Jackson's Needle Problem

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Chris Pizzello / AP Photo Michael Jackson had been taking drugs intravenously for 20 years, sources tell The Daily Beast’s Gerald Posner, and among the names linked to this longstanding use is his former nurse and ex-wife, Debbie Rowe.

Michael Jackson’s corpse had the hallmarks of longtime intravenous drug use, including arms riddled with needle marks and collapsed veins, say sources familiar with the medical examiner’s preliminary findings. Buttressing this autopsy result, an employee in Jackson’s entourage during the mid to late 1980s claims she saw Debbie Rowe, a nurse for one of the superstar’s doctors and later his wife and the surrogate for his two oldest children, visiting Jackson at his home and injecting him with an unknown substance.

Given the circumstances surrounding Jackson’s death, any Rowe involvement in administering drugs could become an issue if she seeks custody of the two oldest children.

These reports of longstanding IV-drug use raise new questions about whether the pop star, who traveled with an anesthesiologist during his HIStory tour in the mid-'90s, died from the improper administration of some of the anesthesia drugs seized by investigators in his home after his death last week.

While the Los Angeles Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration are narrowing their list of enabling doctors, The Daily Beast discussed Jackson’s medical history with several people familiar with it and has uncovered new details, including a role played by Rowe’s ex-boss, Dr. Arnold Klein. On Tuesday, I reported that Elizabeth Taylor had sought help for her own prescription-drug and alcohol problems in the mid to late 1980s and that she and Jackson both patronized Klein, the Beverly Hills dermatologist who was one of her main prescription sources, based on an account she gave another physician treating her at the time. That second doctor knew Jackson as a friend, not a patient, and thought the Taylor-Klein combination could be “toxic” for Jackson, and twice warned the pop star. But Jackson, who idolized Taylor and praised Klein, would hear none of it, according to a source familiar with the conversations between Jackson and his doctor friend.

The details about Rowe solidify that account of a strong Jackson-Klein link. As a nurse working for Jackson’s treating physician, it is possible that Rowe was doing nothing more than injecting medications properly prescribed by Dr. Klein, and Rowe was merely making a house call. It is also possible that Rowe, as a personal friend and medical professional, was administering another doctor’s prescription at Jackson’s request. A source close to the police investigation told The Daily Beast that Debbie Rowe is definitely not the subject of any probe into Jackson’s demise. But given the circumstances surrounding Jackson’s death, any Rowe involvement in administering drugs could become an issue if she seeks custody of the two oldest children, as she suggested last week that she might, despite a reported $8 million payout to relinquish her parental rights. In response to calls seeking clarification on the circumstances of these injections, Rowe’s attorneys had no comment.

A Los Angeles Police spokesman refused to confirm or deny whether Dr. Klein was one of five physicians reportedly the subject of their Jackson investigation. Neither Dr. Klein nor his attorney would comment for this article. But Dr. Klein told Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America this morning that he has not been questioned by any investigators and said he was not one of the final five physicians being probed. Moreover, while not addressing any issue of early drug prescriptions to Jackson he contended, "I didn't give him the crap they are talking about....I was not one of the doctors who participated in giving him an overdose of drugs or too much of anything."

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