mimi07 said:

Hoefflin? I don't trust him anymore than I do the LAPD.

AUGUST 6, 2009

Alert on M.D. Abuse Of Jackson Drug


By ALICIA MUNDY

Abuse of the sedative suspected in Michael Jackson's death is a growing problem among medical professionals, increasing pressure on the government to restrict it as a controlled substance.

Three days before the pop icon's death on June 25, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists warned hospitals to restrict access to the potent drug propofol because some doctors and nurses are addicted to it.

Propofol, sold under the brand name Diprivan, is a widely used hospital sedatives. Because it is quick-acting and rapidly leaves the system, it is convenient for routine procedures such as same-day knee and cosmetic surgery, colonoscopies and bone repair.


The qualities that make propofol a popular sedative also make it a recreational drug for some in the medical profession. It doesn't show up in standard drug tests in the urine, and with a half-life of only five minutes, it doesn't leave the user groggy or affect behavior in a way that signals a substance-abuse problem.

The number of people with a propofol problem is small, and there is little data tracking addictions or death. A 2007 study covering 23,385 anesthesia personnel published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia by Paul Wischmeyer, a University of Colorado anesthesiologist, found 25 cases of propofol abuse over the preceding decade. The rate was a fivefold increase from a decade earlier. The study cited seven deaths. Dr. Wischmeyer and others in the field say that they know of other cases and estimate that the total number of deaths is at least several dozen in recent years.

"If you try to count backward from 100 after it's injected, you don't get to 97," says Dr. Wischmeyer. He and others say the drug is safe for hospital patients as long as a medical worker monitors "airway management" and provides oxygen as needed to ensure breathing doesn't stop.

Getty Images

Michael Jackson at a press conference on March 5, 2009 in London, England.


Anesthetists and users say propofol can bring a brief but captivating high as the sedation wears off. Some call the habit, "dancing with a white rabbit," referring to the drug's color and hallucinogens of the 1960s. Others call it "pronapping," because the drug induces a short rest for medical personnel between long shifts.

Most medical centers don't lock up propofol or closely monitor inventory as they would for addictive painkillers such as Oxycontin. Propofol is readily accessible in most hospital supply rooms, sometimes along with Band-Aids and antibiotic ointments.

Paul Earley, medical director of Talbott Recovery Campus in Atlanta, which treats many medical professionals for substance abuse, said addictions to opiates and other drugs obscured the growing use of propofol.

"I was injecting it 50 times a day when I was in my worst period," says an anesthesiologist in the Midwest, who recently completed a stint in rehabilitation to kick the propofol habit. He said he began "pronapping" a couple of years ago while under stress from his job, family and finances. He hid the signs of shooting up by putting a port for a syringe on his leg, where it wasn't visible.

At night, he would inject the drug into the port in the bathroom, where his wife assumed he was brushing his teeth. "Sometimes it acted so fast, I couldn't get back to bed in time," said the anesthesiologist. He would pass out on the floor, terrifying his wife, and he said that on occasion he broke his nose or cheekbone or sprained a wrist.



After Mr. Jackson's death, police found propofol and oxygen tanks in his house, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Jackson's case would be rare, however. Almost all of the victims of propofol addiction and overdose are medical professionals, particularly anesthesia providers, experts say. The drug isn't generally available outside hospitals and clinics.

Drug abuse among medical professionals has received growing attention over the years, prompting some states to develop prevention and treatment programs. Long shifts and stressful life-and-death cases, as well as ready access to dangerous drugs, have all fueled the problem, say rehabilitation experts.

Propofol is so potent that a tiny amount -- 20 milligrams -- can be the difference between rest and death. "It enters your bloodstream fast, and even highly trained anesthesiologists can't control it, and die. They don't even have seconds to pull out the needle," said Art Zwerling, a registered nurse anesthetist and counselor with the Association of Nurse Anesthetists, a 39,000-member group.

Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which makes generic propofol, and APP Pharmaceuticals Inc., which sells the drug under the Diprivan name, said separately that the drug is safe when used as directed in proper settings.

