The report, from the Minneapolis StarTribune, says investigators are working under the theory that the singer did not know the pills contained fentanyl.
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It has just been revealed that medication labelled as hydrocodone that was removed from Prince’s home following his death actually contained unsafe amounts of the opioid fentanyl which was actually his cause of death.
Almost two dozen pills reportedly found in one Aleve bottle were falsely labeled as “Watson 385”.
An autopsy report the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office released in June said he died from an accidental fentanyl overdose.
Prince had no prescriptions for controlled substances in Minnesota in the year before his death, and investigators are still unsure how he obtained the drugs.
Authorities warn that they can look like normal pills produced by a pharmaceutical company, but could be mixed with other drugs or contain dangerously high doses of opioids. Consumers of these counterfeit pills may be inadvertently ingesting fentanyl, as the drugs can only be “detected upon laboratory analysis.” . Some pills were also found loose in the bag, the official said. Thus far, roughly 20 different bottles or pill containers seized from Paisley estate have been analysed.
Another aspirin bottle had more than 60 counterfeit tablets in it. Fentanyl is a drug that is roughly 80 times as powerful as morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The scheme is similar to a 2006 crisis, when fentanyl was appearing in heroin and killing unsuspecting users.
There are still plenty of unanswered questions in the case of Prince’s death.
The drugs confiscated from Prince’s estate are composed of perilous and strong artificial opioid fentanyl but wrongly identified. According to a search warrant, he told a detective he had ordered tests for Prince and prescribed medications.
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The sources speaking with the Star Tribune also indicate that Prince’s autopsy showed lidocaine, alprazolam and Percocet in his system. It is a form of sedative meant to control seizures, a disorder Prince had since childhood.
