Michael Hastings Had Relapsed Into Drug Use At Time Of His Death, Coroner Says

[MADem]

4. I had heard that rumor, but I was prepared to wait for some responsible confirmation of it.

When his wife didn't jump on the "TPTB Done Did It" conspiracy bandwagon, like a few folks did, I was pretty certain that it was either something mechanical or a slip back into his old ways.

That meth is a helluva drug.

His trouble started up again when he made the decision to work for Buzzfeed and move to the west coast--he should have stayed in the east. A real shame....about the only saving grace is that he died very quickly, he didn't suffer.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-michael-hastings-meth-coroner-20130820,0,5038230.story

Hastings had arrived in Los Angeles from New York the day before the accident, with his brother scheduled to arrive later the day of the crash "as his family was attempting to get [Hastings] to go to detox," the report stated.

Hastings was believed sober for 14 years, but had recently begun using drugs again in the past month or so, according to the coroner's office, based on interviews with family members.

A medical marijuana card was found in Hastings wallet and had been prescribed for treatment of post-traumatic stress resulting from his time as a war journalist in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hours before the crash, Hastings had last been seen by one witness "passed out" sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. The crash occurred just before 5 a.m.