Drugs & Alcohol

The man who called 911 in Prince's death could face criminal prosecution if he was expecting to get paid for helping the singer ... and it all comes down to the pills in his backpack.

The lawyer for Andrew Kornfeld -- whose dad runs a rehab facility in Marin County, California -- says his client is entitled to immunity from prosecution because he was acting as a Good Samaritan.

The issue -- Andrew had a synthetic opiate in his backpack, and he's not a doctor. Our sources say investigators are keenly interested in knowing why Andrew brought the pills. They are often used to wean people off drugs like Percocet -- the opiate which fueled Prince's addiction.

Andrew's attorney points to a Minnesota law that protects people who might be committing drug crimes from being prosecuted if they call 911. The idea is to give people an incentive to help others in dire need without fear of prosecution.

Here's the problem. Under the law, the person who calls 911 does NOT get immunity if they receive or expect to receive compensation for picking up the phone and making the call. It's unclear if Andrew and his dad were going to get paid, but the recovery center charges for its services, so it's a good bet they were expecting compensation.

As for the drugs in the backpack ... even if Andrew's dad prescribed the drug for Prince, our DEA sources say it's illegal for anyone to take the drugs across state lines and deliver drugs in states where the doctor is not board certified.

The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration is now involved in the death investigation of Prince, and our law enforcement sources say drugs are the focal point of the criminal probe.

Our sources say the DEA and the Minnesota Attorney General are looking into the various prescriptions that were written for Prince, and the focus is opiates. Prince had a life-threatening Percocet addiction and authorities believe opiates will likely be either the sole or at least a significant factor in his death.

Our sources say the investigation is sweeping ... doctors and pharmacies involved in prescribing and filling meds for Prince are targeted, but possible enablers are also in the crosshairs.

Our sources now say the toxicology report may still be weeks away, although it was initially set to be released 2 weeks after the autopsy.

Eminem's ex-wife, Kim Mathers, was trying to kill herself when she rolled her car into a ditch last October in an alleged drunk driving accident.

Kim called into the Detroit radio show "Mojo in the Morning" on channel 95.5 to come clean on the car accident. The case had been sealed, leading people to think she was getting preferential treatment from the court. Kim says the docs were sealed only because they had medical information related to her suicide attempt.

She admits she specifically found a road where no one else would get hurt, ingested pills and alcohol before she "hit the gas and aimed for a pole." Her Cadillac Escalade flipped but Kim ultimately survived the wreck.

Kim says she's currently getting help. Listen to the clip ... she also talks about how Eminem's helped her through the ordeal.

The addiction specialist who was at Prince's house the day he died brought a backpack containing a synthetic opiate ... and his criminal defense lawyer now insists he should not be prosecuted.

Prince's people called Dr. Howard Kornfeld the day before the singer died, saying they believed Prince was on the verge of dying from drugs. Prince was apparently on board to get help, but the doctor said it would be 2 days before he could get there.

Dr. Kornfeld sent his son, Andrew, who worked at their facility -- Recovery Without Walls. Andrew flew out early and was at Prince's home the day he died.

Andrew's lawyer, William Mauzy, just said Andrew did not supply Prince with any drugs, although he did have synthetic opiates in his backpack. The drug is called buprenorphine, a synthetic opiate for pain management and to wean people off actual opiates.

It was Andrew who called 911 after the staff found Prince unconscious in the elevator.

Prince was supposed to meet with a doctor specializing in addiction treatment the day after he died ... to deal with a "grave medical condition."

Dr. Howard Kornfeld, a national authority on opioid addiction, could not clear his schedule on April 21st, so he sent his son, Andrew, to meet with the singer ... this according to the Star Tribune.

Dr. Kornfeld was supposed to come the following day, and his son -- who works with him at the Recovery Without Walls clinic -- was going to outline the course of treatment. Andrew is the person who called 911 to report Prince was lifeless in the elevator.

According to the report, Dr. Kornfeld was initially contacted by one of Prince's reps, who said the singer "was dealing with a grave medical emergency."

The Minneapolis Fire Dept. just made a big change ... a life-saving drug for people who OD is now part of its emergency toolbox ... just weeks after Prince's death.

The brass says NARCAN has been on their radar for months, so the timing is just coincidence.

TMZ broke the story ... NARCAN, the so-called "save shot," probably did just that -- saved Prince's life 6 days before his death after his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois after he OD'd on Percocet.

A bodybuilding legend has a message for Miami Marlins star Dee Gordon -- KICK THE PEDS AND COME TRAIN WITH ME!!!!

We spoke with 2008 Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson -- a 5-TIME Arnold Classic winner -- who says he knows all about Gordon's 80 game suspension for PED use ... and wants to help him train clean.

"I know all the tricks of the trade," Jackson says ... "[training PED-free] is gonna take longer, but you gotta know how to treat your body right."

Sinead O'Connor is blaming Prince's drug problems on his good friend, Arsenio Hall -- but he says the Irish singer is totally full of it.

Sinead went on the attack, saying ... "Two words for the DEA investigating where (sic) prince got his drugs over the decades ... Arsenio Hall (AKA Prince's and Eddie Murphy's bitch)."

