Latest Hollywood craze is for berry-flavoured lollipops laced with powerful opiates
Hell-raising stars are reportedly getting high on sweets infused with the drug Fentanyl
POP icon Prince's tragic death could have been caused by a dangerous new 'lollipop' drug craze sweeping A-List Hollywood.
Hell-raising stars are reportedly getting high on berry-flavoured sweets infused with the drug fentanyl - which is 100 times more powerful than morphine.
Police now believe the music legend, who died from an fentanyl overdose in April, may have obtained a supply of the lethal lollipops shortly before his death.
The star, 57, could have bought them illegally or even got them via one of the dodgy doctors who prey on the elite of show business.
The lollipops are very rarely prescribed other than to those suffering with terminal cancer because they are just so addictive.
US anaesthetist Barry Friedberg said: "If Prince was sucking on fentanyl lollipops his addiction to the drug was out of contol.
"Other than strict medical use, berry-flavoured fentanyl lollipops are used by people who want to get high in plain sight."
Cops now believe the star, whose body was found in a lift at his Paisley Park complex in Minnesota, may have been used the 'sweets' for years to combat pain from a hip injury.
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The pop millionaire was often see with a lollipop in his mouth and the fentanyl versions are quickly becoming a favourite amongst stars.
A-listers have turned to the lollies because they look so innocent.
But others fear their innocent look is another big danger as they would prove so tempting to young tots.
At one party recently I saw them being served to guests from silver platters and a lot of people were taking them
Hollywood insider
One Hollywood insider revealed: "It has become trendy to walk around parties like the old TV detective Kojak with a lollipop hanging from their mouths.
"At one party recently I saw them being served to guests from silver platters and a lot of people were taking them.
"It struck me as a ridiculously dangerous thing to do because you can easily lose track of the dosage."
A 'street' version of the drug is currently at the centre of an emerging epidemic in America.
Fentanyl is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine, and 50 times more potent than heroin.
It has been used in hospitals for decades in the form of skin patches and lozenges to relieve extreme pain.
But now an illegal version is on the streets, and just a few grains of the white powder can kill a user before they've even finished injecting it.
Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson Rusty Payne has told Sky News that fentanyl has become a particular problem in the last 18 months because illegal labs in China have worked out how to make it in large quantities.
Mexican cartels then buy it wholesale, and push it on the streets in America through their existing opiate trafficking networks.
What is Fentanyl the drug which killed Prince?
The effect of the prescription drug on which music star Prince overdosed is up to 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin.
Fentanyl, an opioid, is prescribed for the treatment of chronic pain, often following major trauma, nerve damage or cancer.
According to a single-page report from the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, Prince "self-administered fentanyl" on the day he was found dead at his Paisley Park mansion, aged 57.
It has been reported that the singer had been scheduled to meet an addiction specialist the day following his death.
Prince died from an overdose of a synthetic opioid called fentanyl, the local medical examiner has found.
The drug can cause unpredictable and dangerous reactions when mixed with other prescription or over-the-counter medications and alcohol.
In some cases fentanyl is used illegally by people extracting it from a patch and injecting it to become intoxicated.
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