What is demerol used for, and how could it have resulted in the death of Michael Jackson?
From ABC: “Friend Says Michael Jackson Battled Demerol Addiction Doctors Speculate That Drug Use, Perhaps Demerol Injection, Could Cause Fatal Arrhythmia By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES June 26, 2009 Reports of prescription drug abuse have dogged Michael Jackson for much of his career, and now a close associate has come forward to talk about the late singer’s battle with addiction. Jackson’s former video producer said the pop star, who died Thursday at age 50 from cardiac arrest, had a “20-plus year” addiction to the painkiller Demerol, as well as to a cocktail of other drugs. Jackson became so addicted that the video producer and other close associates tried to stage an intervention in 2003, but it derailed because of a world tour, said Marc Schaffel, who was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in Jackson’s 2005 child molestation trial. Jackson even wrote and performed a song about the drug Demerol, called “Morphine,” released in 1997. Both drugs are opioids. “Everybody around him knew abo
Medical experts speculated that drug abuse was a likely cause of death of Michael Jackson, though partial autopsy results will not be available until later today. “Demerol may be responsible,” said Dr. Christopher Gharibo, director of pain medicine at New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases. Demerol is usually administered by nurses, said Gharibo. “If the respiratory arrest occurred immediately after the Demerol injection, there was an overdose situation that either caused a seizure or respiratory depression leading to cardiac arrest.” Dr. Bruce Goldberger, chief of forensic pathology at the University of Florida, said, “Any time you have a 50-year-old man pass away in generally good hearth who’s recently had a physical exam, the first thing you think about are drugs.” Schaffel, who produced Jackson’s “Private Home Movies” in 2003, said his friend’s addiction to Demerol began as early as 1984, when the pop star suffered burns when his hair caught fire filming a Pepsi commercial
Demerol is in a group of drugs called narcotic pain relievers. It is similar to morphine. However, using it in excess can lead to overdose and death. Sources: tmz.
