HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Several doctors who prescribed drugs to Michael Jackson are currently under investigation as officials seek to find answers in the music icon’s death.
A source speaking on the condition of anonymity told the Los Angeles Times that at least five doctors are currently being investigated for writing prescriptions, some of which were made out to Jackson’s pseudonyms. The source confirmed earlier reports that officials removed several prescription drugs from the Holmby Hills estate that Jackson was renting at the time of his death on June 25.
Last week, it was revealed that the Drug Enforcement Administration had joined the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. County coroner’s office in the investigation of the Jackson’s death. The DEA is probing deeper into the allegations that Jackson’s death was tied to the use of prescription drugs by interviewing doctors who treated and prescribed medications to the entertainer.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office has completed their autopsy of Jackson, but toxicology results are still several weeks away.
One of the drugs allegedly removed from Jackson’s rented home was Propofol, an extremely powerful drug also known as Diprivan. It is administered intravenously as a general anesthetic used to sedate patients for surgery and is only available to medical personnel. The source told the Times that some of the Diprivan bottles were full, while others were empty.
Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who Jackson leaned on to boost his energy, told The Associated Press last week that the singer repeatedly asked her for Diprivan, but she denied his requests. However, Lee later feared that Jackson had managed to obtain the drug after receiving a “frantic phone call” from a member of his staff just four days before his death.
“He called and was very frantic and said, ‘Michael needs to see you right away,’ ” she told AP. “I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I could hear Michael in the background [saying], ‘One side of my body is hot, it’s hot, and one side of my body is cold, it’s very cold.’
“At that point, I knew that somebody had given him something that hit the central nervous system,” she continued. “He was in trouble Sunday and he was crying out.”
Lee, who specializes in nutritional counseling, told AP that contrary to reports, Jackson wasn’t abusing drugs. Rather, he was simply seeking a way to fight sleep deprivation on the heels of his scheduled July comeback tour in London.
“He wasn’t looking to get high or feel good and sedated from drugs,” she said. “This was a person who was not on drugs. This was a person who was seeking help, desperately, to get some sleep, to get some rest.”
It is possible that if Jackson’s death is found to have been caused by Diprivan, the doctor who prescribed it could be prosecuted for manslaughter.
