In the light of new information obtained from Prince’s toxicology report it’s been revealed that the singer had ‘exceedingly high’ amounts of the drug fentanyl in his system when he passed away.
The purple legend died aged 57 when he was discovered alone and non-responsive in his home at Paisley Park, April 21st 2016.
Soon after his death it had been confirmed Prince had died from an opioid overdose. A drug known as fentanyl which is 50 times more powerful than heroin was discovered in the star’s system.
According to AP a toxicology report has shown that the high levels of drug in his system was ‘a pretty clear smoking gun’. The comments come from Dr. Lewis Nelson, chairman of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
“The amount in his blood is exceedingly high, even for somebody who is a chronic pain patient on fentanyl patches,” Dr Nelson said. According to the report, concentrations of fentanyl in Prince’s blood was 67.8 micrograms per litre. It had been claimed that just three to 58 micrograms per litre had previously been found to be fatal.
450 micrograms per kilogram of the drug was also found in Prince’s liver. Liver concentrations greater than 69 micrograms per kilogram ‘seem to represent overdose or fatal toxicity cases’. A ‘potentially’ lethal amount of fentanyl was also found in his stomach.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the music icon’s death continues. A review of reports is underway and the lead prosecutor has said he would make a decision on whether to charge anyone in relation to his death ‘in the near future.’
