How did fentanyl and methamphetamine factor into the toxicology report for George Floyd?
Executive summary
The toxicology attached to George Floyd’s autopsy showed fentanyl (11 ng/mL), its metabolite norfentanyl (5.6 ng/mL), and methamphetamine (19 ng/mL), along with cannabinoids, and the Hennepin County report listed “fentanyl intoxication” and “recent methamphetamine use” as “other significant conditions” but did not attribute death to an overdose [1] [2]. Medical experts, prosecutors and the county medical examiner concluded Floyd’s death was a homicide from cardiopulmonary arrest during restraint, while the defense pushed a competing narrative that the drug levels were primary contributors [3] [1] [4].
1. What the toxicology actually recorded: numbers and metabolites
Post‑mortem testing made public by prosecutors and later summarized in reporting shows a fentanyl concentration of roughly 11 nanograms per milliliter, norfentanyl at about 5.6 ng/mL, and methamphetamine at about 19 ng/mL; tests also detected cannabinoids [1] [5] [6]. Those figures—absolute laboratory results—became central evidence in court and the public debate because they are concrete and headline‑friendly, but numbers alone do not answer how those drugs influenced the cascade of events that killed Floyd [7] [1].
2. How the medical examiner framed those findings
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner listed fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use among “other significant conditions,” but the official cause of death was ruled a homicide from cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement, with contributing factors that included neck compression and underlying heart disease—not a primary opioid or stimulant overdose [2] [3]. The report thereby recognized drug exposure as relevant background information without assigning it as the direct mechanism of death [3].
3. Expert testimony and forensic nuance: tolerance, metabolites and context
Forensic experts who testified or were cited during the Chauvin proceedings stressed that fentanyl/norfentanyl ratios and the presence of metabolites can indicate timing and tolerance: the norfentanyl suggested some metabolism had occurred, which experts said made a classic lethal fentanyl overdose less likely, and toxicologists testified that the methamphetamine level was similar to amounts seen in living suspects stopped for impaired driving—not necessarily a fatal stimulant overdose [8] [1]. Experts also warned that the same concentration of fentanyl can affect people differently depending on opioid tolerance, comorbidities and the stress of restraint, meaning that laboratory concentrations are only one piece of a complex physiological puzzle [8] [9].
4. The defense narrative vs. the broader medical consensus
Derek Chauvin’s defense argued that Floyd’s combination of fentanyl and methamphetamine—what they characterized as a “speedball”—along with preexisting heart disease and sickle cell trait, could explain his collapse and death, and they used the toxicology to press that case [4]. Prosecutors, independent toxicologists and the county examiner countered that the videotaped restraint, physical compression and resulting lack of oxygen were the decisive causes, and jurors ultimately convicted Chauvin; subsequent fact‑checks and mainstream outlets rejected claims that the toxicology showed a fatal overdose as the primary cause [10] [1] [3].
5. How the toxicology has been used in public debate and misinformation
The specific fentanyl and methamphetamine numbers, stripped of context, have powered persistent misinformation and political narratives claiming Floyd “died of a drug overdose,” with cable hosts and online influencers amplifying that frame despite the medical examiner’s homicide ruling and expert testimony to the contrary [2] [11]. Fact‑checking organizations and major outlets have repeatedly emphasized that while drugs were present, the available public evidence does not support overturning the conclusion that law enforcement restraint was the main cause of death [1] [12] [3].