REBUKE: Prince's former drug dealer tells how the legend spent $40,000 at a time on six-month supplies of Dilaudid pills and Fentanyl patches - highly addictive opioid pain killers - for 25 years

I seriously hate lies. Lies infuriate me. My blog used to be about trying to defend Michael Jackson in death. I have already been defending Prince from stupid lies since I was 13, lies about his gender, his "weirdness", his whatever they said about him that was stupid. Now I find myself having to defend him in death and this is something I wish I never had to do. Prince has been a pivotal person in my life for 20 years. A part of me died when he died this past Thursday. I know he was human, I know death was inevitable, but I never imagined it happening with him only being 57 years old. I imagined my kids getting to see him perform someday. I imagined myself getting to see him this year or next year in concert as I had not seen him in about ten years. I imagined him growing old, looking like he did sometimes when he dressed up playing around or be in disguise. I hate that not only has he passed, and passed away alone, but I am literally ripped to see him being smeared by lies that have absolutely NO basis. I wish so badly that is his family would sue the Daily Mirror. I hope they read this and take action against them and sue them for every dime they have and then give it to charities.

Let me address this article first:

Prince's former drug dealer tells how the legend spent $40,000 at a time on six-month supplies of Dilaudid pills and Fentanyl patches - highly addictive opioid pain killers - for 25 years

Before Prince passed, people talked about how he seemed to have found the fountain of youth. I hate to burst the bubble here but someone abusing these drugs, especially for 25 years, would NOT look much younger than their age. There was NEVER any other health scares until this month. If he had stage fright, you would not use pain medications—you would use either a benzodiazepine or possibly a beta blocker. I had the honor of meeting and speaking with Prince and he was NOT on drugs. He was funny, incredibly intelligent, beautiful and HEALTHY. He was very comfortable around people, especially if he trusted them.

This so-called “doctor” is holding up crap from CVS, not Walgreens. Prince going into Walgreens means he had nothing to hide. He may not have even been picking up prescriptions as they sell many other goods (like candy). Walgreens is VERY strict about narcotic sales and limit how much can be ordered, how much can be released, etc. If he had received Percocet or any other medication for pain (or as this loser claims, anxiety), he would have had more than a one- day supply. He had nothing to hide if he was going in there himself. If he was trying to commit illegal drug activities he would NOT keep going to the same store or go in himself!

Any “expert” claiming he likely died of a drug OD—in an ELEVATOR—is an idiot! And sadly most news outlets use idiots as their sources as we have seen time and time before! I am a qualified medical professional and by all means this was likely a natural death, possibly related to complications of the flu. Complications from the flu are still a top ten killer in this country and yes, healthy people are sometimes hit the worst, depending on the strain. Maybe he had a heart condition, maybe lung issues like a clot from flying, maybe he had something wrong health-wise, unrelated to drugs, that caused his untimely passing. You cannot always judge a book by its cover when it comes to heart disease or even cancer.

If he really ODed on Percocet on the plane then they would have to give more than a “safe shot”, the effects of the Tylenol would have to be taken care of, too, with IV medications for some time. If he supposedly had all this "stash", trust me, he would have had Narcan on board. Why didn’t he? Because he was not a drug addict.

Oh and yeah, Percocet wouldn’t destroy the kidneys, it would destroy the liver.

He "smoked" fentanyl? Yet he couldn’t stand being around cigarette smoke?!

He was eating a skinless chicken breast? He was vegetarian.

He didn’t have much of a personality?! ARE YOU KIDDING?! He was FUNNY. He could have done stand up if he hadn’t been a musical genius. And no, it wasn’t from drugs, it was HIM. LIES LIES LIES.

Then there is this, basically another rehash with a few more inaccurate tibits:

Highly addictive and potentially lethal: How Prince's 'overdose drug' Percocet has been linked to string of celebrity fatalities including Michael Jackson and Elvis

Keep in mind, so far, there has been no proof Prince ever took Percocet. Percocet is not much different than another medication called Norco which is actually prescribed to thousands of patients every day for moderate to severe pain. I have a hard time imagining Prince taking narcotics, but even if he did, this does not mean he was an "addict".

