Misty48 said:

Tresha68 said:

zoso1978 said:

Very well put together. U may be right. I agree with your points.

In some of the most recent pics, Prince looks very ill. That's just the truth. My husband doesn't follow Prince and I showed a clip of Prince in 2014 (?) playing w Larry Graham for just a bit. Prince comes out, plays guitar, and exits. His face is very puffy. Prince has never been fat. At All! My hubby recognized the "look" right away. I've had to take large doses of prednisone steroids for long periods of time for an illness. 1 of the 1st things those meds do is swelling of the face or a "moon" face.

I showed him a very recent pic from the tour where he looks so very ill and not very much like Prince. He was pretty shocked, cause Prince does look so frail & ill.

You're on the money. I too, believe he was ill and chose to leave us.

Marta said:

I felt that way since the moment it was announced he was gone, Misty48. First thing that came to mind.

Marta said:

Tresha68 said:

You're on the money. I too, believe he was ill and chose to leave us.

This is exactly what I believe. I loved the man. But I believe he was sick. He was ill. And that he couldn't take it any longer. I think he did all he could.....alone, and for as long as he could. I believe he walked into that elevator and let it take him, and us, down. I believe he knew exactly what he was doing. I don't think it was his druthers. If he could have avoided it, I think he would have. But he couldn't. And being the man that he was; brave, true, and a man of conviction, he made it to that elevator...entered..and allowed himself to pass. He did it on his own terms. He made the hard decision. Exactly as he did all of his life. Prince was a great guy. ..Not a perfect guy; but a Great guy. He was looking out for all around him to very end. He sent everybody away, probably saying that he was fine and would remain that way. Most likely he thought that would avoid them all being dragged into an investigation. He'd be gone. It would either look like an "accidental" drug overdose or a suicide. Either way I feel he was confident that no one else would be blamed and that all of the bases were covered. He was depressed, in pain, and took what he thought was the best action. To those who say.."Well why didn't he he leave a will ..a note....something. I don't believe he cared about those things. Money..material possessions are only good on this plain. They are of absolutely no use after the passing. I don'the think he cared at all about what happened with those things after he left; and that he hoped for the best for those who would be left here.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and not sure where to post it so I'm cross posting from the "what song is in your head today" thread.

It concerns Art Official Age and, lately, listening to it with a fresh set of ears and with the benefit of hindsight, I become more convinced every day that Prince had a terminal illness..

AoA, especially the back end, is incredibly haunting.

Again, listening to it with the benefit of hindsight is spooky too and has been freaking me out. It really sounds like someone who's sort of saying goodbye and who seems resigned to his fate. His use of past tense and the call backs to his older material really seem more pronounced too. There was something about that record - a purpose to it and a very revealing sense of self and vulnerability - that spoke to him coming "full circle". Even the cover is comprised entirely of circles (the fro, the CD's on the background and the three sunglass lenses). I can't shake this idea that he was sick and that this was a real statement he was trying to make, albeit in his usual cryptic, off-handed way. A "last hurrah" and, oddly, even a look back.

H&R Phase 1 & 2 make more sense in this context too. They feel like...maybe not throwaways...but just a bit of tossing stuff out there while he still had time, seeing how many "phases" he could reach before he died, and just a basic exercise in getting songs released. If he had titled them STAGE 1 and STAGE 2, I'd be more convinced than ever that he had cancer. But AoA had a FOCUS to it that I haven't heard from Prince since Rainbow Children. There's a message to it; one of looking back, looking forward, resignation, introspection, ressurection, being out of time, space and body...and afterlife.

Even the album's detractors noticed and acknowledged how unusally intimate, open and revealing Prince seemed to be here. It wasn't preachy and guiding like 1999, TRC, Gold and a lot of his more focused work. Prince was also making comments about how "music belongs to the young", "passing the torch" and giving unprecedented artistic guidance and control to Josh Welton and his young band, ThirdEyeGirl. There was the "save your prayers for a few days" comment. The opening up, the sharing and the vulnerability of the Piano and Microhphone monologues everyone talks about.

