Probe Launched Into Whitney's Prescriptions, Doctors

Medical records will be subpoenaed
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2012 2:10 AM CST
Updated Feb 15, 2012 3:46 AM CST
Probe Launched Into Houston Prescriptions, Doctors
Whitney Houston fans honor her memory at a candlelight vigil in Leimert Park in Los Angeles earlier this week.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The investigation into Whitney Houston's death is now turning to her doctors and pharmacies. Investigators are expected in the next few days to serve subpoenas on the singer's physicians and the pharmacies where Houston obtained multiple prescription drugs, reports the Los Angeles Times. Officials aim to determine whether the drugs were dispensed properly, and if the singer was receiving too many prescriptions, a source tells the newspaper. Investigators will likely pore over a state-created database of controlled substances prescribed in California. Tracking celebrity prescription drug use can be complicated because they may regularly use drugs prescribed to aides, according to law enforcement authorities.

"Celebrities often get their prescription drugs from doctors who are more than willing to give them what they want, and sometimes using members of their entourage," says one LA investigator. And prosecuting doctors for writing too many prescriptions is extremely difficult. Beverly Hills police revealed that wine and beer, as well as bottles of prescription drugs Ativan, Valium, and Xanax, were found in Houston's hotel room the night she was found "underwater and unconscious" in the bathtub. In other Houston news, ex-husband Bobby Brown is reportedly battling to see their daughter. He rushed to LA to be with Bobbi Kristina, but has been kept away from her by Houston's mother, sources tell TMZ. The troubled teen was hospitalized twice after her mother's death, and was discovered passed out in a bathtub a day before Whitney died. (More Ativan stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X