Prescription Drugs Confiscated From Michael Jackson’s House
The L.A. County Coroner’s office has confiscated various prescription drugs from the late Michael Jackson’s rented Holmby Hills mansion, according to reports.
As Jackson’s perplexing medical history continues to raise questions, Chief Investigator Craig Harvey confirmed that a team from the medical examiner’s office, including a photographer and Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter, had been in the house.
The investigators emerged from the residence toting two large plastic bags, declining to mention any specifics of what they found inside or where.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the LAPD is in the process of interviewing a number of doctors who prescribed medication for Michael Jackson.
The initial Michael Jackson autopsy performed Friday was ruled inconclusive pending the results of toxicology tests in 6-8 weeks, although it has been confirmed that the singer, who died at age 50, was taking prescription medication.
A second autopsy requested by the family was performed the following day. The “leaked results” of the first autopsy going around are fabricated.
We don’t know for sure what caused Jackson’s sudden heart failure, but his longtime friend Dr. Deepak Chopra has little doubt drug use may have come into play.
“He was extraordinary when he was in his ecstatic states. But he was also troubled, and he surrounded himself with people who were enablers and frequently avoided people who were trying to help him,” he told CBS’ Early Show.
“In the year 2005 after the trial, he came and stayed with us for a few days, and during that time he asked me for a prescription for OxyContin,” he continued.
“I was very surprised, and I said, ‘Why do you want that?’ And he said, ‘I have back pain.’ And I said, ‘You don’t need that narcotic for back pain.’ As I probed, I found out he was taking a lot of narcotics prescribed by different physicians.”
“Somebody like that is obviously not in a normal state of consciousness,” he said. “After a while, they actually believe that if they didn’t get their fix, the drug, they might die. When taking narcotics, you need to be with very competent doctors.”
Therein may lie the rub.
Despite claims not to have given Jackson OxyContin or Demerol, Dr. Conrad Murray, was working without board certification at the time of the star’s death.
Specifically, the American Board of Internal Medicine confirmed that Dr. Conrad Murray’s most recent board certification examination was taken in 1998.
His certification expired December 31, 2008.
At this time, it is not known if Dr. Murray did not pass exams that would have renewed his required certification for 2009, or if he elected not to take them.
Murray’s issues with the medical board apparently didn’t stop him from taking a prominent role when he discovered MJ unconscious in his bedroom Thursday.
“The doctor rode with Michael Jackson to the hospital,” Murray’s attorney, Edward Chernoff, said in an interview on Larry King Live. “He was in the hospital room. He worked with the doctors at UCLA to try to revive him.”
“After [Michael Jackson] was pronounced dead, the doctor stayed in the hospital, spoke with the family members that were there at the time.”
Chernoff said Murray broke the news to Jackson’s kids and advised doctors to break the news gently to the singer’s mother, Katherine, who has a heart condition.
“He comforted La Toya and he talked with Jermaine, as well, about Michael and helped Jermaine with a press release,” he said. “He spoke to the police and left.”
Per Chernoff, Dr. Conrad Murray has denied ever prescribing the painkillers Demerol or Oxycontin and had certainly not injected the singer with Demerol before he died.
When King asked why Murray needed a lawyer, if the physician was not considered a person of interest in the investigation, Chernoff said, “You have a lot more faith in the justice system if you don’t think he doesn’t need a lawyer.”
But whatever Murray added to the equation, the “Thriller” singer himself was in tip-top shape just days before his death, if manager Frank DiLeo is to be believed.
“He was in good shape,” he told Good Morning America.
“His heart was good. He was strong. He was in shape to do this tour. There would have been no problems, I don’t think, with him doing this tour. Nobody was pushing him to do it. Nobody was overworking him, you know, all those reports are false.”
Only time will tell for sure.