Also, Prince straight up didn't LOOK right. Not in a "well, shit, of course. He's 57" way but in a drained, glassy, sunken and tired way that I have unfortunately seen before up close, too often and too recently. "Unhealthy" is the only word I can think of and make up can only hide so much. He lacked his "presence" and there was a glow missing from his aura. It seems as plain as day to me that he was ill at least as far back as AoA, maybe earlier, and that, in his own way, he was trying to tell us something. I don't think it's as simple as drug addiction either.

[Edited 7/18/16 10:07am]

I agree with what many of you have written here. He seemed to be making amends/saying goodbye to people for months. He did call and ask Tamron Hall to come out that last weekend - she begged off due to work commitments. He went to that show in town and stayed the entire performance - not his normal routine. Not eating, not drinking, staying awake ... The saddest part is how alone he was. I saw a post that his sister was with him that last Saturday night at PP - they were sitting together, not speaking, observed by a person there for the show that evening. I cannot imagine the emotional turmoil he was going through. And I wouldn't have put it past him to pick out the date he would go ... Sometimes it snows in April ...

One of the things that leaked from the autopsy was "dangerously low red blood cell count".

Among the many side effects of fentanyl is

Hematologic

The hemolysis observed may have been related to rapid injection of large volumes of hypotonic fentanyl solution. The authors therefore recommend slower injection rates and/or mixture in isotonic fluid.^[Ref]

Common (1% to 10%): Anemia, neutropenia, lymphadenopathy, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, aspartate aminotransferase increased, blood alkaline phosphatase increased, blood glucose increased, blood lactate increased, hypoalbuminemia, vasodilation^[Ref]"

Go read the side effects, many Prince displayed. Poor guy. Medicine that is to help you, in the end takes your life... and until recently, physicians believed opiods were safe--industry snake oil sales pitches.

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/fentanyl-side-effects.html

As a devout Christian who practiced and adhered to the JW teachings, P never would've considered suicide because the Bible views suicide as equal to murder, which is what it is - self-murder.

The Bible mentions six specific people who committed suicide: Abimelech (Judges 9:54), Saul (1 Samual 31:4), Saul's armor-bearer (1 Samual31:4-6), Ahithophel (2 Samual 17:23), Zimri (1 Kings 16:18) and Judas (Matthew 27:5). Five of these men were noted for their wickedness (the exception is Saul's armor-bearer- nothing is said of his character). While some may consider Samson's death an example of suicide because he knew his actions would lead to his death, his goal was to kill Philistines, not himself.

God is the only one who is to decide when and how a person will die, as we say "My times are in your hands," (Psalm 31:15).

God is the giver of life. God gives and God takes away (Job 1:21). Suicide, the taking of one's own life, is UnGodly because it rejects God's gift of life. P never would've presumed to take God's authority upon himself to end his own life.

Baduizm said:

As a devout Christian who practiced and adhered to the JW teachings, P never would've considered suicide because the Bible views suicide as equal to murder, which is what it is - self-murder.

The Bible mentions six specific people who committed suicide: Abimelech (Judges 9:54), Saul (1 Samual 31:4), Saul's armor-bearer (1 Samual31:4-6), Ahithophel (2 Samual 17:23), Zimri (1 Kings 16:18) and Judas (Matthew 27:5). Five of these men were noted for their wickedness (the exception is Saul's armor-bearer- nothing is said of his character). While some may consider Samson's death an example of suicide because he knew his actions would lead to his death, his goal was to kill Philistines, not himself.

God is the only one who is to decide when and how a person will die, as we say "My times are in your hands," (Psalm 31:15).

God is the giver of life. God gives and God takes away (Job 1:21). Suicide, the taking of one's own life, is UnGodly because it rejects God's gift of life. P never would've presumed to take God's authority upon himself to end his own life.