Propofol was never classified as a controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration when it was first approved 20 years ago, nor was it recommended for that status by the Food and Drug Administration. Two years ago, a citizen petition was filed at the DEA, asking that propofol be designated a controlled substance, which requires an FDA recommendation. Representatives of both agencies said they've been reviewing the matter. One official said a decision could come in a few months.
Related Story
Jackson's Estate Sets Fresh Deals


An FDA spokeswoman said since Mr. Jackson's death, the agency has received many questions from doctors and the public about when and whether it will decide to classify propofol.

Making propofol a controlled substance under DEA rules would require hospitals to track inventory, account for all vials, list users, and lock it up with narcotics. That is not popular with many anesthesiology providers, and a poll by Anesthesiology News taken after Mr. Jackson's death found that 61% of them oppose it.

Several anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists say that because propofol is an important drug for use in emergencies, it must be kept handy. In some cases, a surgeon may suddenly need more propofol to keep a patient sedated, and a few seconds' delay makes a difference. They favor hospitals taking voluntary steps to control inventory.

Another concern: Tighter regulation might impede doctors and nurses from seeking help for addiction, because abusing a DEA-controlled drug is more likely to cost them their licenses and lead to criminal charges.

Clarence Ward, a California anesthesiologist, wrote in a 2008 article in the California Society of Anesthesiologists bulletin, that too many doctors don't acknowledge abuse. In an interview, he said people die "not necessarily from intent, but from an inability to control a drug that causes abrupt loss of consciousness."

Little known fact: MJ was approached to write and perform tracks for Batman (1989), but declined the offer due to touring commitments.

If I didn't buy all the shit said about Mike in the media.

I ain't gonna buy it about his family either.

Some a ya'll should know better than to start hatin on Jermaine and the family.

Copycat said:

I think I heard this a while back...

AP source: Jackson doc gave sedatives before death

By THOMAS WATKINS and JUSTIN PRITCHARD (AP) – 49 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES — Hours before Michael Jackson's death, his doctor administered multiple sedatives along with a powerful anesthetic the pop star used to sleep, according to a law enforcement official. It's a safe combination if done properly; potentially lethal if not.

The official said the type of sedatives Dr. Conrad Murray gave Jackson were benzodiazepines, often used to calm patients before surgery. Murray told investigators the doses were within normal medical guidelines, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Even at acceptable levels, benzodiazepines can intensify how the anesthetic propofol depresses breathing, so strict monitoring and careful dosing is required. The balance can be tricky, a slip-up disastrous.

Murray, who administered the drugs to Jackson in a room at the pop star's rented mansion, told investigators Jackson stopped breathing the morning of June 25 and he was unable to revive him. The doctor is the central figure in what police term a manslaughter investigation, though authorities have not classified him a suspect.

In a written statement Thursday, Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, dismissed as "ridiculous" the official's assertion that Murray gave Jackson multiple drugs.

"We are not going to be responding to any accusations from any unnamed sources," Chernoff said.

As investigators build their case, a central issue is what drugs were in Jackson's system when he died. The official said preliminary toxicology tests detected the propofol, a drug normally used to render patients unconscious for medical procedures but that Jackson used as a sleep aid.

Further analysis will determine whether other drugs were present and in what quantity, allowing the coroner to conclude whether they contributed to the death.

If a twice-delayed final toxicology report reveals an array of drugs, the answer to the simple question "What killed Michael Jackson?" will become a complex medical and legal dispute, especially if authorities can't prove Murray knew everything Jackson was taking. That would complicate any prosecution.

If the results show "a bunch of stuff together, unless one of them is sky high it's going to be really tough to give the cause of death to one drug," said Dr. Richard Clark, director of the division of medical toxicology at the University of California, San Diego.

The Los Angeles County coroner uses a form that allows for three causes of death, plus a fourth line for other contributing factors. Given Jackson's long history with prescription and other drugs, Clark said he expects the coroner's office will conclude Jackson died from "multiple drug toxicity."

