Prince Had Prescription Pain Killers When He Died, And The DEA Is Now Assisting With The Investigation

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Almost a week after Prince‘s death, a new report states prescription pain killers were found in the music icon’s possession. Now, the county sheriff investigating the artist’s death is asking for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s help to determine the origin and type of medication the musician had obtained.

TMZ reports Prince had a history of using Percocet after he was prescribed the medication while he was suffering from hip problems in 2009. They also reported Prince overdosed on the pain killer a week prior to his death, although other reports mentioned the singer had suffered from the flu after his plane made an emergency landing at a hospital in Illinois. Other sources told PEOPLE, Prince had been struggling with an “ongoing illness” at the time of his death.

Prince’s long-term friend and collaborator, L.A. Reid told the Today show the singer was “clean” and seemed healthy, last Friday.

“The thing that really bothers me about it is the Prince I know was super-healthy, vegan, wasn’t an abuser of drugs, wasn’t an abuser of alcohol. He was clean and he looked young and he looked really healthy and vibrant so the whole thing is really mysterious to me.”

There has been no word yet on whether or not the drugs found in Prince’s home played a role in his death, officials say. An autopsy was conducted a day after the star died and the medical examiner found “there were no obvious signs of trauma.” Meanwhile, a toxicology report could take weeks to complete.

(Via Entertainment Weekly/PEOPLE)

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