Michael Jackson: Diprivan Sedative Found In Jackson's Home

LOS ANGELES — The powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson's home, a law enforcement official said Friday as the city planned for a massive crowd at the singer's memorial service.

Diprivan is an anesthetic widely used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness. Also known as Propofol, it's given intravenously and is very unusual to have in a private home.

The law enforcement official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the matter.

A Los Angeles Police spokesman, Lt. John Romero, declined to discuss the case. "It's an ongoing investigation," he said.

The cause of Jackson's death has not been determined. Autopsy results are not expected for several weeks.

At the downtown Staples Center, where Jackson's memorial will be held Tuesday morning, Assistant Police Chief Earl Paysinger said anywhere from 250,000 to 700,000 people could try to reach the arena, even though only 17,500 tickets will be available.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry urged people to stay home and watch the memorial on TV. There will not be a funeral procession through the city.

Tickets to Jackson's memorial service will be free. They can be obtained by registering at Staplescenter.com. There will be 11,000 tickets for seats inside Staples Center and 6,500 for seats in the adjacent Nokia Theatre, where fans can watch a simulcast. On Saturday night, 8,750 names will be randomly selected to receive two tickets each.

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No details about the memorial service itself were released.

Jackson was known to have suffered from severe insomnia. In the weeks before his death, Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who was working with the singer, said Jackson pleaded for Diprivan amid the stress of preparing for a massive series of comeback concerts.

Lee said she repeatedly rejected his demands because the drug was unsafe.

Told Friday that Diprivan had been found at Jackson's house, she said, "I did everything I could to warn him against it."

Jackson had trouble sleeping as far back as 1989, said one of his former publicists, Rob Goldstone, who spent a month on the road with Jackson during the "Bad" tour.

"He had very bad nightmares, he found it very difficult to sleep," Goldstone said.

Diprivan, which has a milky appearance, is sometimes nicknamed "milk of amnesia." Last fall, doctors from the Mayo Clinic warned at a conference that in rare cases, Diprivan can trigger an irreversible chain of events leading to heart dysfunction and death.

They said three patients receiving Diprivan to treat severe seizures had suffered cardiac arrest, and two died. The doctors said the clinic stopped using Diprivan to treat such patients because of the danger.

The drug's manufacturer, AstraZeneca PLC, warns that patients using Diprivan should be continuously monitored, and in a tiny number of cases patients using it have suffered cardiac arrest, although it was not clear the drug was to blame.

Authorities are investigating allegations that the 50-year-old Jackson had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. Any criminal charges would depend on whether Jackson had been overly prescribed medications, given drugs inappropriate for his needs, or if doctors knowingly prescribed Jackson medications under an assumed name.

Edward Chernoff, an attorney for Jackson's doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, said Friday through a spokeswoman that he had agreed with investigators not to comment until information is released through official channels. Murray was in Jackson's rented mansion when the singer went into cardiac arrest in his bedroom on June 25.

Murray has spoken to police and authorities say he is not a suspect. In an earlier interview, Chernoff said Murray never gave or prescribed Jackson the painkillers Demerol or OxyContin, and denied reports suggesting that the doctor gave the pop star drugs that contributed to his death.

Chernoff would not discuss what drugs the doctor administered to Jackson, but said they would have been prescribed in response to a specific complaint.

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AP Entertainment Writer Lynn Elber and AP Music Writer Nekesa Moody contributed to this report.

Comments

[Voyagers]

Great lesson for the stage parents out there. Strapping your child to 'the rocket to the stars', may ensure they never come back to earth.

My god! Rest in the peace you've NEVER known, michael.

[ApolloSpeaks]

JACKO'S INNER SELF

Jackson changed everything in his life except his character and inner self. Mistaking his soul for his body he remained a perpetual child eaten away and deformed by self-destructive habits. No angel, no saint, no mortal god; just a miserable ruined child with gifted feet and a singing style lost in a wretched body that could never please him whatever be its shape or color; however beautiful or mangled it looked.

[mlrlmsw]

Somewhere, there is a doctor having insomnia, waiting for the police to show up.

[rsprags]

Correction: ....Janet removed....

[rsprags]

I'm glad Janet room his things and the children things from the house; if Janet or the staff was trying to hide something they could have remove any additional meds and items from the house!
I really will not believe this report until I hear it from the DEA, Attorney General, and/ or the police Department. They have done an excellent job of keeping the finding of the autopsy and other thing related to the case silent; so, why would they all of a sudden start giving out this kind of info. The coroner confirmed that the reports on the autopsy were false and did not come from their office.