Anna Nicole Smith and Heath Ledger were found to have died from lethal combinations of drugs.

Craig Harvey, chief investigator at the coroner's office, declined to discuss any findings from the toxicology report or autopsy. He said delays in releasing the findings were due to "investigative issues." (Yeah I bet)

A discovery of several substances in Jackson's system could benefit Murray should he face criminal charges, said Steve Cron, a criminal defense attorney and adjunct professor at Pepperdine University's law school.

"The more drugs in his system, the more deniability (a doctor) has," Cron said, provided Murray could show he didn't know Jackson was on the other drugs.

"But what did the doctor know?" Cron asked. "Did he do his due diligence by trying to find this stuff out, or just look the other way?"

Murray has talked to detectives but has not spoken publicly since Jackson died. Chernoff has said Murray gave Jackson nothing that "should have" killed him and specifically said the physician did not give Jackson the narcotic painkillers Demerol or OxyContin.

The law enforcement official said Demerol was not found in Jackson's home, but the official said a large amount of propofol and several types of benzodiazepines were in a walk-in closet and the room where Jackson slept his last night.

Benzodiazepines, the "mother's little helper" Mick Jagger sang about, include such widely used antianxiety drugs as Valium and Xanax, as well as Ativan and Versed. The law enforcement official wouldn't name which benzodiazepines Murray told investigators he gave Jackson.

Combining propofol with benzodiazepines is common in operating rooms. Doing so in a private home is not, and it raises numerous safety issues.

Murray, a cardiologist who was hired as Jackson's personal physician in May, is not an anesthesia specialist, and medical experts question whether he had proper monitoring and lifesaving equipment when he administered the propofol to Jackson.

Propofol is extremely powerful, and even a small miscalculation in a dose can cause a dangerous drop in breathing and heartbeat. Some benzodiazepines also affect breathing rate, making the combination potentially deadly, according to several anesthesiologists including Dr. John Dombrowski, a board member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists who runs the private Washington Pain Center.

While anesthesiology is rooted in science, some of its top practitioners describe balancing the doses of several drugs as an art. Patients can react differently to the same drugs, especially if they have built up tolerance through long-term use or abuse.

People not properly trained in such nuances are playing within a small margin for error, Dombrowski said.

"We've made it look so simple," Dombrowski said. Nonspecialists may "view it as, `Well, it should be pretty straight forward,' and they get caught with their pants down."

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Timmy84 said:

Blah Blah Blah...he's still dead.

I love Jermaine and I can't stand the haterade being poured on him from a TABLOID report.

Warhol's Portrait Goes on Show Pre-sale
August 7, 2009


A portrait of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, by the King of Pop Art, Andy Warhol, went on show in London on Thursday for three days in the lead-up to an auction in New York of the 1984 painting.

The portrait is on display at London's O2 Arena, the venue where Jackson was meant to hold his string of comeback concerts. He died on June 25 before the shows could happen.

The portrait was commissioned to celebrate the world record breaking sales of Jackson's "Thriller" album and was painted when both men were at the height of their careers.

It will go under the hammer in New York on August 18 at the Vered Gallery, starting with an opening bid of $800,000.

Janet Lehr, an art dealer and partner at the Vered Gallery, was refusing to disclose the owner of the painting.

"I can tell you that the owner is a true art collector, a lover of paintings, he bought the painting because he loved the painting," Lehr told Reuters Television.

"After Michael's death, I, an art dealer, went to the client and said this is the moment. There is no question that as with the death of some other very famous artists, performing artists, painters, their value catapulted in great excess of previous numbers."

The average auction figure reached in recent years for a work by Warhol, who died in 1987, in recent years is $17 million.

In the past the top price paid for a Warhol picture at auction was $71 million for a work called "Car Crash" and the top price for a Warhol portrait was $28 million for "Lemon Marilyn" of Marilyn Monroe. Both sold at Christie's in New York in 2007.

