London, Aug 19 - In a bid to obtain powerful prescription drugs, Michael Jackson banged his head and hurt himself before his death in June, media reports say.

The pop music icon, who died June 25 after a cardiac arrest, was said to have been so desperate to fuel his addiction that he harmed himself to convince doctors to give him medication that included the strong pain killer Demerol, reports contactmusic.com.

'LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) detectives have interviewed some 30-35 witnesses so far, and it has come to light that Jackson was prone to self-harming. He'd bang his head against the wall, hit his fists and arms against furniture, anything to cause a cut or a bruise.