Jackson Drug Cocktail: 3 Painkillers, 2 Anti-Depressants

Star was on powerful mix of narcotics, painkillers
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 27, 2009 3:07 AM CDT
Jackson Drug Cocktail: 3 Painkillers, 2 Anti-Depressants
A makeshift memorial to Michael Jackson is seen outside the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles yesterday.   (AP Photo/ Matt Sayles)

The Sun gets the details on the potentially lethal cocktail of prescription drugs Michael Jackson was on in the months before his death. Jackson took addictive narcotic painkillers Demerol and Diluadid daily, the Sun's sources say, and had recently added Vicodin to the mix. He also took a muscle relaxant called Soma, a sedative (Xanax) and two anti-depressants (Zoloft and Paxil, which is prescribed for social anxiety).

The Sun says he got 3 injections of Demerol a day—one just before his collapse Thursday. The LA County coroners office says it will take weeks to determine whether the drugs caused his death. Jackson had insisted on bringing his personal physician on his upcoming London tour, the promoter tells the Sun: "He just said, 'Look, this whole business revolves around me. I'm a machine and we have to keep the machine well-oiled,' and you don't argue with the King of Pop." (More Michael Jackson stories.)

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