The Deadly Toll of Fentanyl: A Look at Celebrities Lost to Overdose

He fentanyl it is of recent creation; the first time it was synthesized was in 1959 by Paul Janssen and by 1968 it had already been approved in the United States with the intention of being used in medicine in 1968. However, in recent years the fentanyl has been placed as drug number 1 in causing overdose on US soil and the celebrities they have not been oblivious to it. Since 2003, the synthetic opioid has killed 17 celebrities.

It is important to mention that many of these celebritiesas well as ordinary citizens in the United States, suffered from overdose since they were unaware that the drugs they were consuming came adulterated/cut with fentanyl, which is 50 times stronger than heroin. These are some famous in which they detected overdose of fentanyl.

The representative of deceased rapper confirmed that Coolio’s death was due to an accidental overdose of fentanyl with heroin and methamphetamine. He was found dead on September 28, 2022 at age 59 at the home of a friend of his in Los Angeles. The rapper spent a long time in the bathroom, so his friend looked for him and found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. In the past, the rapper had abused drugs and faced an addiction to crack cocaine.

The iconic musician passed away on April 21, 2016 due to a overdose accidental de fentanyl at his residence in Minnesota. The opioid was one of many substances identified in counterfeit pills recovered from her home, especially some that were mislabeled as Watson 385, a combination of hydrocodone and acetaminophen.

The American rapper passed away on September 7, 2018 due to accidental poisoning by fentanyl and cocaine. Miller was found unconscious by his personal assistant who called 911 for quick help for a patient in cardiac arrest and tried to revive him by performing CPR until paramedics arrived. On September 4, 2019, Cameron James Pettit, 28, was arrested by the DEA on charges of trafficking in controlled substances for supplying Miller, two days before his death, with counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

Singer-songwriter Tom Petty died on October 2, 2017 after going into cardiac arrest due to a overdose accidental de fentanyl, among other medications. He was found in his house unconscious of him and not breathing. He was revived and taken to the hospital, where he died. He was reportedly treating “many serious ailments” including a broken hip.

The rapper Lil Peep, the actors Tyler Sander, Luke Bell and Michael K. Williams are other personalities who died due to a overdose of fentanyl. Tom Mezquino, Shock G, Fuquan Johnson, Daniel Mickelson and Bobby Brown Jr. are part of the list.

The first celebrity in which a overdose of fentanyl is American professional wrestler Anthony Durante, who died on September 25, 2003.

Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett, Slipknot bassist Paul Gray and Riley Gale, frontman for Texas metal band Power Trip, are other musicians killed by the fentanyl.