Janet did not add anything new that we already didn't here, so this is not new. Whoever wants to believe that Michael was an addict has already made up their minds long before Janet talked.
I must be weird... I don't have my mind made up on this one way or the other because I don't feel I have "enough data." So I will continue to assess any new data that comes in... in this case from Janet.
I have no strong opinion on whether the family should speak openly about their impressions of Michael. But I kind of lean toward being sympathetic to them.
There's probably not a simple answer to "Dependence: Yea or Nay?" This conversation needs to be very nuanced. Based on the admittedly spotty data the public has so far, here's my "ten-point theory on MJ's drug use." ANY of it could turn out to be wrong. Please don't hurt me.
***Highly Speculative Opinion Alert ***
1) MJ was probably chronically dependent on sedatives for insomnia, and sometimes for daytime anxiety, most of his life since the 1993 case. (Probably mostly benzodiazepines. This excludes Propofol (not a sedative but an anesthetic).
2) This ratcheted up during two or more eras, including at the end, to Propofol. He'd probably been using Propofol for several weeks at the end. Using Propofol to sleep, even for a few weeks, constitutes a period of "Propofol dependency."
3) So Evan Chandler indirectly killed Michael Jackson.
4) No one, no one, no one but the administering doctor(s) ever in MJ's entire life had the slightest clue about MJ's Propofol use. It is so wildly unimaginable that anyone trying to read him -- including family and managers -- would guess wrong and misunderstand him in many ways.
5) In his final era, evidence does
not point to his use of sedatives for daytime anxiety. This means he probably felt pretty relaxed and confident most of the time, which makes me happy. Apparently gumchewing was getting him through the days well enough! No pills were found in his stomach because he only needed drugs at night, where he was getting everything he needed by IV.
6) In the past, he's been dependent on painkillers (narcotics) occasionally to treat pain from the burn and other conditions. This appears to have ratcheted up to use for mood elevation due to Chandler.
7) In his final era, evidence suggests
he had beaten narcotics dependency! He was surely in pain at times, and wished for a mood lift at times, but apparently this was within manageable limits and he wasa feeling pretty darn good most of the time. I"m very, very proud of him for this.
8) Chronic use of Propofol and/or sedatives to sleep is not sustainable for anyone's health. And it surely created occasionally visible daytime side effects. Family members saw this, guessed correctly at a drug dependence, but undoubtedly incorrectly at the cause and type. They probably incorrectly thought he was on daytime painkillers and sedatives An understandable and forgivable error, and not terribly significant. Either way an intervention was needed right up to the end. I'm glad to hear the attempts were made, that there's still that much intra-family support.
9) Entering his final era, MJ had read all about Propofol and its dangers. His dependency on sedatives had created a drug tolerance that rendered these no longer insufficiently reliable for him to get him through the show. This dependence he did not feel he could beat, sadly. He convinced himself it was his only choice and he could handle it. This defines dependence. He had to work pretty hard and very, very carefully to find a doctor who would administer Propofol.
10) There's always a predator ready to pounce on such vulnerable prey. MJ's actions are completely independent of Murray's criminal behavior, and Murray should be imprisoned for "indifferently depraved" homicide.
