Michael Hastings Autopsy Report Finds Meth in His System

(Getty)

(Getty)

The coroner report for the autopsy of journalist Michael Hastings found traces of methamphetamine in his system at the time of death, along with a number of skull and body bone fractures. The document claims that the substance was taken “many hours before death.”

michael hastings coroner report

According to the Hills Treatment Center, it takes roughly 10 hours for half the dose of meth to flush out of the user’s system. For a moderate user, it could take two to five days for all traces of the drug to leave the body.

According to the LA Times, Hastings had been off drugs for 14 years until recently, when he began using again. Authorities also found a medical marijuana card in his wallet, which he was prescribed for post-traumatic stress from his time reporting in war zones overseas. Hastings had just arrived in Los Angeles from New York. His family was expecting him to check into a detox center in the days following the accident.

On June 30, 2013, Hastings died in a fiery car crash while driving through Hollywood. The 33-year-old Hastings was an infamous thorn in the side of the Obama administration when, in 2010, he exposed the scandal that led to the firing of General Stanley McChrystal as America’s top commander in Afghanistan.

His recent work on the CIA and the NSA have led to some serious speculation about his untimely and mysterious death, sparking the interest of conspiracy theorists.

Here is the coroner’s report: