The laced thing is a bit confusing for some. Fentanyl when prescribed is given as a lozenge or patch not easily laced. Atleast I've never heard of it. This thing with heroin hitting the streets with fentanyl is in syringe form from what I see on the news. Plus fentanyl isn't given in a manner to self administer a shot for the reason of you deal with micro grams and OD is far too easy for a patient to self administer. Thank U gatorgirl for pointing out he wasn't high.

ACharmed1 said:

You're only "high" from opiods and fentanyl if you take too much of it. Otherwise, you feel medicated and tiny bit on the euphoric side at the beginning of the dose but not high.

I don't know this from direct personal experience, but a doctor told me when we were treating my dad and I was blaming the meds for his behavior.

CherryMoon57 said:

BillieBalloon said:

sonshine said:

CherryMoon57 said:

Where did you hear this from?

I'll try to find it. I've read and heard so much in those first couple weeks i cant remember who it was.

I found it. It is referenced in Jon Bream's book "Prince: Inside the Purple Reign", and the information came from the author's interview with Reverend Art Erickson who knew Prince as a child. Apparently Prince told Art a story once about how his stepfather "locked him in his room for six weeks and wouldn’t let him out and the only thing in there was a bed and a piano, so he learned to play the piano".

If this is true, it shows his capacity to turn a sad situation into a more positive one, through creativity... I can't help but see this as both sad and beautiful...

[Edited 6/12/16 16:06pm]

sonshine said:

This is the problem. The impression the Prince is being "ravaged". Why would you think that? Because you believe addicts are unworthy, vile, "street urchins"? It's people with that kind of attitude to addictions who make it worse for prince and others like him. They are afraid to be honest and struggle alone. That doesn't work. Dependence, addiction, whatever term you want to give it shouldn't make a difference in how you view the individual or the empathy you have for their situation. Prince was worthy of the support of his fans no matter how he got to where he was. And he was worthy of the best care available rather than having to worry more about secrecy. Lots of people failed prince.

First of all Ur projecting Ur own thoughts onto me in saying I think addicts are " unworthy, vile". I do not think that at all. Don't put words where I didn't put them. It's that kind of thinking that make it difficult for a person to look in the mirror and admit to themselves that they are indeed an addict, which is nothing to be ashamed of. The "street urchin" comment can get lost in translation on a forum like this. I meant it as ppl jumping to the conclusion he was out on the street trying to obtain the medication. It's funny that Ur trying to scold me for my words when U in another reply jumped to the word "high". U then had to correct Urself from that comment but it's interesting that Ur mind went there. And Dependence and Addiction are 2 different things, not an interchangable "term" as U say.

sonshine said:

endiadj said:

i don't get that if this drug is so strong how do you take it for 3 years and still live? if a grain or two could kill you and it's 80 times as strong as heroin, and people die of heroine ods everyday, how how does one stay alive let alone function at all on fentanyl? doesn't add up.

Bunsterdk said:

mimi1956 said:

The shorter hair after 2004 I think, before 2012. Couldn't the light from the flashes when these pictures were taken also have caused that effect. Your pupils adjust to the light. Just a thought.

Thanks - yeah, this very good point is made in comments to the second article as well. One picture seems to be from the Black Sweat video, doesn't it? They wouldn't have used a flash light for that, but definitely strong lights of course. I saw footage from around a year ago where I am certain he was under the influence of something. It was so painful to watch that I won't share the link, sorry. He would have hated to be seen like that, and it's had me down in the dumps for a couple of days now. Trying to erase it from my mind. Something was definitely going on over the last year or two. It is really plain to see in his eyes - the expression, not the pupils.

That's interesting because of the one article I read (can't remember where) that an employee at the Walgreens told him when he was there the night he passed that she/he would pray for him and he replied he could have used the prayers a year ago. He may have taken opiates off and on for years, and I suspect he may have, but I don't think addiction was present long term. There is no way he could have had the successful career he did. It is heartbreaking that he was not able to get help. This was clearly not a man who broke laws due to drug abuse, who landed in and out of jail or court ordered rehabs, or was unable to perform due to drug abuse, or missed performances. Nothing about his behavior showed long term 'abuse'. I think if he was abusing fentanyl for years and years, he would have died a very long time ago.

