Pubdate: Fri, 29 Apr 2016
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/0n4cG7L1
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376

PRINCE'S DEATH PUTS OPIOID CRISIS AT CENTER STAGE

Singer Had Longstanding Addiction to Percocet, According to Reports

Death Investigation Is Underway, Though Official Results Could Take Weeks

But the Findings Already Have Raised Awareness About the Dangers of Painkillers

Superstars die of overdoses from illicit drugs. Heroin. Cocaine. 
There's nothing new about that.

But Prince's death, already an unexpected loss for pop culture and 
music, could turn out to be part of a new twist on that tragic story 
yet another casualty in America from prescription painkillers. Since 
the 57-year-old artist was found slumped in an elevator at his 
Paisley Park estate last week, reports have circulated that he had a 
longstanding addition to Percocet.

Now, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, authorities are 
investigating the role of opioids in his death, in part because the 
prescription painkillers were found at the scene.

Even more troubling are reports that, just days before his death on 
April 21, Prince's private jet made an emergency landing and 
paramedics had to give him a shot of the opioid overdose antidote Narcan.

If all of this true  and we'll have to wait weeks for the toxicology 
report to find out for sure  it will only fuel the already fiery 
conversation about opioid abuse in this country. That won't bring 
back Prince's artistry, but it could raise awareness for an epidemic 
that the general public too often misunderstands and overlooks.

Prince's death, already an unexpected loss for pop culture and music, 
could turn out to be part of a new twist on an old tragic story 
another rock star overdose, this time thanks to the prescription 
painkillers that are claiming so many American lives.

Everyone knows heroin is dangerous. But what about Percocet? Or 
Norco? Or Vicodin?

Millions of Americans are hooked on these and other opioids  a class 
of drugs that includes brand-name versions of oxycodone, hydrocodone, 
codeine and fentanyl, as well as the illicit drug heroin.

Most people start off innocently ingesting the painkillers under the 
direction of doctors. This can lead to addiction, though. It is more 
common than most people imagine to go from a seemingly harmless 
prescription for Percocet to full-on, uncontrollable addiction, and 
from there to a fatal overdose.

Tens of thousands of Americans die from overdoses every year. More 
than in car crashes. If this is what happened to Prince, it's sad and 
it's shocking. But it also could serve as the biggest wake-up call 
yet that opioid addiction is a public health crisis that must be 
addressed with more urgency.

If that were to happen, it would do more than commemorative showings 
of "Purple Rain" at movie theaters across the country to honor his memory.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom