Michael Jackson - Jackson 'Had Heroin Substitute'

Cops searching MICHAEL JACKSON's home found a bottle of the heroin substitute methadone, according to a new report.

The Thriller hitmaker's rented property in Holmby Hills, California was awash with prescription drugs - including six other types of super-strength painkillers, a batch of sedatives, and potent sleeping pills.

A total of 20 different kinds of prescription medication were recovered from the property after Jackson died last Thursday (25Jun09) - but the revelation that methadone was among them will stun fans.

The green liquid is used to help wean junkies off heroin by mimicking the effects of the drug and easing withdrawal symptoms.

And in a shocking new development, police in Los Angeles are reportedly considering launching a manslaughter investigation amid fears aides obtained medication for Jackson without any regard for his safety.

A source tells U.K. tabloid The Sun, "The Jackson mansion was more like a drugstore than someone's home... Powerful narcotic painkillers of all kinds were found. There was no reasonable excuse for them all being there... Police want to know whether the other people named on the medicine labels really needed the drugs prescribed to them and will be speaking to the doctors involved."

The unnamed source added: "Officers are looking very seriously at the people surrounding Michael Jackson and whether they behaved responsibly."