CherryMoon57 said:

gatorgirl said:

I have a lot issues with this article. I feel she is trying to transpose her life and Prince's life and the truth is we have no clue what really happened to him or why. Given he seemed to lose weight only in the last year or so I think his issues were rather recent. I also think he had other conditions besides just arthritis from performing which caused him pain. As for his pupils, that is from lighting as basically all photos of him used a flash. That is a massive stretch to say he has has drug issues for 25-30 years based on his eyes in photographs.

^^^^^ THIS

Also, in the last year, he was wearing less makeup and let his hair go wild.

The sunglasses covered up "no eye makeup" more than anything else.

He looked younger than his age but he did show aging. I don't see anything alarming in any of the photos; in fact, one person at that final PP show after the Moline event said that he looked wonderful.

He was always thin. 112 was actually a normal weight for someone his size. Look at the photos of him with Mayte on stage; he looks even thinner.

rogifan said:

setyrmindphree said:

Pupils also pin if you're excited, if you're in a lot of pain... any number of things. Again, I am gonna go back to animals, because this is something I know. A cat will come in in a lot of pain and his eyes will be tiny pinpricks because he's in pain.

Hell, the three times I've had emergency treatment, they checked my eyes, and I'm sure my pupils were tiny -- the one time I'd broken my leg, the second I'd sliced my thumb on a table saw, and the third, I'd been bitten by a German Shepherd. While I don't remember actually /feeling/ any pain because yay adrenaline, I'm sure I was pretty shocky, and I walked myself into the emergency room the last two times.

And consider this: Prince has lightish brown eyes, which means more light gets through.

Also, he looked wild-eyed a /lot/ over the course of his career. The boy was pretty high energy, o of course he'd have the tiny pupil, big eyed look.

Thing is, I think there was also some projection going on. People metabolize things differently, and who knows if Prince could actually metabolize Fentanyl at all, all things considered. I certainly don't know.

I am actually starting to wish they would just go ahead and release the whole report, just so people can shut up already about this, and quit making it all about the drugs.

CherryMoon57 said:

endiadj said:

the small pupils could be from glaring lights or anything. doesn't means it's from drug use.

My exact thought when I read this article. Everyone's pupils are tiny whenever facing bright lights or sunshine. Using such photos as evidence to what the article suggests just makes it less convincing.

This was also my first thought. While it is damn near certain that Prince has been using a variety of painkillers to manage years of chronic pain, the use of pupils in photographs to support the principle point of the piece is shoddy.

Pupils contract in response to both bright press pit/paparazzi camera flashes and photo shoot hot lights, both of which were common situations for Prince.

insomnia said:

I've stopped reading blog posts from random clowns on the internet. So many self appointed experts crawling out of the woodwook recently with their 20 20 hindsight that don't know Prince from a can of paint spewing their ill informed opinions as facts.

CherryMoon57 said:

rogifan said:

Yes I know it's been a long time since he worked with Prince and wasn't a regular acquaintance in later years but if Prince chose to use drugs for recreational purposes it seems more likely that he would have done so earlier in his career when drugs were more commonplace in the industry.

Susan Rogers, who has proven to be accurate AF, said the first time she saw Prince on drugs was the LoveEcstacy night "Don't buy The Black Album" with Ingrid Chavez in 1988.

rogifan said:

ACharmed1 said:

Hi to all, I'm new posting here but since P's passing found a strange comfort in the posts and family that's here. Thank U all, U've made me smile many times and brought a bit of clairty which is what I hope to do now. This "article" and I use that term loosely has done it for me I can't take anymore.

