Jackson was spending $50,000 per month on drugs: report

Pop legend Michael Jackson was battling with numerous disorders and was spending 30,000 pounds ($50,000) a month on prescription drugs like narcotic pain relievers, muscle relaxants and anti-depressants before his death.

The ailing “Thriller” star, who died last week, was said to have consumed “mountains of medication” as he battled numerous disorders in the year leading up to his death, reported thesun.co.uk.

Along with narcotic pain reliever Vicodin, 50-year-old Jackson gorged on other drugs like muscle relaxant Soma and sedative Xanax, antidepressant Zoloft, anti-anxiety drug Paxil and heartburn pill Priolosec.

The revelations on the true scale of the tragic star’s pills habit came as his family said they now wanted an investigation into the quantity of drugs he was prescribed.

"They suspected the drugs were harming Michael - but not as badly as this. What is crucial to them is not the drug types Michael was taking, but the quantities he was taking them in," said Brian Oxman, the Jackson's family lawyer.

"This is a huge and major concern. During Michael’s court trial he was taking 40 Vicodin a day - and this may have even increased. Its an insane amount of drugs to be given and to be taken,” added Oxman.

Some of the King of Pop’s prescriptions were allegedly written by his Beverly Hills dermatologist Arnold Klein. Most were taken from Jackson's local drug store Mickey Fine Pharmacy.

Many prescriptions were bought under the fictitious name Omar Adams, claimed to be a name Jackson devised for a fictitious alter ego. The cost of the superstar’s spiralling prescription drugs usage led to a number of lawsuits.

In 2001, he was sued by Mickey Fine Pharmacy for arrears of about 7,000 pounds on his account.

Jackson also owed Klein around 18,000 pounds at the same time. And in 2002, lupus specialist Allen Metzger claimed that the singer owed him 16,000 pounds.

Last updated on Jun 30^th, 2009 at 12:19 pm IST--IANS