Prince May Have Overdosed from Fake Vicodin
Fake pills have been making a lot of press lately. It wasn’t that long ago that nine addicts died in Florida from fake Xanax and that so-called “super pill” started making its way into other states. We are in a new era of drug abuse. Dealers are making and pressing their own pills, filling them with Fentanyl while slews of synthetic drugs whose effects are unknown and unpredictable flood in from China. The days of compressed brick weed, LSD and a little bit of cocaine are gone. Now it’s synthetic drugs, heroin, Fentanyl and fake pills. And they’re killing people! One of the most beloved artists of the last 30 years, Prince, recently lost his battle with addiction and fatally overdosed on Fentanyl. But the way the Fentanyl may have gotten into his system is shocking.
When Prince died, according to investigators, his Paisley Park home in Minnesota was littered with pills. There were different pills all throughout his house, none of which he had legitimate prescriptions for. Pills were found everywhere. They were not only found in various rooms in the house, but also cleverly hidden and mixed into vitamin and aspirin bottles. Twenty pills with the imprint “Watson 853” were found in a bottle of Aleve and another 64 of the same were found in an aspirin bottle. Traditionally, a “Watson 853” pill is a mixture of Hydrocodone and Tylenol. But here’s the catch.
After further investigation, it was found the pills actually contained Fentanyl. It was not determined that these specific pills killed Prince, but it’s sad that even a world-renowned musician and artist may have fallen victim to the outrageous epidemic our society is faced with. Even Prince was fooled by fake pills containing Fentanyl.
Many addicts think:
“It’ll never happen to me.”
“I don’t care if I die.”
“I can spot a fake pill! I know my drugs…”
The reality of the situation is that dealers have gotten really good at making fake pills. Almost too good, to the point where it’s nearly impossible for an addict, craving their drug and going through withdrawal to differentiate between a real one and a fake one. An addict used to be able to hit the streets and find their pill of choice without worrying they were going to get something way stronger than what they were looking for. Their only worry was getting something weaker or a Klonopin instead of a Roxy. The existence of fake pills is a complete game changer for addicts and they’re at serious risk of death.
The fake Xanax that hit Florida killed those who took it within 30 minutes after ingestion. And, we’re getting to the point the drugs are so strong, more doses of Narcan are necessary to bring someone back, and in some cases, it fails to save an addict.
What’s needed is prevention, education, and rehabilitation. That’s the only way we’re going to handle this problem. Not by throwing more drugs at it and not by medically assisted treatment. And we’re definitely not going to handle it by funneling addicts into subpar, underfunded and understaffed state-run facilities. While that type of treatment is better than no treatment, I’m a believer that the right help needs to be made available to everyone, not just those who can afford the bill. If we make workable methods to handling addiction available to absolutely anyone who needs it, then we will be able to make some sort of dent in this pandemic.