Maybe, and fair enough, but it wouldn't be the first time someone who claimed to be devout turned out to be a hypocrite. I don't think he killed himself on purpose, like at all, but recognize that just because he was religous doesn't automatically preclude the idea.

I honstly believe something else was ailing him and that it got worse over the last 3-5 years.

I am new here, so "hello" to all the purple peeps! Without question, we have lost the greatest musician of our time. I will never forget the day I saw the breaking news flash on TV; there it was; CNN confirming that Prince had passed away. Needless to say, I broke down in tears and I immediately thought something was very suspicious about his death. Ironically, I was thinking of him because of the news just a couple days earlier that his plane had to make an emergency landing, so when I saw the breaking news on the screen, I was in total disbelief and shock!! We all have a story to share about Prince, but I just wanted to share my feelings on the circumstances surrounding Prince's untimely passing. There are so many "conspiracy theories" out there about what happened to Prince the days leading up to his passing. We all read the horrible and untrue stories that the media puts our there for the masses, but "true" Prince fans usually know what is "truth" and what is untrue. For me personally, I do not think Prince was "sick", because he was a person who took great care of himself. We all know he was "vegetarian" and was very "spiritual", and a JW. I sincerely believe that if he was sick, he would get the proper treatment that needed and get "well". Because the information surrounding Prince's death is "sketchy" at best, it leads people to think the craziest things, from faking his death (retiring), an unknown illness or he simply was ready to leave this world and "overdosed", whether accidental or on purpose. Also, there is a lot of stories out there that Prince was "murdered". With all these stories, none of us know what to believe anymore. For me personally, I just do not believe that Prince would EVER intentionally harm himself. He loved life too much; he loved music too much and he loved his fans (his friends). If he wanted to just disappear; I don't think he would have done it this way--not at PP. I just feel that he should have stayed in the hospital, where he could be looked after and he could have gotten "well". There are too many details surrounding Prince's death to write about it all here. Prince was a musical genius, a kind-hearted person, a generous man, and a spiritual person who gave so much to the world. He was so greatly loved and we are all mourning his untimely passing. We will never see another talent like him again, not in our lifetime. I am broken-hearted, sad, and it's all gonna take us some time to get past the pain. It's just too painful right now. I know Prince is with the good Lord now; he deserves every happiness and eternal peace!! I first saw Prince perform "I wanna be your lover" in 1979, and have loved him ever since. Thanks to whomever took the time to read this. I miss our Prince, immensely. Rest in eternal Peace & Love, PRN xoxo

Marta said:

Misty48 said:

Hello ~ I am new to this group. I have been reading the entries for a period of time, but with the passing of Prince, I wanted to join and add my thoughts. As the others that are members, I am also in disbelief and very sad about Prince leaving this world!

What I am going to say, might be taken the wrong way, and some may just down right dislike for what I am about to say. From what I have read, I do not feel Prince wanted to be here any longer. Please hear me out. I will list reasons for my thoughts.

1 - Prince was a very intelligent individual!

2 - He knew what the drugs would do.

3 - I believe he took the overdose of the medication before flying home from his final concert in Atlanta, thinking he would pass while up in the air and help would not be available to save him from death.

4 - If you read what Judith Hill had to say, she said she and Prince were engaged in conversation. She stated, had she been elsewhere on the plane and not sitting with him having the conversation, upon her possible return to Prince, she would have thought that he had just drifted off to sleep. She tried to arouse him and was unsucessful. She went and got the bodyguard so he could try and arouse Prince, and he could not either. That is when they alerted the pilot that he must try and land the plane so that Prince could have emergency attention ASAP!

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/21/prince-emergency-landing-judith-hill

5 - Prince had the party at Paisley Park the next evening so that he could try and make his fans/and everyone believe that there should not be any concern over his health. Prince used the excuse that he wanted people to see his new/awesome purple piano.

