Autopsy results released Thursday show Prince Rogers Nelson, the music legend commonly known as Prince, died from fentanyl toxicity.
Prince died April 21 at his estate in Minnesota, and initial investigations cautiously linked opioids to his death. Now, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office's report shows Prince gave himself the powerful painkiller fentanyl.
Fentanyl is the most potent opioid available for use in medical treatment, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, and it is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin. Ingesting as little as 0.25 milligrams can be deadly, the DEA says.
According to CDC data, rate of death involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids increased 80 percent in the U.S. between 2013 and 2014.