Scott Weiland died of 'mixed drug toxicity,' says medical examiner

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Photo: Rich Fury/Invision/AP

Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland died of a mixed drug toxicity, the Hennepin County’s medical examiner’s office revealed on Friday.

Weiland, who died Dec. 3 while on tour with his band Wildabouts in Bloomington, Minnesota, had cocaine, alcohol, and MDA in his system. According to the examiner’s report, his death was accidental.

After his death, Bloomington police revealed they had found cocaine on the Wildabouts’ tour bus and they arrested bassist Tommy Black for possession. He was released on Dec. 5.

Weiland had a history with drug use and addiction, much of which was documented in his memoir Not Dead and Not For Sale. He left and came back to his bands many times primarily due to his substance abuse.

His ex-wife, Mary Forsberg Weiland, with whom he had two children, wrote an essay in Rolling Stone after his death and spoke about her experience with addiction. “Over the last few years, I could hear his sadness and confusion when he’d call me late into the night, often crying about his inability to separate himself from negative people and bad choices,” she wrote. “I won’t say he can rest now, or that he’s in a better place. He belongs with his children barbecuing in the backyard and waiting for a Notre Dame game to come on. We are angry and sad about this loss, but we are most devastated that he chose to give up.”

His bandmates also remembered Weiland in heartfelt statements. “Let us start by saying thank you for sharing your life with us,” members of Stone Temple Pilots wrote in a Facebook post. “Together we crafted a legacy of music that has given so many people happiness and great memories. The memories are many, and they run deep for us. We know amidst the good and the bad you struggled, time and time again. It’s what made you who you were. You were gifted beyond words, Scott. Part of that gift was part of your curse.”

In his last interview with EW, conducted this March in conjuction with the release of his Wildabouts album Blaster, Weiland spoke about his experience speaking with fans. “Usually they’ll just say that my music has helped them through a certain period of their life. That kind of thing,” he said. “That’s usually what I hear from fans.”

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