Lehr said it was impossible to guess what price the painting of Michael Jackson might expected to fetch but there were already a large number of interested bidders registered.

http://www.reuters.com/ar...DS20090807

Jermaine Jackson vows to spread message
ANI 7 August 2009, 06:22pm ISTPrint Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: |

Michael Jackson’s elder brother Jermaine is taking the reins of keeping the superstar’s memories alive, and has Michael Jackson (Reuters Photo) More Pics

thus vowed to spread the King Michael Jackson (Reuters Photo) More Pics
of Pop’s message all his life.

The ‘Thriller’ superstar passed away on June 25, plunging his family, friends and millions of fans worldwide into mourning.

And Jermaine has revealed that he is still coping with the loss of his sibling's sudden death.

But he has taken a pledge to honour Michael by making the public aware of the charity and humanitarian work he had carried out during his life.

"The tragedy of my brother''s death is still with me. But in his death, I have found a mission for my life. My existence is now dedicated to spreading Michael''s message. Michael had a unique place in the world. He not only did good, but taught others how to do the same. This only magnifies his loss to the world,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying in a new blog entry.

"I want to make people aware of the humanitarian side of Michael. I want to show them how his true emphasis wasn''t music, or performing; it was improving the world. Understand this, and you begin to understand the essence of who my brother was.

"Michael wanted to help people see the problems that are destroying our world... He wanted to use every part of himself to show us what we are capable of becoming. His goal was to demonstrate to people that if we all just try to make world a better place, it will be,” he added.

jamgirl said:

Somebody needed to pour some smarts on his head before he named his poor child.

Timmy84 said:

Yes, this is real...POSITIVE, good.



Read the entire thing here....


http://larrykinglive.blog...w-mission/

Much love Jermaine..

Serena said:

Whatever, can't hate on someone for naming their child...

I wouldn't name my child that..I hate my name but can't hate on my dad for it.

Jermajesty...UNIQUE....REGAL

TJ Jackson named his kid ROYALTY.

Michael Jackson's Guitarists
July 2009


Whether or not you were a fan of the self-proclaimed "King of Pop", you can't dismiss Michael Jackson's ability to do things right. Even on his earliest recordings, Jackson's albums featured the best musicians money could buy.

Although the album credits on even his last releases still read like a who's who of top session musicians, Jackson's philosophy of choosing guitarists to work with changed post-Thriller. More specifically, Jackson's approach became: identify the most popular guitarists on the face of the planet, and hire them to play on your record.

Jackson's 1979 release Off the Wall, featuring studio pro guitarists like Larry Carlton and Phil Upchurch, was the album which introduced Jackson to the world as a solo artist. That album marked the last recording Jackson would make with more obscure musicians. By the time Jackson released the landmark Thriller in 1982, his star-seeking approach to choosing guitarists was firmly in place. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen, a musician who had turned the rock world on it's collective ear, appeared on the recording, contributing a stunning solo on the song "Beat It".

It was a full five years before Jackson, a perfectionist in the extreme, managed to release his next album, 1987's Bad. Amidst the usual cast of studio musicians (including veteran Eric Gale) was guitarist Billy Idol's guitarist Steve Stevens. Thanks to Stevens' work on Idol's 1986 success Whiplash Smile, the guitarist could be found on the cover of almost every guitar magazine that year. Listen for Stevens' contributions to the Jackson hit "Dirty Diana".

True to form, it was another five years before Jackson released his next album, 1992's Dangerous. For this release, Jackson decided on Guns n' Roses guitarist Slash (a move that left a lot of GNR fans scratching their heads). You can hear Slash wailing on "Black or White" and "Give it to Me".

The almost decade long stretch between Dangerous and 2001's Invincible has been well-documented, and needs no further analysis here. On a musical level, Jackson struggled in the studio for much of that time, trying to find a sound that would push him back to the forefront of the pop music world. While Invincible clearly failed in this regard, it did feature some nice contributions from Carlos Santana, who added a guitar and whistle solo to the latin-tinged "Whatever Happens".

