Was Michael Jackson a drug addict? Probably. Did Michael Jackson die of a drug overdose? Yes. When the news came out that Michael Jackson was a drug addict and that he died of an overdose, the media had a field day. People stopped talking about his music and instead talked about how Michael Jackson was a drug addict….
If you watch the videos of his last rehearsal you don’t see a man who is in the last hours of life. He wasn’t “out of it” from taking too many drugs.
What is the real truth about Michael Jackson’s death?
The truth is that Michael Jackson did NOT need to die.
Was Michael Jackson a drug addict? Probably. But was it this addiction that caused his death? Unlike DJ AM, who who recently died of a self induced drug overdose, Michael Jackson was in the care of a medical doctor who injected a combination of deadly drugs into his system.
Michael was in massive amounts of pain. He had horrible insomnia. He was under incredible stress as he prepared for his comeback tour. Michael wasn’t looking for a “fix” or get “high” - he needed relief and relied on a medical doctor to help in get that relief.
There is no question that the drugs Dr. Murray gave him resulted in the death of Michael Jackson. And while it’s true that Michael will be “bigger in death than he was in life” - his death came too early.
Recently the Los Angeles County coroner has ruled that Michael Jackson’s death was a homicide involving a combination of drugs.
“The drugs propofol and lorazepam were found to be the primary drugs responsible for Mr. Jackson’s death,” said a news release issued Friday by the coroner. “Other drugs detected were: midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine.”
The release said Jackson died from “acute propofol intoxication,” but said “other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect.”
Lorazepam, midazolam and diazepam are benzodiazepines.
Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal physician, told investigators that he had given Jackson three anti-anxiety drugs — lorazepam, midazolam and diazepam — in an effort to help him sleep in the hours before he stopped breathing, according to a police affidavit made public earlier this week.
Murray also told detectives he administered a dosage of the anesthetic propofol, diluted with lidocaine, to Jackson a short time before he stopped breathing, the affidavit said.
Murray told detectives he had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks, giving him 50 milligrams of propofol, the generic name for Diprivan, diluted with the anesthetic lidocaine every night via an intravenous drip, the affidavit said.
Worried that Jackson might become addicted to the drug, Murray said he tried to wean Jackson from it, putting together combinations of other drugs that succeeded in helping him sleep during the two nights before his death.
So in other words, Michael Jackson was not addicted to the drug that killed him.
But on the morning of June 25 other drugs failed to do the job. Murray recounted the events to detectives in an hour-by-hour account that was detailed by Martinez:
• About 1:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson 10 mg of Valium (diazepam).
• About 2 a.m., he injected Jackson with 2 mg of the antianxiety drug Ativan (lorazepam).
• About 3 a.m., Murray then administered 2 mg of the sedative Versed (midazolam).
• About 5 a.m., he administered another 2 mg of Ativan.
• About 7:30 a.m., Murray gave Jackson yet another 2 mg of Versed while monitoring him with a device that measures the oxygen saturation of his blood.
• About 10:40 a.m., “after repeated demands/requests from Jackson,” Murray administered 25 mg of propofol, the document said.
“Jackson finally went to sleep and Murray stated that he remained monitoring him. After approximately 10 minutes, Murray stated he left Jackson’s side to go to the restroom and relieve himself. Murray stated he was out of the room for about two minutes maximum. Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing.”
Efforts at CPR proved fruitless. Jackson was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center at 2:26 p.m.
So what is the real truth about the death of Michael Jackson? Michael Jackson died of a drug overdose - but in this case it wasn’t his addiction that killed him, it was a negligent doctor that killed him.
