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The unmistakable Nirvana frontman was found dead aged 27 after a supposed self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in 1994.

Since then conspiracies have surrounded the official story, with commentators suggesting the investigation was covered up by cops and the CIA.

Today marks the 24th anniversary of the star's death.

Now author John Potash has revealed Cobain’s heavily-publicised addiction to heroin and subsequent death may have been down to America’s secret service.

In his book Drugs as Weapons Against Us, Potash claims Cobain was among a group of legendary musicians – including John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Tupac – targeted by the CIA to stop a leftist ideology spreading through the US using music and entertainment.

(Image: GETTY)

Cobain became a household name worldwide following the release of his band’s second album Nevermind in 1991.

Nirvana’s dramatic ascent to chart dominance was helped by extensive radio and MTV airplay of smash hit Smells Like Teen Spirit and singles Lithium, In Bloom and Come As You Are.

It transformed Cobain into a wealthy – and unlikely – rock star.

And its success led to the release of follow-up album In Utero in 1993.

But it is widely reported Cobain became disillusioned with fame and wealth during this period – and his heroin addiction spiralled out of control.

(Image: GETTY) (Image: GETTY)

Cobain, who married Courtney Love with whom he had a child with, is said to have committed suicide at his home in Lake Washington Boulevard on April 5, 1994.

His body was discovered by an electrician three days later.

However, Potash’s book puts forward a different scenario – and portrays Cobain as a figure who had no intention of falling into a world of helpless addiction and eventual suicide.

The book reveals Cobain once described drugs as “a waste of time”, that “destroy your memory and your self respect and everything that goes along with your self-esteem”.

Potash’s startling research claims Cobain was an anarchist who wanted to include left-wing ideas in his work – and those running America didn’t like it.

(Image: GETTY)

In Michael Azzerad's book Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana – which was published just before Cobain’s death – it’s suggested Cobain wanted to include “revolutionary debris” and “all kinds of anarchistic” material into Nevermind’s sleeve notes, which came without a lyric sheet.

The book also alleges Cobain wanted to include “diagrams about how to make your own bomb” within Nevermind's notes but decided against it due to the band’s relatively low popularity at the time of its release.

Nirvana was named as one of the most influential bands of the 1990s by huge publications like Rolling Stone and Spin, adding to the widespread appeal of the trio towards America’s youth.

Yet Potash says heroin became a big problem among the grunge scene of Seattle in the early 1990s, and its usage was promoted by the CIA.

Cobain’s political leanings was channeled into his art, according to the book.

(Image: GETTY)

Nevermind’s cover featured a baby submerged in water following a dollar bill attached to a fishing hook.

In Utero, which was banned by major US stores, supposedly featured sculptures of foetuses on its cover and contained pictures of the burnt-out Los Angeles Republican Party headquarters following the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.

And in Nirvana’s first biography, Cobain revealed Lithium updated Communist Manifest author Karl Marx’s statement on religion as the opiate of the masses.

Potash writes: “Not everyone was aware of Kurt Cobain’s left-wing political passions. Michael Azzerad published a biography of the band, Come as You Are, six months before Cobain’s death, revealing Cobain’s politics ranged from pro-Democrat to radical anarchist.”

The book alleges the CIA may have used a globally popular Cobain as a poster boy of “heroin chic” to suppress the spread of leftism but took ultimate action when the frontman started to get sober.

Potash adds: “Evidence suggests that, unknown to Cobain, US intelligence used him to promote heroin use, similar to the way US intelligence and media assets helped promote acid in the 1960s.

“Suppressed evidence indicates that US intelligence helped orchestrate Cobain’s murder due to his anti-materialistic, radical leftist politics, along with his implicit threat to promote sobriety when he stopped using drugs.

“Cobain’s heroin use, amongst others’, helped popularise the drug for many Americans. Movies that featured white people using heroin began to appear in the 1990s, including Trainspotting, Permanent Midnight, the Basketball Diaries, and the Academy Award-winning Pulp Fiction.

“The fashion industry popularised ‘heroin chic’. Overall, the rate of long-term heroin users increased almost ten percent annually from 1990 to 1995.

“A heroin-using Kurt Cobain helped popularise this trend. A sober Cobain might have turned the trend around, while also turning many onto radical left politics.”

The book also touches upon the controversy surrounding Cobain’s alleged suicide note, highlighting a suspected change in handwriting style towards the end of the letter.

It is evidence, Potash writes, that concerned investigators within the Seattle Police Department, adding: “A source officer said 'the clincher for many of us was the note. Anyone who saw it thought it was strange.'"

Daily Star Online has contacted the CIA with these claims for comment.

Drugs as Weapons Against Us is out now and available on Google Play.