Invincible proved to be Jackson's last attempt to live up to his self-appointed status as the "King of Pop". And, although he never managed to recapture the magic of Thriller, guitarists should still be able find something to appreciate in his later records.


http://guitar.about.com/o...arists.htm
[Edited 8/7/09 9:48am]

Sales show Jackson still the 'King of Pop'

(AFP) – 4 hours ago

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson has sold nearly four million records in the weeks since his death on June 25, US media reported Thursday citing figures from Nielsen SoundScan.

Jackson's compilation album "Number Ones" remained the highest-selling album in the period ending on Sunday, selling 114,284 copies, the only album of the week to break the 100,000 barrier.

Jackson, whose legendary 1982 record "Thriller" remains the best-selling album of all time, occupied three of the top five slots last week, with six albums in the top 20 altogether.

The dozen albums by Jackson or the Jackson Five sold more than 350,000 copies in total last week, down from the previous week's 447,000.

Jackson has now sold nearly four million copies in the weeks following his death, the figures from Nielsen showed.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

Timmy84 said:

Good Good Good.

Guitarist Slash Remembers Michael

Excerpted:

Slash, 43, who described Jackson’s death as “very sad” adding that he was “a talent from on high” first met the superstar after a phone call came out of the blue.

“I was staying at the Hyatt Hotel on Sunset Boulevard when I got a call from the Guns N’ Roses office,” he recalls.

“Hey Slasher, Michael Jackson is trying to get in touch with you,” said our manager. “He wants you to play on his record.”

“‘Oh wow!’ I said. ‘Okay.’ The next call was from Michael himself. ‘Hello Slash,’ he said in his typically nervous, timid voice, and off we went from there.

“I was flattered and I was intimidated but the sessions came off great. We did two songs – the cooler one was Give In To Me, which was like a new take on his song Dirty Diana.

“Michael was there with Brooke Shields, who he was dating at the time.

“It was trippy and the studio was dimly lit. I shook hands with them both and played.

“‘I really want to thank you so much for being on my album,’ Michael said. ‘I really can’t wait to hear what you come up with!’

“Then they split, and went off to dinner.”

A few days later Slash returned to record a guitar solo for hit single Black And White, famously mimed by Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin in the video,

“I think he saw me as a rock and roll caricature,” adds Slash, who later filmed a live video of Give In To Me with Jackson at a secret gig in Munich.


http://www.sundaymercury....4001710/2/

Copycat said:

I really feel like Brooke was trying to downplay their relationship at the memorial. I think that they legitimately dated. Tatum denied their relationship as well I believe.
[Edited 8/7/09 9:53am]

Copycat said:

Seems like somebody else has been using Propofol a bit much, as well.

Copycat said:

Let's not forget the late David Williams who was VERY important in that sound. Steve Lukather from Toto added kewl parts on the records too.

carlcranshaw said:

jamgirl said:

It's WRONG when parents do stupid shit like that to their kids, it's like they were thinking up stripper names for them.

Its about time they arrest Murray

How could this idiot not be a suspect.
[Edited 8/7/09 10:33am]

StillDirrty said:

After the memorial, Brooke told Rolling Stone that although MJ never formally proposed, he constantly asked her to marry him.

someone made a good point, if the fam knew mj was on drugs why didn't katherine intervene?

people who were mjs real friends, let's count them
elizabeth taylor
miko brando....

dearmother said:

Liz Taylor is also the one who was said to have introduced Arnold Klein and Steve Hoefflin to MJ
[Edited 8/7/09 11:27am]
[Edited 8/7/09 11:28am]

ugh!!! i wonder how she feels about that now
i still get the impression they were great friends

suga10 said:

Liz Taylor, Liza Minelli and the ilk were NO GOOD for MJ.

But Mike liked them old Hollywood coots...

she helped him get into rehab tho

But I'm still angry that she got him in contact with these a**holes, and Klein was on her twitter account too.

As dear of a friend she was, she was also a bad influence on him, and she should feel every bit guilty.

MJ needed people around him who were in touch with the real world, and not all about the glitz and glamour.
[Edited 8/7/09 11:43am]

k so we have
MIKO BRANDO
anyone else