Drug Rehab Information

Elvis Presley
Date: August 16, 1977
Drugs: As many as 14 different drugs, including codeine (painkiller) and methaqualone, AKA Quaaludes (sedative)

The official cause of death of the King of Rock 'n Roll, then 42, was cardiac arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat), but it's generally believed that prescription drugs contributed to his heart condition. Although initial statements from the medical examiner excluded drugs as a cause of death, further investigations found that the singer had been prescribed between 5,000 and 10,000 pills in the eight-month span before his death. Presley's doctor, Dr. George C. Nichopoulos, explained the singer's open attitude toward prescription drugs: "He felt that by getting [pills] from a doctor, he wasn't the common everyday junkie getting something off the street."