 | |
| Tom Petty’s system showed traces of fentanyl and oxycodone, among others. A statement from his family said he was prescribed “various pain medications for a multitude of issues.” Credit Jeff Haynes/Reuters |
Tom Petty, the chart-topping singer and songwriter, died in October
from an accidental drug overdose as a result of mixing medications that
included opioids, the medical examiner-coroner for the county of Los
Angeles announced on Friday, ending the mystery surrounding his sudden
death last year.
The
coroner, Jonathan Lucas, said that Mr. Petty’s system showed traces of
the drugs fentanyl, oxycodone, temazepam, alprazolam, citalopram, acetyl
fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl.
Barely
a week after Mr. Petty, 66, had concluded a tour with his band, the
Heartbreakers, with three shows at the Hollywood Bowl, representatives
said the singer had suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu,
Calif. on Oct. 2. But Mr. Petty’s official death certificate, released
about a week later, listed his cause of death as “deferred” pending an
autopsy.
In a statement posted to Mr. Petty’s Facebook page
on Friday, his wife, Dana, and daughter, Adria, wrote that Mr. Petty
suffered from “many serious ailments including emphysema, knee problems
and most significantly a fractured hip,” but that he continued to tour,
worsening his conditions. “On the day he died he was informed his hip
had graduated to a full on break and it is our feeling that the pain was
simply unbearable and was the cause for his over use of medication,”
the statement said.
They
said: “We knew before the report was shared with us that he was
prescribed various pain medications for a multitude of issues including
Fentanyl patches and we feel confident that this was, as the coroner
found, an unfortunate accident.”
“As a family we recognize this report may spark a further discussion on
the opioid crisis and we feel that it is a healthy and necessary
discussion and we hope in some way this report can save lives,” Mr.
Petty’s family said. “Many people who overdose begin with a legitimate
injury or simply do not understand the potency and deadly nature of
these medications.”
 |
| Photo courtesy of Billboard |
Prince, his friends and associates said after his death, also suffered from chronic hip pain that was exacerbated by a breakneck touring schedule, and he sought to hide what became a serious opiate addiction.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/19/arts/music/tom-petty-cause-death-opioid-overdose.html
I really cannot remember what site I was at, it was probably a week ago, I was reading a post and there was a video, I was curious, so I clicked on it and part of what it said is that more Americans are dying from prescription drugs, I am Honestly not that surprised....
 |
| Photo courtesy of Billboard |
Lil Peep, the 21-year-old emo rapper who died of an accidental overdose in November, was found to have fentanyl, among other prescription drugs, in his system as well.
Mr.
Petty, who formed the Heartbreakers in the mid-1970s, was a rock radio
stalwart with hits like “I Won’t Back Down,” “Free Fallin’” and
“American Girl.” He sold millions of albums and headlined the Super Bowl
in 2008.
“On
a positive note we now know for certain he went painlessly and
beautifully exhausted after doing what he loved the most, for one last
time, performing live with his unmatchable rock band for his loyal fans
on the biggest tour of his 40 plus year career,” Mr. Petty’s family said
in their statement. “He was extremely proud of that achievement in the
days before he passed.”
Correction: January 20, 2018
An earlier version of this article misstated the number of
concerts Tom Petty performed at the Hollywood Bowl in his final tour. It
was three, not two.https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/19/arts/music/tom-petty-cause-death-opioid-overdose.html
I really cannot remember what site I was at, it was probably a week ago, I was reading a post and there was a video, I was curious, so I clicked on it and part of what it said is that more Americans are dying from prescription drugs, I am Honestly not that surprised....
