Report: Pills found at Prince's home were labeled wrong

Prince.
(Image credit: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)

Pills discovered at Prince's home Paisley Park after his death were labeled hydrocodone but actually contained the opioid fentanyl, a source told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Prince's autopsy report says he died from an accidental, self-administered overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid more powerful than heroin. At the time of his death on April 21, the musician weighed just 112 pounds, and the source says the amount of fentanyl in his system was so high it would have killed anyone.

Investigators are not sure yet how Prince, who did not have a prescription for fentanyl, got his hands on the drug, the source said, but they believe he took the pills not knowing they contained fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Agency says traffickers are selling illicit fentanyl as heroin and producing fake pills containing the drug.

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.