and abused, especially when combined with several other drugs.
