Prince’s Toxicology Report Shows Fentanyl Present, ‘The Associated Press’ Reports
According to a toxicology report obtained by the Associated Press, Prince had an “exceedingly high” level of fentanyl in his system when he died. The 57-year-old singer was found unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate in April of 2016. Information released six weeks after his death showed he died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, according to the Associated Press.
Fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more powerful than heroin. According to Stat News, 70 percent of opioid-related deaths in 2015 involved fentanyl. The report also says drug dealers try to include fentanyl in their products to improve the potency; users don’t know when their heroin includes fentanyl. This ignorance could result in “a deadly overdose” because of inaccurate measurement of the drug during production.
The confidential report proves that Prince died of a fentanyl overdose, according to experts.
Dr. Lewis Nelson, chairman of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, said, “The amount in his blood is exceedingly high, even for somebody who is a chronic pain patient on fentanyl patches.”
The toxicology report says the late singer’s blood contained 67.8 micrograms of fentanyl per liter. The quantity of the drug in Prince’s liver was 450 micrograms per kilogram.
Toxicology report obtained by AP shows "exceedingly high" levels of opioid fentanyl in Prince's body when he died. https://t.co/M7JLFKT7m0
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 26, 2018
The Associated Press report says that concentrations of over 69 micrograms per kilogram of the drug in the liver are fatal. The report also says there was a potentially lethal amount of the drug in the late singer’s stomach. This indicates that Prince took the drug orally, while the traces of the drug in his blood and liver indicate it took some time to spread through his system before he died.
Prince had a "exceedingly high" concentration of fentanyl in his body when he died https://t.co/WLi0DjDSKz pic.twitter.com/PPsyyO1OUJ
— CNN (@CNN) March 27, 2018
According to Radar Online, some of his friends and fans believe the singer’s death was an overdose suicide. Stevie Nicks has suggested the icon took his own life because he was extremely lonely and had no family of his own. Prince was married twice in his life to dancer Mayte Garcia and later Manuela Testolini. His only child with Mayte died just days after being born, Radar Online reports.