6 - Prince wanted to be alone at Paisley Park! He told Judith to go visit her relatives in CA. He told his bodyguard to go visit his family in TX. (The bodyguard was also in charge of security at PP.) He knew if they were there, if they saw anything abnormal, they would get emergency medical treatment for him.

7 - His brother-in-law said he was up for days.

8 - His chef said that the food he had prepared for him was left untouched and was in the refrigerator just as he had left it. He spoke of many other problems Prince had experienced recently.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/princes-chef-says-singer-fought-889161

Prince was a "Perfectionist" ~ He did not want everyone to find out what his real problem was. Just in the last year, his appearance and his health was taking a drastic turn for the worse. MN is a state that will not give all of the details they discover from an autopsy. The only details they are responsible to report, is the exact cause of a death. They are not required to report other medical problems/illness/issues the person might have had. I believe Prince had a "Deadly Problem". His situation is also being kept sealed/private.

I will continue with the rest of my thoughts should anyone be interested.

I am interested. Very interested. I think we are leaning towards the same conclusion.

Misty48, I think that you raise some interesting points. One thing I wonder about Prince is whether he was taking the painkillers for more than just physical pain. He dealt with a lot of trauma in his life. I REALLY hesitate to bring up this particular situation because it is such a sensitive topic, but I wonder how much pain he continued to have in his life related to his son dying. I wonder if he was experiencing pain and regret related to this situation because he never ended up having any other children (of whom we are aware, anyway). It would be one thing to have a child die, and to still have other children...but that was not the case with Prince (because he had no other children). I have seen the Oprah interview and listened to some of the songs on Emancipation and read through the lyrics. He really wanted children. So I just wonder about what kind of effect being childless had on him, and if this might have been a source of emotional pain that he was also trying to fill or medicate.

__

Again, I'm not trying to bring up the painful situation I mentioned just to discuss it because it has been discussed many times. I'm really more interested if anyone has had the same thoughts I have.

[Edited 7/18/16 15:46pm]

[Edited 7/18/16 17:57pm]

cloveringold85 said:

rogifan said:

herb4 said:

Tresha68 said:

I listened to AoA and my first emotion was sadness. Of a story of a man who was leaving. HNR 1 sounded to me as an apology. I believe to many people. I also noticed he started singing songs again he hadn't performed in upwards of 15 years. All the songs he wouldn't sing because Mayte wasn't there to dance. I also noticed the mandalas in the Piano and a Microphone tour, another reference to his time with her. His reflection was heavy in those two albums. Almost apology and regret. I believe he wanted a child more than anything. I also believe he and Mayte were forever connected and shared something not many of us ever do. Denise's death hit him hard, but not in the way most interpreted it. He loved her, but her death shook him because he knew his path was the same. I believe he knew, I believe he was terminally ill. I believe he chose the second exit day as well as the first. He's at peace.

I really agree with you that he wanted a child and it would not surprise me at all if he was using painkillers to deal with physical pain AND emotional pain, including the emotional pain of (a) his son's death that was made worse by (b) the fact that he never had any children.

--

Losing a child is horrible, but my guess is that a person would be able to recover from it better if at the end of the day, he/she had other children. Having other children never fills the void of losing a child, but I would think it makes it easier to move on because at least the person still has a child/children and gets to be a parent.

--

Personally, I think that if a person wants children, I don't think that the desire ever goes away. Prince was SO lookin forward to having a family and I can only imagine how painful it must have been to be in his 50s and have this huge musical legacy but no children.

--

Prince loved beautiful women, we all know. But he had many collaborators/muses/friends/associates/girlfriends in his later years who were 25 to 30 years (or more) younger than him. Perhaps he was hoping that one of these relationships with a younger woman might grow into a marriage so he could have children, even at his older age.

--

I think the aspect of Prince's death that breaks my heart the ost is that he died with no living children and that he never was able to have a second chance at fatherhood. I can't imagine how painful that would be.

