The US rapper Mac Miller died in his LA home in 2018.  It was accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol.  He was just 26 years old.

 

LA prosecutors say Miller thought he'd been sold the painkiller oxycodone but it had actually been laced with fentanyl, a powerful drug that is 50 times more potent than heroin.  Rhian Daly from Britain’s NME joins us to talk about the three men charged over his death.

 

Fentanyl was the substance that’s killed a number of famous musos including Prince and Tom Petty.  Is the user responsible for their own death?  Do we make pharmaceutical drugs more difficult to get legally?  We try to find the balance in a vexed debate about the escalating problem of opioid deaths.

 

TODAY'S HEADLINES

• NZ flight cases discovered as NSW travel bubble paused

• Senior nationals open to net zero deal as coalition negotiations continue

• Government challenges UNESCO reef concerns

• Sun Yang ruled out of Olympics

• Online safety bill passes

 

Follow The Briefing

Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast 
Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAU
Twitter: @TheBriefingAU 

YouTube: http://bit.ly/TheBriefingSUBSCRIBE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.