The term of addiction IMHO needs to stop with P. Dependency I can accept and understand. I have a lot of experience with the pain medications P was KNOWN to take. My mom has cancer, and many other issues, my dad has cancer, I have multiple health issues in which I have to take said meds. In addition I'm also a photographer, I've covered many live acts been around many artists and this notion that it's all there in his pupils is insane.

Go to the eye Dr what's 1 of the 1st things done? Shine a light in Ur eye to pin pupils. What do you see in his eyes in those photos? A light. The kind of lights used in photos shoots are harsh on eyes Ur eyes pin period. Same on stage, many performers I know wear sunglasses to block the stage lights/flash from cameras. If Ur around lights that intense long enough yeah, U'll wear sunglasses often.

Another thing about this article this person is an admitted addict. Sucking a fentanyl patch is addict behaviour. Having a Dr. that prescribes fentanyl for migraines and fibromyalgia is extremely suspect. That med is not easily given out. I get migraines too and never have I had a Dr. give me fentanyl for the pain.

I think it's important to remember that no matter what has been said this may have been P's first and only dose. No matter what though, it all comes down to chronic pain. I suffer from chronic pain as well and I've been in so much pain there have been times I literally prayed to God to take my life and give it to someone in need. When you hurt just to breathe and life holds very little pleasure or joy U lose hope, no matter how much of a fighter U are.

I wish ppl would start realising he took pain medication to control pain. That's it. Not an addict. It breaks my heart that this man who gave the world his all, took all kinds of hell for various things in his life is now being turned into some street urchin type pill popper and being made into a poster child for the drug epidemic in death. It's sickening.

I'm not a Dr., only a person who has had to use these meds, and NO I'm not an addict. Dependant on them to function on a daily basis at times? Yes, and there is no shame in that. As I said I only hope to offer some comfort to someone reading this, and hopefully some insight or understanding I can't stand P being ravaged like this. Sorry for the long post.

Please do not apologize for the long post. I am gald you took time to share; I believe Prince took the pills for pain. I will never believe he was an addict in the way some are trying to say - I know many people who take pain medication and I do not consider them addicts. I am sorry Prince had health issues that resulted in such pain. I am sorry that he was really alone. He had friends but he clearly liked his alone time- I get it- I think the lyrics he wrote are true for him and what he believed.

In this life you're on your own.

Pains me to know he had so much pain.

Bunsterdk said:

mimi1956 said:

The shorter hair after 2004 I think, before 2012. Couldn't the light from the flashes when these pictures were taken also have caused that effect. Your pupils adjust to the light. Just a thought.

Thanks - yeah, this very good point is made in comments to the second article as well. One picture seems to be from the Black Sweat video, doesn't it? They wouldn't have used a flash light for that, but definitely strong lights of course. I saw footage from around a year ago where I am certain he was under the influence of something. It was so painful to watch that I won't share the link, sorry. He would have hated to be seen like that, and it's had me down in the dumps for a couple of days now. Trying to erase it from my mind. Something was definitely going on over the last year or two. It is really plain to see in his eyes - the expression, not the pupils.

To me he looked like a lost soul, it makes me cry to see what happened and nobody could be enough to make him happy. He was a special angel here on earth.

BillieBalloon said:

I can't believe that she has decided that prince took opioids for 25/30 years just because his.pupils are small in some photos. That's what she's basically saying. Nevermind that pupils enlarge and shrink under different lighting conditions. Yes he died of an opioid overdose but she's got no evidence to corroborate her assertion other than a few pictures. They way some people are making statements as if it's established fact is ridiculous. There's going to be a lot of people coming out saying "Prince was a junkie, look trust me, I know because I was one." And we're supposed to believe them because they somehow know the truth and we don't. Until more info comes out its all speculative .

I will never believe Prince was a "junkie" and I expected them to spin and spin and spin. I do not care what comes out. I believe he was an ill person who had a condition that caused tremendous pain and he was taken something to lessen the pain. THAT is what I will believe. I stopped following TMZ and other media outlets on my twitter because I cannot take the spin anymore and this article goes right in line with that. NO way- Prince was no junkie.