She went on to say on her Facebook page ... she's actually reported Arsenio to the Carver County Sheriff's department, which is investigating Prince's death.

A rep for Arsenio says Sinead's claim is "absolutely false, ridiculous and absurd."

She can thank Prince for writing her biggest hit, "Nothing Compares 2 U" -- but fact is, Sinead was NOT close to Prince ... and she's made other outrageous claims about him. She once alleged he punched her and held her against her will at Paisley Park.

Wiz Khalifa doesn't always drink beer -- he's more of a smoker -- but when he does he likes his brew infused with hemp.

Yeah, Khalifa is gearing up to launch his own line of beer, juice, carbonated juice, energy drinks, and non-alcoholic cocktails ... all infused with the hemp plant.

According to the trademark docs Wiz filed he wants to sell the drinks under his "Khalifa Kush" handle ... which is also the brand he uses to push his strains of weed.

Bad news though if you're looking for a liquid high -- even though hemp looks like weed, the THC levels are too low to produce a strong buzz.

Prince passed up at least 8 pharmacies close to Paisley Park on his way to pick up prescription pills hours before his death ... and it could all have been to hide a paper trail of multiple prescriptions.

As TMZ reported ... Prince visited Walgreens chain drugstores 4 times in the week leading up to his death. However, the location the singer visited the night before his death was 6 miles from home. An odd choice considering there were several other pharmacies located just over a mile from his house.

Although it's unclear exactly why Prince traveled so far ... family members tell TMZ they were worried the singer was using multiple doctors and aliases. Most pharmacies will throw up a red flag if a patient visits too often ... so by visiting multiple locations in his area, the singer could have flown under the radar.

Authorities descended on a Walgreens near Paisley Park and served a search warrant on the pharmacy, TMZ has learned, looking for a prescription paper trail that could unravel the cause of Prince's death.

It's the same drug store chain where Prince made 4 Rx runs in the week leading up to his death.

We're told investigators made their move Thursday. Once inside, they beelined it for the pharmacy and spent several hours combing through records.

As we reported, authorities are especially interested in Percocet ... the drug that triggered a near-fatal OD 6 days before Prince's death. They're also looking for other prescriptions in Prince's name or identifiable aliases.

We're told investigators are also targeting other pharmacies and doctors who may have helped Prince procure meds.

1:55 PM PST -- A rep for Kim showed up in court and conceded Kim had no proof she'd made progress in completing her AA classes or community service. The judge withdrew the warrant and set a probation violation hearing for June 3. The judge could throw Kim in jail after the hearing if he determines she didn't make a sufficient dent in the classes or community service.

9:40 AM PST -- The bench warrant has now been signed by a judge. Bail was set at $26,000.

Kim Richards is staring down an arrest warrant in her shoplifting case because she's ditching her AA classes ... as far as the court is concerned, anyway.

TMZ has learned the judge is about to issue a warrant for the 'RHOBH' star. Our sources say Kim never turned in documentation to prove she's attended the number of AA classes ordered in her plea deal.

Kim's been struggling in all her cases. As we've reported ... the judge in her Beverly Hills arrest already scolded her for not doing community labor, and shot down her foot injury excuse.

Another NFL star says his social media account has been HACKED -- with Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. saying someone infiltrated his Instagram to post a potentially damaging photo.

Harris -- a 2-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champ -- went to Twitter and wrote, "Someone hacking IGs someone just tried me smh."

We didn't see the photo ourselves -- but we're told the pic appeared to show Harris smoking a rolled cigarette.

Unclear if there's a connection between the Harris hack and the Laremy Tunsil incident.

Johnny Manziel drowned his NFL draft night sorrows in Fireball Thursday night ... ordering up 300 SHOTS at an Ohio bar for a few hundred of his not so closest friends ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

Two years after he was selected in the 1st round ... the unemployed QB hit up Dahlia Bar and Lounge in Columbus right after the 1st round of the '16 draft wrapped up.

You can see in the video Johnny was in a generous mood ... buying 300 shots of whiskey and some Miller Lites for the crowd.

We're told Johnny spent the night hanging out in the DJ booth with Justin Bieber's tour DJ ... JB had a concert in Columbus on Thursday, but was a no-show at the bar.

Earlier in the day, Manziel was reportedly hangin' at ANOTHER Columbus bar ... watching the draft while sporting a white headband -- the same headband he was rocking later that night.

FYI, the Browns drafted a WR last night ... if only they had a QB to throw him the ball.

The person who hacked Laremy Tunsil right before the NFL Draft -- and posted video of the football player hitting a gas mask bong -- is pure evil ... so says Laremy's ex-teammate Robert Nkemdiche.

Prince was addicted to Percocet for years before his death ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources connected with the singer's family tell us, doctors prescribed the powerful painkiller in 2009 when he was suffering from hip problems. We're told he had corrective surgery sometime around 2010, but by then he was hooked on the drug.

Our sources say Prince developed a sometimes debilitating dependence on Percocet in the years that followed.

TMZ broke the story, Prince almost died from a Percocet OD 6 days before he was found dead in an elevator.

And as we reported, Prince made at least 4 trips to a Walgreens pharmacy near his home in the week leading up to his death.

We're told the feds are now investigating who prescribed the drug, who filled the prescriptions and under what circumstances.