JACKO WENT OUT IN A DRUG DAZE

Ref : http://www.nypost.com/seven/06272009/news/nationalnews/jacko_went_out_in_a_drug_daze_176362.htm

By LACHLAN CARTWRIGHT and TORI RICHARDS in Los Angeles and LUKAS I. ALPERT in New York
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Michael Jackson PollView ResultsLast updated: 7:13 am
June 27, 2009
Posted: 7:07 am
June 27, 2009

He was the king of popping pills.

Michael Jackson was taking a dangerous cocktail of powerful prescription drugs -- including several highly addictive narcotics -- in the months before his death from cardiac arrest, sources said yesterday.

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In addition to the mind-bending painkiller Demerol that the "King of Pop" took three times a day, he also took 3 milligrams of the overwhelming narcotic Dilaudid as well as Vicodin daily.

To add to the reality-altering effect of Demerol, Jackson also took a drug called Vistaril, which amplifies the narcotics' effect, experts say.

Rounding out the staggering pharmacopia, Jackson scarfed down the muscle relaxant Soma, antidepressants Zoloft and Paxil, anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the heartburn medication Prilosec on a daily basis, a source close to the Jackson family told the British paper The Sun.

The source said the 5-foot-10 Jackson weighed just 125 pounds when he died at age 50 and was eating just one meal a day.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said yesterday an autopsy on Jackson was so far inconclusive, and determining the cause of death would require as many as six more weeks.

But spokesman Craig Harvey said: "There was no indication of any external trauma or any indication of foul play."

Other sources said the pop icon suffered a heart attack. According to Radar Online, on June 16 Jackson complained to a friend of chest pains. The Web site also said a team of doctors had been treating him for weeks.

But just a day before he died, Jackson was seen joking around during a rehearsal for his scheduled comeback tour in England, Ed Alonzo, a magician who was supposed to perform in the show, told US magazine.

It has been reported that Jackson's personal doctor injected the him with Demerol shortly before he went into cardiac arrest and died. But the Coroner's Office said it was too early to tell what kind of drugs Jackson may have had in his system.

"We know he was taking some prescription medications," Harvey said. "But those tests will take an additional four to six weeks to be completed."

Los Angeles police have opened a formal investigation into the death and ordered all details of the preliminary tests to be sealed because "they would like that to proceed without any interference."

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said it was too early to tell if the probe would develop into a criminal or civil case, or no case at all. Cops also are looking to get their hands on Jacko's medical records.

Sources said detectives had removed "bags of evidence" from Jackson's home, including numerous pill bottles.

Detectives said they were anxious to speak to Jackson's personal physician, cardiologist Dr. Conrad Murray, who was with the singer when he collapsed. They had trouble locating him much of yesterday, but investigators had the doctor's BMW towed from Jackson's home as evidence.

"We did speak with him briefly yesterday afternoon but we just didn't speak with him enough," said LAPD spokesman Richard French. "[His] car was impounded because . . . it could contain medication or evidence."

Cops were looking to re-interview Murray, who has offices in Houston and Las Vegas and is licensed to practice medicine in California.

Jackson reportedly forced the company that was organizing his upcoming London tour, AEG Live, to hire Murray as his personal physician, despite the company's objections to the expense.

"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," according to AEG chief Randy Phillips.

Murray, who was given a cash advance for the concert, wrote a letter to his patients at his heavily-indebted Nevada medical practice, Global Cardiovascular Associates, on June 15, telling them he decided to "cease practice of medicine indefinitely" because of a "once in a lifetime opportunity," TMZ.com reported.

Medical experts said that if one doctor had prescribed all the drugs Jackson was taking, it would amount to a criminal action.

"If one doctor was prescribing all of these he would be in big trouble," said addiction specialist Dr. Dale Archer Jr.

"The Demerol, Dilaudid, and Vicodin are all narcotic painkillers and there is no reason why you would ever prescribe these three at the same time," he said.

Jackson family lawyer Brian Oxman said that the Gloved One's relatives were concerned about his drug use and the crowd of hangers-on that had assembled around him in recent years.

"I have told people in no uncertain terms that if Michael one day woke up and he was dead, I would not be silent. I would not permit this to go unchallenged," Oxman said.

"I did warn him about the drugs, but I am sorry I didn't warn him enough."

He added, "I am going to wait until I get the toxicology report, and if his death has something to do with drugs, I am prepared to name names of doctors who prescribed them."

But Jackson's manager, Dr. Tohme Tohme -- who does not appear to be a certified medical doctor and insists he did not provide any treatment to Jackson -- called Oxman's objections "garbage."

"I loved Michael and I was his friend," he told The Post. "I have never seen him do any drugs."

He said Jackson had recently undergone a rigorous medical examination by doctors for his epic 50-date farewell tour in London and passed with flying colors.

But a former video producer for Jackson said the star had been battling Demerol addiction for "20-plus years."

"Everybody around him knew it was only a matter of time before something like that would happen," producer Marc Schaffel -- who is suing Jackson for $3 million -- told ABC News.

"I have said before that if he continued using drugs at this rate, he'd be dead by the time he was 50."

Jackson's body lay in isolation at the Los Angeles morgue yesterday, where investigators were surprised at the level of facial scarring he displayed without his trademark makeup, according to Fox News.

lukas.alpert@nypost.com