[noahark]

that is a medication that doesn't leave the hospital--a doc had to have introduced at home use--which is a disaster

[skymuffin]

Isn't it sad that he was so talented and all people around him, even family (like his father), saw were dollar signs. Many people are using him right now to further their careers and exploit his death.

I hope he's finally found peace.

[rsprags]

Michael has found peace despite the foolishness occurring here on earth.

[joemondo]

What a mess.

[lynjs]

I smell a rat, a big fat field rat. Think about this. Janet came and moved out his personal effects and other things that may get stolen by rabid fans that could be easily be sold on Ebay. This was possible because the police had released the house to the family.

I don't know about you, but when people move out a loved one's stuff, they take everything, even the freaking mouthwash and toothpaste. They leave NOTHING. Ask yourselves, wouldn't the movers have found, boxed up and taken this 'medication' away with the rest of his stuff making it unable for
the police to find SEVERAL DAYS later?

I'm not saying that MJ was a saint. Because like the rest of us, he wasn't. But if it walks like a duck, quacks like duck...well duck.

Another question, who all had a key to his house? What were the movements of these people? What does their bank accounts look like a week after Mr. Jackson's death? Makes you want to HMMM, doesn't it?

[johnsopinion]

MJ electrified the entire world like no other performer before him. I'm 66
years old, Jackson's senior by 16 years, and my only regret is that he
didn't live long enough to make the performance he was working on.
I've seen the clip several times of the rehearsal in London and I must say
it gives me chill bumps every time I see it. Just that segment is absolutely
fantastic! He IS the man.
The Beatles came close, Elvis came closer, Tina Turner came the closest
but Michael outshines them all. He LIVED his music as he performed it.

What happened off-stage I see as Michael's framework to his greatness.
His choices were his, no one else's. I thank God that the rehearsal was
filmed and I thank the people who released it. The world has lost an ancient
and kind soul and did not understand him. May his soul fulfill its destiny and
may HE rest in peace. And may the hangers-on who grasp for their 5 minutes
of fame in his shadow find peace also. It is a long and arduous journey.

[StillIRise]

Beautifully expressed.

There have been many great entertainers in my life time as well - and you're only a few years older than me - but there were none, not even one as great as Michael Jackson.

I was watching a program on 20/20 about Michael's life, and in the discussion of his physical metamorphosis, he was suggested that he was trying to escape that which he hated about himself, but no matter how much plastic surgery he endured, he could never totally remove himself from himself.

He was a very lonely person, and said to one interviewer that he could never have an ordinary conversation with others, the kind one would have with a neighbor or a colleague. He was always treated different, not like others were treated and not like he wanted so badly to be treated; and eventually he tried to become different. He tried in vain to become neither black nor white, neither male nor female, neither young nor old - but something in between, something timeless, something ultimately inhuman!

Maybe it took this kind of pain for Michael to be the genius he was, maybe it was never meant for him to be both ordinary and extraordinary, maybe he had to make a choice or maybe others made the choice for him. But what he lost because of that choice, he was never able to find again, and therefore found his joy in his music and in giving of his extraordinary talent to others.

[skymuffin]

Beautifully said.

[sharonh]

When you're tired of this thread come to the GOP official Palin thread (not the main); there is no moderation and we can point and laugh at her together.

[ButterFlyGirlFly]

Very well said. and I agree, they did not or could not understand Michael. Michael understood his purpose here in this world, and many times expressed it directly or through his music. Those who did not understand never will.

We will never see another MJ probably not in my life time and I am almost 50. A true legendary icon, Gone Too Soon

like a comet blazing across the evening sky, gone too soon
like rainbow fading in the twinkling of an eye, gone too soon
shiny and sparkly and splenidly bright, here one day and gone one night

like the loss of sunlight on a cloudy afternoon, gone too soon
like a castle built upon a sandy beach, gone too soon
like a perfect flower that is just beyond your reach, gone too soon

born to amuse, to inspire, to delight, here one day gone one night
like a sunset dying with the rising of the moon, GONE TOO SOON.

RIP MJ

[C0Y0TE2]

It is well known now that Michael asked his previous professionals to watch his space and safeguard his sleep. Those that cared for him slept beside Michael's bed or outside his door.

This latest doctor FAILED him. Did the doc fall asleep, or indulge in his own stash?
Diprivan was introduced to Michael during his cosmetic surgeries.

