The full extent of the recently deceased singer Prince's drug addiction was revealed by his former dealer - describing how the star was hooked on powerful opiates for 25 years.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Online, the dealer, who asked to be referred to only as Doctor D, claimed Prince would spend up to $40,000 at a time for six-month supplies of Dilaudid pills and Fentanyl patches, both highly addictive opiates taken to kill bodily pain. Prince died just days after sources claimed he overdosed on the opiate Percocet. Doctor D said the singer regularly bought drugs from him between 1984 and 2008 and that the musician was 'majorly addicted.'
The dealer said Prince suffered crippling stage fright and could not get on stage and perform without drugs. To make matters worse, Doctor D claims, the 'Purple Rain' star had a phobia of doctors that he could not obtain a prescription legally. He further suggests it could have been a phycisian that unknowingly contributed to Prince's death.
Without being aware of his secret opiate addiction, a doctor could have prescribed strong pain killers to the singer for his hip condition. He said he was surprised to hear that Prince was picking up prescription before he died.
Doctor D further said that if Prince was just taking Dilaudid he would still be alive today because it has less side effects than other opiates such as Percocet but doctors don't like to prescribe Dilaudid as it is one of the "heaviest drugs."
He claims Percocet is mixed with Tylenol which can cause major problems with long term use and that Prince self-medicated for years and was fine. He suspects that Tylenol could have killed Prince and not the opiates he was taking, reported Hollywood Life.
Prince, 57, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was one of the world's most successful musicians having sold more 100 million copies of his albums in a career spanning 30 years. He was known as one of the most musically gifted pop stars who came to prominence in the middle of the 1980s. He could play a variety of instruments and had a prodigious talent for song writing, reported the Huffington Post.
He won seven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe and an Oscar - for the score to 'Purple Rain'. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the very first year he was eligible and was ranked number 27 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by the prestigious Rolling Stone poll.
