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Michael Hastings Autopsy Shows Drug Use Hours Before Accident

 Michael Hastings participates in the Guardian's
Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images

Runaway General” reporter Michael Hastings, who was killed in a fiery car wreck in June, giving way to outlandish and persistent conspiracy theories, died almost instantly after suffering “traumatic injuries,” the Los Angeles coroner’s office announced today. According to toxicology, the BuzzFeed journalist had “a small amount of amphetamine in the blood, consistent with possible intake of methamphetamine many hours before death, unlikely to have an intoxicative effect at the time of accident. Marijuana was present in the blood … indicating intake hours earlier.”

According to the full autopsy, as obtained by the L.A. Times, Hastings “was believed as ‘sober’ for about the past 14 years,” but his family thought him to be “currently using DMT (hallucinogenic),” as well as medical marijuana, prescribed for PTSD after his time as a war journalist. Hastings’s family was due to arrive in town in hopes of getting him “to go to detox.”

Before his death, the reporter told colleagues he was concerned he was under investigation by the FBI, which has denied Hastings was ever being watched.

Michael Hastings Autopsy Shows Drug Use