Celebrity Deaths That Actually Helped Save Lives

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

People don't like being in pain. The problem is, the best chemicals to make your body feel great are opioids, and they're crazy addictive. Currently, the hip new painkiller is fentanyl, a drug 50 times more powerful than heroin. But it takes the "killer" part of its description way too seriously because people are dying from using it.

According to the CDC, in 2017 the sharpest increase in drug deaths was fentanyl, with overdoses of it killing 30,000 people. The issue is people get it prescribed to them, use it until it doesn't work as well, take more, get addicted at some point, and it all goes to hell. This is apparently especially a problem with musicians. Billboard says touring artists end up in agony from dancing around on stage every night, so doctors routinely prescribe them fentanyl so they can keep entertaining fans.

Until the day they never can anymore. That's what happened to the legendary Prince in 2016, when he died with "exceedingly high" levels of fentanyl in his system. Friends eventually admitted he had been addicted for a long time.

Two people who were moved by Prince's death were Grammy-winning singer Chaka Khan and her sister. They were both addicted to fentanyl as well, and their longtime friend's death made them realize they needed help. Khan told the Associated Press they were entering an intensive rehab program because "the tragic death of Prince" made them realize it was "time to take action to save our lives."

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