Thank you to all that responded to my post. I believe the true reason why Prince left this world will remain an "Unsolved Mystery". His untimely departure has bestowed massive sadness upon millions. He took the mystery with him.

When the autopsy was complete, the medical people held the answers that will never be spoken. The way Prince left this world, it was almost a blessing that he did not leave any living children or a wife. He was suffering from much more than an addiction to prescription drugs. He will be greatly missed by many!!

Rest in Peace Prince.

rogifan said:

Do people realize how powerful some of these painkillers are? Prince would have been dead long before now if he had been taking this stuff for a long period of time (for whatever reason). And note he didn't really start to look that different until 2015-2016 time frame and some of that could have been he chose to grow out his afro (I think that aged him quite a bit). The guy was making music and touring up until the very end, which would be very difficult to do if one was dealing with drug addiction. Which makes me think this usage was more recent.

Thank you. I cannot believe that the level of wild, baseless and asinine speculation hasn't diminished after nearly three months. People have really gone off the reservation. At this point it's just rehash being regurgitated for the hundreth time.

babynoz said:

rogifan said:

Do people realize how powerful some of these painkillers are? Prince would have been dead long before now if he had been taking this stuff for a long period of time (for whatever reason). And note he didn't really start to look that different until 2015-2016 time frame and some of that could have been he chose to grow out his afro (I think that aged him quite a bit). The guy was making music and touring up until the very end, which would be very difficult to do if one was dealing with drug addiction. Which makes me think this usage was more recent.

Thank you. I cannot believe that the level of wild, baseless and asinine speculation hasn't diminished after nearly three months. People have really gone off the reservation. At this point it's just rehash being regurgitated for the hundreth time.

Part of the "grieving/healing process" for some is knowing all of the details of the passing of someone that they love. Shoud the subject bother you or you feel you have read enough, just pass this subject by ~ Very simple for you to do.

Even in death, Prince has been succesful once again with providing a mystery for the ones that loved him.

Misty48 said:

babynoz said:

Thank you. I cannot believe that the level of wild, baseless and asinine speculation hasn't diminished after nearly three months. People have really gone off the reservation. At this point it's just rehash being regurgitated for the hundreth time.

Part of the "grieving/healing process" for some is knowing all of the details of the passing of someone that they love. Shoud the subject bother you or you feel you have read enough, just pass this subject by ~ Very simple for you to do.

Even in death, Prince has been succesful once again with providing a mystery for the ones that loved him.

LOL....another noob trying to disguise their morbid curiosity as grief. Smdh. In light of the fact that NO new information has surfaced it's a good idea to read through the threads where every single thing you posted has already been said ad nauseum. Then perhaps you could actually add something to the discussion.


That would have been the reasonable thing to do.

Then comes the "I loved him most" deflection....nice try.

Here's a tip for ya....part of the growing up process is the ability to separate fact from fantasy, very simple for you to do, not to mention the ability to understand the dynanics of a discussion board. I am just as free to comment on what I read as you are, period, end of.

Welcome to the .org, dear...smooches.

morningsong said:

Wannabeyourlover1 said:

Sheila E. was on TV last night. Good grief! She had not spoken to Prince in 9 months! Now she is saying she knew what was going on??? She was supposed to be one of his oldest friends! Why didn't she intervene? Now she is coming out with a song apparently about her and him. Scheduled to be reseased the day after the BET awards. Talking about opportunist!

No clue what's going on here, it's starting to weird me out. I like Shelia, she has been very popular around here. Whatever her and Prince's little disagreement was about really seem to be somekind of breaking point, which was so strange after them being together for so long. I found it odd that she hadn't talked to him in months prior to his passing and then it was basically to ask his support in something she was doing. She didn't even call after the plane incident? Now she's the central person in all things concerning Prince? Sounds like their blowout was seriously personal. Makes me wonder if he was trying to push her away.

