Prince thought to have opioid medication in his systems at the time of his death

By: Daniela Ferrer

After his unexpected death on Thursday, April 21, 2016, at the age of 57, authorities have begun to investigate what led to Prince’s departure. They found “prescription opioid medication on him and in his Minnesota home.” These pills, which are commonly used to treat pain, “can reduce pain by switching off pain receptors in the brain.” To this moment, however, officials still haven’t found anything that could prove Prince owned a legitimate prescription of the designated drug.

Authorities contend that a health issue about a week prior to his death caused an unexpected landing of his plane Illinois. Therefore, they believe that it was likely that it might have been some sort of reaction to the medication. The pilot of his plane later confirmed that as a result of Prince being unconscious, they had to quickly execute an unscheduled landing. Prince was rushed to a hospital in Moline, Illinois; but even though an official had confirmed that Prince was “treated for a potential overdose of pain medication,” he was luckily able to return home.

Following the discovery of his unconscious body in the elevator of his home and studio, at Paisley Park, the paramedics went ahead to perform CPR. Unfortunately, they were unable to bring him back. Although opioids are one of the most widely prescribed medications in the US, they produce an increases pain tolerance, along with a sense of euphoria; and trigger a craving when the drug is no longer present. However, Jim Olson, Carver County Sheriff had previously said that at the time of his discovery, Prince showed “no obvious signs of trauma.” As a result investigators are waiting for autopsy results and toxicology tests to have a better understanding of what could have possibly been the cause of Prince’s lamentable death.

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