Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, was found unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen, Minnesota on April 21 from a “self-administered fentanyl overdose”.
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According to a one-page report released by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office, Prince administered the drug himself on an unknown date.
The most potent narcotic known, it is a man-made opioid 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more so than morphine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control website.
The medical examiner’s office said its investigation into Prince’s death had now finished and it was unable to make any further comments.
A law-enforcement official tells The Associated Press that tests show Prince died of an opioid overdose.
Burt Kahn, a lawyer who specializes in medical negligence, said there was a potential for criminal liability if a doctor prescribed fentanyl to Prince, or got him habituated, and then withdrew the drug.
Overdose deaths from synthetic opioids jumped by 80 percent in 2014 over the previous year, the CDC said, suggesting much of the increase may reflect the greater availability of illegally made fentanyl.
FILE – In this April 26, 2008 file photo, Prince performs during the second day of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.
Prince’s death followed a chaotic scene after his last shows, on 14 April in Atlanta.
After Prince died, authorities began reviewing whether an overdose was to blame and whether he had been prescribed drugs in the preceding weeks.
His death came less than a week after his plane made an emergency stop in IL, so he could undergo medical treatment.
Kornfeld’s son had in possession buprenorphine, intending to give the drug which eases opioid cravings to a doctor in Minnesota who had planned to see Prince on April 21.
A police warrant has also revealed that Dr. Michael Schulenberg prescribed medication to the singer on April 20 – the day before he died. The medications were not specified in a search warrant for the Minnesota hospital that employed Schulenberg at the time.
Mauzy has said Howard Kornfeld was called by prince’s associates the night before he died.
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Its website says it is typically used to treat patients with severe pain or to manage pain after surgery but is sometimes used to treat people with chronic pain who are physically tolerant to opiates.