Quoting the article:

It is extremely easy to overdose on the drug just by taking more than two Percocet pills at once, especially if the immune system is low, according to Prescription Drugs.org.

I went to this site and this information does not exist. There is NO mention of the immune system having any issue with taking Percocet or any pain medication for that matter. Taking two Percocet tablets would not be issue. Again, the acetaminophen/paracetamol content is the concern due to liver issues if more than 4000 mg a day is taken for multiple days at a time. How pathetic that an article sites a source but completely makes up information. Like people cannot read?

Another beyond erroneous quote from the article:

Indeed Jackson was a regularly took the drug, along with other opioids including Methadone, Fentanyl, Dilaudid and Vicodin. Massive quantities of all the above - including Percocet - were found in his home at the time of his death.

Please see my old blog posts about what was actually found. I have the official court documents listed. There were NO, zip, zilch, nada pain medications found in Michael’s house. He had ZERO pain medications in his system. How can an article get away with these lies when the official court documents indicate it is 100% false??

Wait, did this article really just invent a drug called NORCAL?!

PLEASE PEOPLE. Do not believe the trash! Do not believe the lies! Do not believe the false information! Do not believe the libel before you that is being used for profit! Educate yourself then educate others!

THIS IS WHY BERNIE SANDERS HAS MY VOTE

I am voting for Bernie Sanders in the upcoming election for numerous reasons, but I want to highlight some of my reasons here that I feel many people will be able to relate to in some way. Please listen to what I have to say, it will not take too long. It could change your life.

EDUCATION:
First of all, I believe everyone should be entitled to a free or low-cost education. Currently, education is not affordable, even when taking out federal loans. Let me explain something. Here is a graphic that will make sense to many or may make sense soon to those who have yet to graduate:

I had most of my undergraduate education paid for with grants due to academic achievements while in high school. Most of my loan balance is due to obtaining a doctorate degree (not in “grammar” so pardon any mistakes I may make). All of my loans were federal loans, except one small private loan which was paid off shortly after graduation. I have currently chosen to pay back the minimum on my federal student loans that are now consolidated. Why? Take a look at my payment and see how much is applied to the interest versus the principal. A whopping $30 is going towards my principal. I have been paying on my loans since 2012 and rather than my balance going down, it has actually increased by a couple thousand dollars even though I pay $605 every month, on time. I am expected to pay over $245,000 over the next 25-30 years if I stay on this payment path. I have an interest rate of 5.75% (I get a slight deduction for using auto-pay). When I called the federal lender to ask if I could apply extra payment to my principal (to lower the amount of interest being paid) about 18 months ago, I was told that was not allowed on federal loans. I have tried to refinance my loans through private lenders only to be turned down because of the high amount or because they do not offer a better interest rate. Thus, I am stuck, in a sense. I am stuck with a loan that is a burden but should not be one. I am lucky enough to be able to repay my loan, but do not feel it is fair to be stuck with a high interest rate that will not be lowered, to have the massive majority of my payment go towards interest and to not be allowed to apply any extra payment to the principal balance of my loan. It is a trap—by the federal government no less. I want to do the right thing but am blocked from doing so. Why does the government want to put me in a situation to fail at some point in time? I am not the only one.

I believe Bernie can make huge changes for people like me and all of the other students out there facing a loan crisis because they tried to make their lives better by going to school only to fall flat from the loan situation so many of us face today. He wants education to be free—an equal opportunity for all. He wants to end this system of failure that is put in place for so many students across the nation. If you want this changed for you, for your children and for future generations, please vote for Bernie Sanders!

INSURANCE:
I work in a field where I deal with Medicare and Medicaid daily. I know how I view Medicaid may be different than others since it is a state program, but it is likely similar in some states.

