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Investigators looking into possible drug overdose in Prince's death

A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that investigators are looking into whether Prince died from a drug overdose and whether a doctor was prescribing him drugs in the weeks before his death.

From The Associated Press:

Investigators are looking into whether Prince died from an overdose and whether a doctor was prescribing him drugs in the weeks before he was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The official said that among the things investigators are looking at is whether a doctor was on a plane that made an emergency landing in Illinois less than a week before Prince died.

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The law enforcement official has been briefed on the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

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The official said investigators are also looking into what kind of drugs were on the plane and at Prince's house in suburban Minneapolis.

The official also confirmed some details that have previously been reported by other media outlets, including TMZ.

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Prince's plane made an emergency stop in Moline, in western Illinois, on April 15 and he was found unconscious on the plane, the official said. The person said first responders gave Prince a shot of Narcan, which is used in suspected opioid overdoses. The official said the so-called save shot was given to when the plane was on the tarmac in Moline as Prince returned to Minneapolis following a performance in Atlanta.

The official said investigators are looking at whether Prince overdosed on the plane and whether an overdose killed him, and at what kind of drugs were involved. One possibility is the powerful painkiller Percocet or something similar, the official said.

Narcan can be used on people even if an overdose isn't confirmed because it wouldn't necessarily be harmful.

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While it's premature to say where the investigation is heading, the mention of a doctor calls to mind other celebrity deaths, including Michael Jackson's. Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for his role in prescribing a powerful anesthetic that contributed to the pop star's death in 2009.

A second law enforcement official told AP that prescription drugs were discovered at Prince's home when the musician was found dead on April 21.

That official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation into Prince's death. The official did not elaborate. An autopsy has been performed, but results aren't expected for three to four weeks. The search warrant for Prince's Paisley Park home and studio -- carried out the day of his death -- was filed Thursday under seal at the request of investigators who said it would hamper their investigation if contents were public.

An affidavit in support of sealing the warrant, signed by Carver County Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud, also warned that disclosing details in the warrant could cause "the search or related searches to be unsuccessful" and risk injury to innocent people.

Kamerud declined to comment Thursday on the reports of drugs found at Paisley Park, and told AP that he strongly disputed reports by several media outlets that investigators had asked the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for help in the case.

"We have not asked them for help, or asked them to be a part of the investigation," Kamerud said. "We might contact them to help us, but that hasn't happened. We don't have the medical examiner's report yet. We don't know to what extent pharmaceuticals could be a part of this."

Leo Hawkins, a DEA spokesman in Chicago, said he had no comment.

Prince's death came two weeks after he canceled concerts in Atlanta, saying he wasn't feeling well. He played a pair of makeup shows April 14 in that city. Prince was scheduled to perform two shows in St. Louis but canceled them shortly before his death due to health concerns.

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Longtime friend and collaborator Sheila E. has told the AP that Prince had physical issues from performing, citing hip and knee problems that she said came from years of jumping off risers and stage speakers in heels.

DOES PAIN TREATMENT LEAD TO ADDICTION?

With good management and no history of addiction, opioids can help people find relief from pain with only a small risk of causing addiction, according to a 2010 systematic review of the available studies.

"If you do not have a past history of addiction and are in your 40s and getting pain treatment with opioids, your odds of becoming newly addicted are low," said Maia Szalavitz, author of "Unbroken Brain," a newly published book about addiction. "One study of thousands of ER visits for overdose found that only 13 percent of victims had a chronic pain diagnosis."

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If Prince had become addicted, Szalavitz said, he may have shunned seeking help.

"The stigma that is associated with addiction could well have been what killed him," she said. "Maybe he was afraid to seek help. Maybe he sought help before and was treated in a disrespectful and unproductive way."

WHAT IS NALOXONE?

The overdose antidote naloxone has been saving lives for decades, reversing the effect of opiates since it was first approved in 1971. Hospital emergency rooms and ambulance crews use an injectable generic version to revive people whose breathing has slowed or stopped during a drug overdose.

Needle-exchange programs in many cities distribute take-home naloxone kits to active drug users. Many experts consider these giveaways of generic injectable naloxone to be a public health success story that has saved thousands of lives.

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Newer to the market are brand-name versions of naloxone -- a nasal spray and a "talking" auto-injector that gives instructions. The syringe-free products have prompted new efforts to get naloxone kits to fire departments, police, parents, pharmacists and school nurses.

One of the naloxone products, Narcan, was used after Prince's plane made an emergency stop in Moline, Illinois, on April 15 and he was found unconscious on the plane, the law enforcement official told the AP. The official said the so-called save shot was given when the plane was on the runway in Moline as Prince returned to Minneapolis following a performance in Atlanta.

Narcan is carried by Carver County sheriff's department officers, Sheriff Jim Olson said at a news conference Friday. But he added that the overdose antidote drug was not used by first responders as they tried to revive Prince at his home on April 21.

HOW DOES NALOXONE WORK?

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Naloxone works by reversing the effects of opiates in the brain and at higher doses can immediately trigger withdrawal symptoms like nausea. Some drug users wake up cursing emergency personnel for ruining their high. Dr. Steven Aks, emergency medicine physician and medical toxicologist at Stroger Hospital in Chicago, has seen it happen.

Aks has revived many patients with a naloxone shot. "Too many to count," he said. It's an almost daily occurrence in the Chicago ER.

"They will come into the emergency department not breathing, with small pupils. They're out of it. You can't wake them up. If you give an injection of naloxone, they start breathing better. They will sit up," Aks said. "If you give them too much they can go into withdrawal and feel sick. They'll feel nauseated, start having stomach cramps and pain throughout their muscles."

After naloxone, it's a good idea to keep a patient under observation for about four hours, Aks said. When naloxone wears off, a patient can stop breathing again from opiates still flooding their system.

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"If you need multiple doses of naloxone (to revive a patient) they should stay overnight," he said.

Aks also said more hospitals are educating overdose patients about naloxone and sending them home with kits, so friends and family can be ready with the life-saving antidote.