Riley Gale , vocalist for the thrash metal band Power Trip , passed away on August 24th of last year, from causes that were unknown until this Tuesday, the 25th. According to Rolling Stone , Riley's autopsy indicates that the musician died from an overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid stronger than morphine.
According to the autopsy, Riley died of pulmonary edema caused by excess fluid in the lungs, a result of the effects of fentanyl. The death was classified as accidental.
The official report also indicates that the vocalist presented with depression and a history of Alprazolam abuse, an anxiolytic known as Frontal in Brazil and Xanax in the US.
The amount of fentanyl found in Riley's blood was 22.5 ng/mL. According to information from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction , the recommended dose is 1 to 2 ng/mL, and for anesthetic effect it is 10 to 20 ng/mL, still far below the concentration found in Riley.
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