As if Prince’s death could get any worse, it turns out he didn’t even know he was taking the fentanyl that killed him.
Prince’s death was deemed an accidental overdose after he took counterfeit Vicodin pills that were laced with fentanyl. If that doesn’t suck enough, no criminal charges will be filed in the star’s death either, according to the County Attorney in Carver, Minn.
At a recent press conference, Carver County attorney Mark Metz said that the 57-year-old icon “had no idea he was taking a counterfeit pill that could kill him…There is no evidence showing how he obtained those counterfeit pills, and no evidence that those around him knew.”
Gutted. Again.
Paste writes:
“In March, a toxicology report from Prince’s autopsy obtained by the Associated Press showed that he had an ‘exceedingly high’ concentration of fentanyl in his body when he died on April 21, 2016. Shortly after the death, a Minnesota medical examiner confirmed that Prince had died of an overdose of ‘self-administered fentanyl,’ a synthetic opioid that is described as being 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 40 to 50 times more potent than heroin. Prince, who struggled with opioid addiction near the end of his life, had been found unresponsive in an elevator at Paisley Park, his home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minn. According to a CNN report, court documents unsealed last year revealed that none of the medications found in Prince’s home had been prescribed to him. At the time, an attorney for Prince, L. Londell McMillan, told the AP that the singer was ‘not on any drugs that would be any cause for concern.’
According to the CNN report, Prince’s doctor has agreed to pay $30,000 to the U.S. to settle civil allegations that he prescribed drugs to someone else knowing that Prince would take them. Dr. Michael Schulenberg prescribed the painkiller Percocet to Prince, but put the prescription in the name of Kirk Johnson, the singer’s former drummer.”
Also in Prince news this week, his estate along with Warner Bros. Records has released the original version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” written, arranged, performed and produced by Prince. The official studio version features backing vocals by Susannah Melvoin and Paul “St. Paul” Peterson, and saxophone by Eric Leeds.
“Nothing Compares 2 U” was first recorded by the Man in Purple in 1984. It was released by the Prince-formed band The Family on their 1985 self-titled record and later popularized worldwide by Sinéad O’Connor in 1990. Prince recorded the song at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minn. where it was put to tape by Prince’s long-time engineer Susan Rogers. The newly-released original version will be come out in two 7″ vinyl singles, a picture disc and black vinyl. Stream it on your favorite digital platform or check it out below.