I see your point about Sheila E. It's one thing to go for a long time without talking or at the very least reaching out to a good friend...it happens with me sometimes, usually never more than 6 months though. And I don't want to pass judgement on her, but it is odd that she didn't even reach out to him after the emergency landing. (She's the one who said she hadn't talked to him in 8 months or something like that.)

--

Damaris has done quite a bit of talking and posting about Prince since he died, but she was posting about him on social media on a fairly regular basis for the last 2 years or so if you look at her Twitter and Instagram pages. Plus, she had been performing with him off and on for the last several years and was with him at the Warriors game in March. And while she has talked about him, she has refused to comment on more private matters like his health. Damaris certainly doesn't go back as far as Sheila E., but my guess is that Damaris knows a lot more than Sheila E. about how Prince was doing recently, but isn't sharing.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damarislewis/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DamarisLewis

[Edited 7/18/16 20:49pm]

Is this true?!

Another Powerful Painkiller Found in Prince's System: U-47700

MORE:

http://kstp.com/news/prin...d/4204272/

The terminal illness thing gives me at least a little resignation to Gods will versus any other scenario. I'd like to add seems P had some serious conversations with old friends those last couple of weeks. One that has kept me wondering ever since was the one with Dez. I don't remember the interview but it's online. Dez talked at length about his memories and then when the interviewer asked about his last conversation with P. which I believe he said was around four days prior to his passing. He got all stiff and said he would take to his grave. HUN? There are many ways to say is was a confidential conversation without making it sound so dramatic. Whatever it was just made me wonder more.

That reaction didn't lead me to believe they were exchanging smoothie recipes.

herb4 said:

KRTREE said:

zoso1978 said:

cloveringold85 said:

I am new here, so "hello" to all the purple peeps! Without question, we have lost the greatest musician of our time. I will never forget the day I saw the breaking news flash on TV; there it was; CNN confirming that Prince had passed away. Needless to say, I broke down in tears and I immediately thought something was very suspicious about his death. Ironically, I was thinking of him because of the news just a couple days earlier that his plane had to make an emergency landing, so when I saw the breaking news on the screen, I was in total disbelief and shock!! We all have a story to share about Prince, but I just wanted to share my feelings on the circumstances surrounding Prince's untimely passing. There are so many "conspiracy theories" out there about what happened to Prince the days leading up to his passing. We all read the horrible and untrue stories that the media puts our there for the masses, but "true" Prince fans usually know what is "truth" and what is untrue. For me personally, I do not think Prince was "sick", because he was a person who took great care of himself. We all know he was "vegetarian" and was very "spiritual", and a JW. I sincerely believe that if he was sick, he would get the proper treatment that needed and get "well". Because the information surrounding Prince's death is "sketchy" at best, it leads people to think the craziest things, from faking his death (retiring), an unknown illness or he simply was ready to leave this world and "overdosed", whether accidental or on purpose. Also, there is a lot of stories out there that Prince was "murdered". With all these stories, none of us know what to believe anymore. For me personally, I just do not believe that Prince would EVER intentionally harm himself. He loved life too much; he loved music too much and he loved his fans (his friends). If he wanted to just disappear; I don't think he would have done it this way--not at PP. I just feel that he should have stayed in the hospital, where he could be looked after and he could have gotten "well". There are too many details surrounding Prince's death to write about it all here. Prince was a musical genius, a kind-hearted person, a generous man, and a spiritual person who gave so much to the world. He was so greatly loved and we are all mourning his untimely passing. We will never see another talent like him again, not in our lifetime. I am broken-hearted, sad, and it's all gonna take us some time to get past the pain. It's just too painful right now. I know Prince is with the good Lord now; he deserves every happiness and eternal peace!! I first saw Prince perform "I wanna be your lover" in 1979, and have loved him ever since. Thanks to whomever took the time to read this. I miss our Prince, immensely. Rest in eternal Peace & Love, PRN xoxo