Let me start with Medicare first. To have prescription drug coverage, one needs a Medicare Part D (D for drug) plan. That comes with a cost, even if you have been paying into the “system” (taxes) for years. What I witness, usually at the beginning of the year, and somewhere in the middle of the year, is patients being forced to choose. They are forced to choose whether or not to eat tomorrow because their medication is so expensive. They are forced to choose not to pick up their medication because it is too expensive, thus they end up having to go to the hospital and rack up an even higher bill they cannot afford—yet they have insurance. Why so? This is because of deductibles. This is because of “donut holes”. Oh no, these are not the tasty donut holes you get from Krispy Kreme. What happens is people are met with high prices for their drugs because before they can get to their normal co-pays, they must first pay off a deductible which varies from person to person, plan to plan. Some deductibles are applied at once, even if $1000, while some deductibles are split up over time. What you mostly see are our senior citizens who are diabetics being forced to pay up to $400 for their insulin. Insurance may cover $20 of the $600 cost. Insulin is required for a diabetic to survive if their diabetes is Type I or a more serious type of Type II. There is no generic insulin available. You see these patients failing to follow their medication regiments because they simply cannot afford them, even when they have insurance, and even when they have paid their dues over the years working and paying into the system. Without proper blood sugar levels, lowered by insulin, these people end up becoming ill with infections which then leads to losing their limbs, sometimes their eyesight, their livelihood and ultimately their lives. There has to be an end to this! Bernie will end this because he wants deductibles as we know it to END. This would ultimately keep so many people out of the hospital and save millions, if not billions of dollars.

Many patients are also on Medicaid. Medicaid is meant to be a temporary solution for people who are not able to afford insurance either from a lack of a job or other reasons. However, at least in some states, it seems some people are able to abuse this system, while the system also abuses itself. In Texas, Medicaid requires many drugs to be dispensed as “Name Brand Only” when a cheaper, generic alternative exists. Examples include asthma medications (Pulmicort), ADHD medications (Focalin, Intuniv and sometimes Adderall), antibiotics (Suprax), cough syrups (Bromfed DM which has a generic available made by the parent company). Some Medicaid plans demand these medications be name brand yet some plans do not reimburse the pharmacies properly, causing stores like Walmart to stop accepting some Medicaid plans because of a loss of profits.

What I say next may be upsetting to some, but I find it concerning when I see people on Medicaid, which is meant to help those needing help getting on their feet, driving new vehicles. I do not mean a new small affordable car, but rather an expensive new Chevrolet Suburban, Mercedes or a Lexus. I do not know their income, I do not know their job status, but from the outside, it seems unfair that if one can afford such a vehicle that they are entitled to not only free medications, but free and in many instances name brand medications. Many working tax payers who are not covered with insurance, or have high deductibles, are paying for those name brand medications without even knowing it most times for someone who can afford a car that may cost as much as a small home in certain cities in the nation. Call me harsh, but I do not see this as being fair. I want equal and fair coverage for ALL. Bernie does, too.

Yet, there are still thousands, likely millions, of people falling through the cracks from Obamacare. They cannot afford “decent” insurance. What I mean by that is they can obtain insurance at a monthly premium of maybe $100 a month, only to face what I mentioned above happening to the Medicare patients—high deductibles which result in skipping or simply not taking necessary medications. It is cheaper for someone to buy a Walgreens Prescription Savings Club card ($20 a year for an individual or $35 a year for a family, but sadly those on Medicare are not eligible) than to pay for an insurance that is likely to reimburse even less than a discount card. Even free discount cards on the internet are sometime better than insurance.

As Bernie has said—medical care should not be a privilege, it should be a right for all, an equal right for all regardless of income, disability or age. Deductibles need to end. It should be a right to all as if it were a new amendment to the Constitution. Nothing is more frightening than seeing a family member who works hard and pays his or her taxes not be able to afford insurance or skip getting it because it is not worth getting due to deductibles. It is something to lose sleep over every single night worrying about an uninsured loved one. Bernie Sanders will change this if you will vote for him.

Please, I ask you to join me in voting for Bernie Sanders. He wants to help everyone. He wants to make so many things in life not only fair but better, for you and for me and for those before and after us.

VOTE FOR BERNIE!!!