Did toxicology report list fentanyl and methamphetamine in George Floyd's system and what were the levels?
Executive summary
The official toxicology results made public after George Floyd’s death did list fentanyl and methamphetamine in his blood: fentanyl 11 nanograms per milliliter, its metabolite norfentanyl 5.6 ng/mL, and methamphetamine 19 ng/mL, with other reports noting THC as well [1] [2] [3]. Multiple medical and trial experts testified that those measured concentrations, taken together with other medical findings and the circumstances of restraint, did not constitute proof that an overdose caused Floyd’s death [1] [4] [5].
1. What the toxicology actually reported — the numbers and lab sources
The numbers cited in public records and reporting come from the NMS Labs toxicology screen and the Hennepin County autopsy: fentanyl 11 ng/mL, norfentanyl 5.6 ng/mL, and methamphetamine 19 ng/mL; some reporting also documents THC detected at roughly 2.9 ng/mL in post-mortem testing [1] [2] [3]. These figures were introduced into the public record with the consent of Floyd’s family and appeared in the autopsy file released in June 2020 [1] [5].
2. How experts interpreted those levels at trial and in analysis
Forensic toxicologists who reviewed the data testified that the concentrations were neither uniformly lethal nor dispositive on their own: an expert from the testing lab said fentanyl and methamphetamine levels found in Floyd were lower than levels commonly seen in living drivers arrested for intoxicated driving, and that metabolite patterns suggested some fentanyl had already begun to metabolize [6] [7]. Dr. Daniel Isenschmid testified that fentanyl effects vary by user tolerance, and that the norfentanyl-to-fentanyl pattern did not match a classic acute fatal fentanyl overdose [6].
3. The coroner’s finding and why toxicology didn’t settle cause of death
Hennepin County’s medical examiner listed “fentanyl intoxication” and “recent methamphetamine use” among conditions present but concluded the manner was homicide — cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained — rather than declaring drugs the direct cause of death [4] [5]. Independent experts and the family’s commissioned autopsy likewise found restraint and lack of oxygen central to the death, and noted that toxicology alone cannot account for mechanical asphyxia from sustained restraint [4] [5].
4. Disputes, courtroom strategy, and misinformation dynamics
Defense attorneys emphasized the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine to argue overdose as a primary cause, while prosecutors and multiple experts pushed back, arguing drug levels and observed behavior were inconsistent with an incapacitating overdose; jurors ultimately convicted Derek Chauvin [2] [6] [1]. In the public sphere the fentanyl figure became a flashpoint for competing narratives — amplified by commentators who framed the toxicology as proof of overdose despite autopsy conclusions and expert testimony to the contrary — a dynamic documented by outlets tracking misinformation [4] [8].
5. Technical caveats that matter for interpreting post‑mortem drug levels
Post‑mortem toxicology has well-known limits: blood concentrations can change after death (post‑mortem redistribution), metabolite ratios complicate timing in relation to impairment, and individual tolerance to opioids alters the clinical effect of a given concentration — all points observers raised when placing Floyd’s 11 ng/mL fentanyl and 19 ng/mL methamphetamine into clinical context [3] [6]. Several experts noted that people with opioid tolerance can have higher fentanyl levels without fatal respiratory depression, while newer users may be more vulnerable; this uncertainty is why the presence and levels of drugs did not, by themselves, resolve the question of cause [6] [3].
6. Bottom line: what the toxicology proves and what it does not
The toxicology unequivocally listed fentanyl and methamphetamine and reported the numeric concentrations (fentanyl 11 ng/mL, norfentanyl 5.6 ng/mL, methamphetamine 19 ng/mL) [1] [2]. It does not, however, prove that an overdose was the primary or sole cause of death; medical examiners, trial testimony, and subsequent analyses placed restraint-related oxygen deprivation at the center of the cause of death while treating the detected drugs as contributing or concomitant conditions rather than definitive causes [4] [5] [1].