[ocotilla]

Addicts often die of their illness, whether from physical effects or bad judgment. Alcohol, drugs,cigarettes, domestic violence junkies always have their rationalizations and justifications for continued use of the addiction of choice. It is so sad and tragic that there was no one around to stop his faulty reasoning and guide him in a better direction..Sadly, the point seems to be that if someone is bent on self destruction, they will indeed self destruct and there is little
anyone can do except perhaps stave off the inevitable a while longer. MJ was clearly not in his right mind to have thought it was ok to take Diprivan as a sleep aid. If you have ever had surgery, you know that getting over the anesthesia is a very hard part of recovery. It boggles the mind to think of it being taken regularly while on tour, as with that show tour in the 90's. Even more mind blowing is
that a 'do no harm' medical doctor would say that he administered the drug, bringing him up and down
as needed. That was unconscionable and criminal. And whoever got this drug to this seriously misguided man is a criminal too.

[C0Y0TE2]

Is this the NEW perspective?

[MrsOrtiz]

Insomnia's a killer. It's what killed Heath Ledger. I knew even before the autopsy findings, from an interview he gave just before, he was desperate for sleep. I know what that's like. I could have broken my neck one night when I fell down the stairs, over-medicated, doing whatever I could to get to sleep. Stay away from am bien!

[gialla]

You are so right. I took ambien one time. I ended up sleepwalking from my room to our living room shedding my clothes on the way. Freaked me out. Once was enough.

[TanzaniteDiamonds]

Ambien is awful. Insomnia is horrible. Any insomniac will tell you how downright draining it is, not to be able to sleep, night after night. It erodes at your very existence.

All of that fame. All of that talent. Yet, one of the things Michael Jackson wanted the most, was something so many of us probably take for granted: A good night's sleep.

[liberal54]

Stay away from am bien!

Amen! Took it for a few weeks when going through chemo - I have to say I was more scared of ambien than the chemotherapy! I had an entire conversations with my husband, wrote emails, and coordinated a dinner date with my sister and - to this day - have no memory of any of it. Oh it got me to sleep alright, but scared the beejeebers out of me when I found out about the stuff I did with no memory of doing it. I can't imagine mixing it with narcotics - and I'm NOT saying MJ did either - but it was frightening. Will never touch the stuff again. As mentioned in a different post, addressed the insomnia with the folks I was working with at the Pain clinic I go to, and they got my insomnia under control without the frightening side affects of ambien.

[BrotherOrchid]

MJ sacrificed his life? for others? the cash he spent on his shopping spree (in the Bashir interview), could have fed thousands of hungry people for a year.

[sharonh]

Google his contributions to charity in terms of cash, free appearances and the sheer amount of time he contributed. I think you will be very surprised. Bashir is a leech.

[StillIRise]

I don't think BrotherOrchid is interested in Michael's unparalleled contributions. Knowing about them merely detracts from the narrative he wants to believe about Michael Jackson.

[wideawakenow]

I just watched Bashir's interview again and then watched a few others. Bashir did nothing wrong. Michael revealed himself. Bashir just asked questions. MJ was a genius but he was physically and mentally abused as a child and those abuses, plus the fact that he couldn't have a normal life, drove him into an unhealthy mental state. If you really listen to those interviews and watch his expressions and mannerisms he reveals a truly disturbed psyche. I believe it is highly possible he was sexually abused also as a youth and that he may have committed those offenses later in life. We may never really know. He was a highly sensitive person and a musical genius though and the real crime is that Joe Jackson didn't get hauled off to jail for beating his kids. It is a true shame that MJ's genius would be able to bloom only so far due to the problems he had in this world. I hope his spirit is at rest.

[malinvr]

I hate people who are always trying to tell other folks what to do with their money.You who is asking others to be charitable, are you charitable?

[tora]

Michael donated over 330 million dollars of his money to charities around the world during his life time.

If that's not enough for you then I don't know what will.

[liberal54]

MJ sacrificed his life? for others? the cash he spent on his shopping spree (in the Bashir interview), could have fed thousands of hungry people for a year.
----------­----------­--
As one of his mentors said in a CNN interview: when Michael would start rambling on about "never having a normal conversation" or "never being able to play on the monkey bars" etc., like normal kids, the mentor asked if he would give up his celebrity to have those things. MJ's answer was always NO. Safe to say he enjoyed the money he raked in and I don't think he "sacrificed" himself (especially for others). Just made bad choices with what he did with it and with the people he surrounded himself. As for the Bashir interview, didn't see it, but I heard that they just tagged along as he went shopping so - if that's the case - can't blame Bashir for pointing a camera while he did it - especially after being given permission. I think MJ was somewhat mistaken as to what "normal" was and was embarassed when people expressed shock at his extravagance.

[alwaysthere]

given the choice
most would gladly die in their sleep !!

rest now MJ