The pain medication Cory Monteith was prescribed for dental work may have affected his sobriety, his mother says.
In an interview published five years after the "Glee" star died in Vancouver, Ann McGregor told People he'd been on the meds in the weeks before.
He was in rehab in April 2013, but when he got out, he had dental work that she suspects affected his sobriety. He'd been given a lot of medication, she said.
The 31-year-old's body was found in a room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel on July 13, 2013.
An autopsy found traces of alcohol, morphine, codeine and heroin in his system. The BC Coroners Service found he had injected the drugs that contributed to his fatal overdose, and ruled the death as accidental.
The Calgary-born, Victoria-raised actor was open about his past substance abuse problems, having dropped out of high school and binged on drugs and alcohol on the street. His past spurred his involvement with youth-focused charities including a free theatre program for kids living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
In the interview with People, McGregor said her world stopped when her son died, and that she's still unable to pick up the pieces.
The single mother said he started drinking and smoking marijuana at 13, and had been to rehab twice by the age of 19.
"He was just always so curious. And the darker world just drew him in," she told a reporter at the U.S.-based magazine.
He was sober at times, but his mother said he'd admitted to using substances again seven months before his death.
"Drugs were his way of checking out," McGregor said.
