Michael Jackson 'self-harmed to get drugs'

Michael Jackson 'self-harmed' in the weeks before his death to convince his doctor to give him prescription drugs, it has been reported.

By Ben Leach
Published: 8:05AM BST 19 Aug 2009

Detectives believe Jackson deliberately injured himself to obtain painkillers, including Demerol, a strong painkiller that is believed to have been given to him shortly before he died.

Side-effects suffered by Jackson due to the cocktail of drugs he was taking included shaking fits, violent outbursts, hallucinations and "bouts of wailing during the night", it has been claimed.


Dr Murray is now the focus of a manslaughter probe. An unnamed source "close to the police investigation" told the Daily Mirror: “LAPD detectives have interviewed some 30-35 witnesses so far, and it has come to light that Michael was prone to self-harming.

“He’d bang his head against the wall, hit his fists and arms against furniture, anything to cause a cut or bruise. He wanted to convince his doctors that he’d had an accident and was in a lot of pain – a legitimate reason to ask for painkillers.

“This came up as part of the investigation into Michael’s drug-taking. So far there’s no evidence to prove or disprove the claims.”

Jackson was reportedly spending a reported £30,000 a month on prescription drugs. As well as narcotic pain reliever Vicodin, it’s claimed he took muscle relaxant Soma, sedative Xanax, antidepressant Zoloft, and heartburn pill Priolosec.

An unnamed "family source" told the Daily Mirror: “He made a huge deal about his injuries after rehearsals. He complained of back pain, pain in his joints, aching legs.

“Staff had their suspicions that he sometimes invented pain or hurt himself to get attention. Michael self-harmed mainly as an attention-seeking mechanism or to gain sympathy. He enjoyed being cared for. It was a huge cry for help.”

The family source said that the late singer’s self-harming goes back 16 years. In 1993, when 13-year-old Jordan Chandler’s father made allegations of child sex abuse against the star, his use of prescription drugs skyrocketed. The same thing happened in 2005 when Jackson faced abuse allegations from 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo.

A spokesman for the LAPD refused to comment on details of the investigation. Jackson will be buried on the Holly Terrace at the Great Mausoleum in Forest Lawn Cemetery.