Drug dealer who claims he used to supply Prince speaks out about the star’s ‘major addiction to opioids’

The unnamed man says he supplied Prince with thousands of dollars' worth of painkillers over 24 years

Before iPods and iTunes, Prince understood music online would change the industry forever (Getty Images)

A man who claims he was the drug dealer for recently deceased pop star Prince has spoken out about the “highly addictive” drugs he used to supply the musician with.

The man, who calls himself ‘Dr D’, said he used to supply thousands of dollars’ worth of drugs to Prince until 2008.

If true, the comments portray an anxiety-ridden image of the “majorly addicted” star, who allegedly used the drugs to cope with “stage fright”.

“I first met Prince in 1984 while he was filming the movie Purple Rain and he was already majorly addicted to opiates - I didn’t hook him on drugs. He was already a really heavy user,” Dr D told the Mail Online. He claimed he worked backstage at Prince concerts for many years so he could covertly supply the star with drugs.

The California-based dealer claimed he saw Prince’s addiction worsen over time to the point where, such was his tolerance to opioids, he often took many times the limit of what was considered safe.

Dr D said he often sold prescription painkillers to Prince, mainly the pill-based Dilaudid and Fentanyl, which is topically absorbed into the body, similar to a nicotine patch. According to Dr D, he often used both at the same time.

“He’d buy large supplies of both drugs. I think the most he ever spent was around $40,000 at one time,” Dr D claimed.

“I’d say his habit was costing him about $200-300 a day, but that didn’t matter to him as he had plenty of money - he never ran out.”

Prince did this because he was very scared of performing, Dr D suggested. The drug dealer told the news website: “He needed the drugs because he was so nervous - he could be nervous in a room with just five people in it.

“He wasn’t really a party guy, he was doing these drugs so he could feel at ease around people.

“He was scared to go out in public, he was scared to talk to people and didn’t like to go on stage. He had the worst case of stage fright I’d ever seen.

“A lot of performers rely on drugs to make them feel confident on stage, but he was by far the worse.

“I remember when he was filming Purple Rain he was buying a lot of drugs - I think it was nerve wracking for him to have to perform in front of cameras and people every day so he needed the drugs.

“It was an exciting time for him and he was on top of the world - he was like God. But as that fame increased, the less at ease he was with people and the more he needed drugs.

“Then at other times, when his fame lessened, he’d turn to drugs too. It’s like he was afraid of the fame but then when it was gone he’d miss it and crave it.

“He would always buy a lot of drugs around his big shows - like when he played the Superbowl in Miami in 2007. He came to see me right before.”

Despite this, Dr D believed Prince’s alleged choice of narcotics was why few others picked up on the habit.

“He was always a pill man - that’s why nobody ever saw him do drugs,’ he said.

“He never smoked or shot up, or snorted cocaine. He was always functional and I never saw him out of it or strung out. At the time I was dealing other drugs too but he never asked for anything else.”

Dr D added: “When I knew him he didn’t have any health problems that I knew about - he was taking the drugs because he needed them to cope, not because he was in pain.

“In fact he always seemed very healthy. He didn’t drink as far as I know and he would always eat salads.

“One time he was eating a salad and a skinless chicken breast with no dressing and I commented about how healthy he was. He turned to me and said, ‘If I didn’t watch my food I probably wouldn’t last that long’. I think it was his way of counteracting all the drugs he was taking.”

The Independent has contacted police departments in California and Carver County, Minnesota for comment.