A few days before Prince’s accidental and fatal overdose, a doctor prescribed him oxycodone under a friend’s name to protect the late musician’s privacy, according to an affidavit unsealed yesterday, reports BuzzFeed News. The affidavit shows that Dr. Michael Todd Schulenberg told authorities he prescribed oxycodone to Kirk Johnson, Prince’s longtime friend and estate manager, “for Prince’s privacy.” Schulenberg prescribed the drug to Prince six days before his death, on the same day his plane made an emergency landing in Illinois.
Prince’s associates first said he was suffering from the flu. It was later reported that Prince was treated with drugs that combat drug overdoses. Prince, 57, died on April 21, 2016, after he was found unresponsive in an elevator at his home in Minnesota. Subsequent toxicology reports showed that the musician died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid primarily used for pain associated with cancer treatment. The newly released documents said prescription medications, particularly other opioids, were found in containers such as vitamin bottles around Prince’s home. Some bottles were labeled as though they contained acetaminophen and hydrocodone, and one of these bottles contained fentanyl, “implying it was counterfeit,” the Associated Press reported. The new documents do not say where Prince illegally obtained fentanyl, which was not prescribed to Prince or his friend.