JACKSON TRIED TO GIVE UP PAINKILLERS
Late singer MICHAEL JACKSON tried several times to kick his alleged addiction to painkillers - and his dermatologist was weaning him off prescription drugs at the time of his death.
The star passed away following a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home on 25 June (09) amid rumours he was dabbling with dangerous medications.
Police searching his home following the tragedy confiscated several bags of drugs, including the powerful narcotic Demerol.
Jackson’s skin doctor Dr. Arnold Klein confirmed the star became addicted to prescription medication in the early 1990s but kicked the habit during a stay in rehab in England.
Klein admits giving the star Demerol but claims he was always determined to reduce the amount of pills the star was popping.
He says, "Michael, at one time, had an addiction. And he went to England and he withdrew that addiction at a secure setting, where he went off of drugs altogether.
"And what I told Michael when I met him in this present situation when I was seeing him, that I had to keep reducing the dosage of what he was on, because he came to me with a huge tolerance level. I, on occasion, gave him Demerol to sedate him. And that was about the strongest medicine I ever used." Documents obtained by celebrity website TMZ.com include a letter to Jackson from one of his other doctors - found at the star’s home by police investigating his death - which suggests the star was also trying to wean himself off the drug.
In the letter, addressed from a Dr. Alex Farshchian of Miami, Florida and dated 21 July 2002, the medic offers Jackson the injectable painkiller Buprenex as an alternative to "D", allegedly referring to Demerol.
The letter also contains a reference to a "five to seven day program" to help the troubled star.
A handwritten note, allegedly scrawled by Jackson himself and found at his home, refers to the new drug again calling it "synthetic demeroll (sic)".
The paper reads, "Buprenex does the same as Demerol, the only difference is you can’t become an addict on Buprenex. I would feel safe having it in case of axident (sic)."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
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