Tom Petty: It was an "accidental" OD

The main point is that Petty wasn't using his meds recreationally — he was simply doing his best to cope with a crippling injury that was only getting worse, all in order to live up to his touring commitments. At his level of fame, he wouldn't have needed to doctor shop - they had a doctor with them on the tour.

It's not uncommon for severe chronic pain to be managed with a long-acting opioid dosage and another shorter-acting, oral opioid for breakthrough pain. Petty suffered from a broken hip and a damaged knee. However, fentanyl and oxycodone are generally not advised for long term use with depression and anxiety drugs (Citalopram (Celexa) is used to treat depression. Alprazolam (Xanax) is a drug that is used for treating anxiety. They are often prescribed in tandem, as in his case.). 

There is no indication he was addicted to anything - in fact between his emphysema and a broken hip, the actual drugs listed aren't particularly alarming - the fentanyl patch is time release specifically to prevent overdosage - but as someone who has taken pain meds for 16 years due to a car accident and destroyed spinal disc, keeping track of what you took when can be a problem, especially if any of the substances make you less than fully alert. The family is astutely, and responsibly, cautioning people that this can tragically occur. This is nothing like Prince illegally scoring oxys from various pharmacies...accidentally taking too much of a prescription drug (or drugs) as the coroner's report says happens every day, which the family points out and is something to be wary of.

Years ago, I co-founded a chronic pain support group. We built it up to around 50 members who would attend our weekly meetings in a classroom at the local church. 

Chronic pain people learn how to medicate ... usually with a combination of alcohol and opiate drugs. The combination really works to knock the pain down. The problem is that we build up a tolerance to these drugs (including alcohol) and need ever increasing doses to get the desired effects. 

I had a lot of conversations with my own neurosurgeon about pain meds and learned that they can actually cause pain. He encouraged me to attempt to get the members to reduce their drug intake ... with the approval of their doctors of course. 

One of the first things we would do was to interview the new member of the group. They told us about what led to their chronic pain situation, what drugs they were taking ... and then the big question: Are you thinking about suicide? About half of the new members would admit that they were on the edge of ending their lives and that we were their last resort.  The difference now was that they were in a large group of people who at one time had the very same strain of thought. 

At the new member's very first meeting, we would encourage them to start breaking their pain meds in half and only take half doses until the next meeting. At the next meeting we encouraged them to break the meds in half again. Slowly, they were weaned off of the drugs ... at which time, their pain was reduced as well as their depression and suicidal compulsions. Those suffering from chronic pain can find a lot of relief just by sharing with others similarly afflicted.

Like my neurosurgeon would say ... "happiness is not having pain." 

Frank 

My spinal fusion occurred nearly nine years ago. I spent a decade prior seeing doctors with intermittent back issues. I was always told after x-rays that the problem was muscular, given pain meds and muscle relaxers, and sent on my way. Less than one hour before two discs disintegrated, i got the same story. After my surgery, I spent years in varying degrees of pain. I received spinal injections 3 - 4 times annually to try to cope.
I now use oxy as prescribed by my doctor. It doesn't take away the pain, but makes it bearable. I follow the scrip to the letter and I am thankful that I have it. Chronic pain is no joke. It doesn't go away, it wakes you from sleep, it is present every second of every day, affects your loved ones and robs you of the joy of life. Maybe TP's death was accidental. Maybe it wasn't. I can assure you that anyone that has dealt with this issue for a period of time has considered all means of making it stop.