New York officials have released the conclusion of its toxicology report on the body of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and confirmed that he died of a “toxic mix” of drugs.
A spokesperson for the New York City medical examiner said on Friday, February 28, that the acclaimed actor died from a mix of heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, and benzodiazepines–the latter being drugs such as Librium.
When Hoffman was found unresponsive in his hotel room in New York on February 2, police found bags of heroin and several types of prescription drugs, as well as drug paraphernalia. He was found with a needle still stuck in his arm.
Authorities have ruled the death an accidental overdose.
In 2013, after leaving a detox center, Hoffman reportedly admitted to snorting heroin and taking prescription pills.
Upon his death, several media outlets garnered criticism for how they handled the actor’s death.
For one, the supermarket tabloid, National Enquirer, erroneously reported that Hoffman had a homosexual relationship with playwright David Bar Katz and had to apologize for its mischaracterization of the men’s relationship.
In another case, rapper Drake criticized Rolling Stone magazine for booting him from the February 27 cover, replacing him with an image of Hoffman.
Drake said he was “disgusted” with the magazine for replacing him with Hoffman for the issue. He went on to charge that “the press is evil.”
Finally, comedian Russell Brand opined that Hoffman’s death can be blamed on the war on drugs.
“If drugs are illegal people who use drugs are criminals,” Brand wrote. “We have set our moral compass on this erroneous premise, and we have strayed so far off course that the landscape we now inhabit provides us with no solutions and greatly increases the problem.”
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