No, I don't believe any of the "conspiracy theories": Prince faked his death, was murdered, or committed suicide. I agree that Prince always took very good care of himself. He looked great until the last few years. And you can SEE it in his pictures. Just start looking at the photos. A definite decline over the last few years. Sometimes a person can do all that they can to get "well". But if a person has something that is terminal, it's just not going to happen. I know this personally. David Bowie and Alan Rickman are also proof of that. No one but their loved ones knew. David Bowie fought his illness and still put on a Broadway play, a new album, and a final music video. Alan Rickman passed very fast. So did Glenn Frey. I believe Prince was doing the same. Prince passed doing all the things he loved. On his terms. In the place he loved: Paisley Park & Minnesota. I don't know if he had a terminal illness or if chronic pain took him away. But yes, we have lost the greatest musical genius of our time. And a Beautiful person.

Hi Zoso: I understand what you are saying. Perhaps Prince did have a 'terminal' illness and he only shared that with those who were close to him. Apparently, Dez Dickerson had an intimate converstation with Prince before he passed, but of course he won't disclose what was said out of respect for Prince. Dez is a "good man" and was a good "friend" to Prince. In the case of David Bowie, they said he was battling cancer, so there were no consipiracy theories about his death. David Bowie kept his illness very "private", and perhaps this is what Prince wanted also? Things just don't seem to make much since because I saw a pic of Prince when he was at "Electric Fetus" on April 16th purchasing some music. I don't think anyone would be able to walk around in public like that if they were "terminally" ill. Here is the link with his pic, if you want to see:

https://simoneniga.com/2016/04/30/prince-la-contea-di-chanhassen-e-i-vicini-di-casa-una-vita-quasi-normale/

zoso1978 said:

Is this true?!

Another Powerful Painkiller Found in Prince's System: U-47700

Beth McDonough Updated: 07/18/2016 10:24 PM Created: 07/18/2016 10:14 PM

We've learned from a source close to the Prince death investigation says another powerful drug was found in his system.

Although it was a fentanyl overdose that killed Prince April 21, the medical examiner said it was part of a deadly chemical cocktail.

And Monday, a source close to the investigation tells me U47700 was part of the mixture. The potent painkiller is a synthetic opioid, eight times stronger than morphine.

And, it took more time and more testing to detect.

"You may have to send it out to a more sophisticated lab that actually is looking for these sorts of drugs," said Dr. Cody Wiberg with the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.

Investigative sources told reporter Beth McDonough that Prince may have thought he was taking a legitimate painkiller, like hydrocodone or fentanyl, that unknowingly also had U-47700 in it.

The pills often look just like other medications. Plus, Dr. Wiberg says U47700 can be resistent to the life-saving antidote Narcan.

Sources say when Princes plane made an emergency landing in Illinois less than a week before his death, paramedics gave him not one but two Narcan shots,

"You might have to administer multiple doses to try to reverse the effects," said Wiberg.

Because U-47700 is not considered a controlled substance by state or federal agents, it's not regulated. The Drug Enforcement Administrations says it tends to be produced overseas in China or Eastern Europe. It's widely available, easily accessible and affordable, about $40 online.

Dr. Wiberg says the drug is on his radar, because it can cause sedation to the point a person stops breathing, "people that use synthetic drugs are playing Russian Roulette, that's because another problem with these drugs is you simply don't know what you get."

Prince was known to have chronic hip pain. We've reported he was being treated for an addiction to painkillers.

As for U-47700, several states have moved to ban the drug. That means, anyone who possesses or sells it, would be subject to criminal penalties.

MORE:

http://kstp.com/news/prin...d/4204272/

Zoso: Wow, very interesting information you found here. I hope the Chanhassen police are investigating the doctor's who gave Prince these medications. You are right, Prince could have "unknowingly" took more dosage than he thought he was. To even think about this is so heartbreaking. I blame Prince's doctor's because they failed him, miserably. They should have seen to it that Prince was under a doctor's supervision and he was getting the "proper" help and treatment. This should have never happened.