Pain meds, even opioid pain meds can be a God send for people in excruciating pain, especially for post-operative pain or for some late stage cancer patients, but they can also be very dangerous, especially when taken in combinations.
I read that Petty had become addicted to heroin in the late 90’s after the breakup of his 20-year marriage but went to rehab and beat it.
Of course he (Petty) should have known the danger but then again if one is in excruciating pain as he may have been with a broken hip and other ailments, they don’t always think straight or rationally.
But with is past history of drug addiction, why would any competent doctor proscribe so many different opioids at the same time, assuming it was one doctor who did and there wasn’t “doctor shopping” going on. Former addicts, even after years of being clean, often have a high tolerance for pain meds and tend to take more because they need more just to alleviate the pain or make it manageable, but of course are a high risk of overdosing and so need a lot of moderating and oversight.
I reeeally think there will turn out to have been dr shopping.