Coroner Confirms Cause of Death for Son of ‘Pawn Stars’ Star Rick Harrison

Rick Harrison poses during a photo call for the TV series "Pawn Stars" in Cannes, France, on Oct. 17, 2016. Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images

The cause of death for the son of “Pawn Stars” star Rick Harrison has been released, just over a month after his death.

The television personality’s son, Adam Harrison, died at a home in the Las Vegas area on Jan. 19 at the age of 39.

Family members, including his father, had previously told TMZ that the younger Harrison’s death was due to a fentanyl overdose and criticized the ongoing fentanyl crisis sweeping across the United States.

The Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner confirmed to multiple media outlets on Feb. 29 that Mr. Harrison’s death was indeed due to “fentanyl and methamphetamine toxicity,” USA Today reported.

The coroner also determined his death was accidental.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat acute pain. As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. It is also extremely addictive.

According to U.S. officials, an increasing number of Mexican cartels have been importing fentanyl from China before pressing it into pills or mixing it into other counterfeit pills made to look like Xanax, Adderall, or oxycodone. The drugs are then sold to unaware buyers in the United States.

Fentanyl Deaths Rising

From 2016 to 2021, drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl more than tripled across the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans between 18 and 45, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Mr. Adam Harrison was Mr. Rick Harrison’s second child with his ex-wife, Kim, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The former couple share another son, Corey Harrison, and Mr. Rick Harrison also shares a third son, Jake Harrison, with his second former wife, Tracy. He has three daughters named Sarina, Ciana, and Marissa, the outlet reported.

Mr. Adam Harrison was not featured on “Pawn Stars” but the show does feature Mr. Corey Harrison.

The long-running History Channel reality television series first debuted in 2009 and soon became a big hit with viewers. It centers on family relationships and business operations at the family-run Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas.

The show has aired for 22 seasons, with the latest season running from March to June 2023.

Biden’s Border Policies ‘Absolutely Ridiculous’

In an interview with Fox News Digital shortly after his son’s death, Mr. Harrison criticized the Biden administration’s “absolutely ridiculous” border policies and lambasted politicians for being “complicit” in the narcotic trafficking crisis and fentanyl deaths plaguing the nation.

“It’s insane because they’re letting it happen,” he said.

“I mean, we know where it’s all coming from. It’s all coming right across the border, and they won’t do anything about it. I mean, they’re doing nothing.”

Mr. Harrison also urged the government to do more to stop making fentanyl and other drugs “so cheap to get high.”

“Let’s start arresting the people selling it, arresting the people bringing it over the border, close down the border, make it really expensive. Let’s make a fentanyl death rare,” he said.

During the interview, Mr. Harrison also reflected on his son’s years-long struggle with drug addiction, noting that the last six months prior to his death were a “really bad downward spiral.”

“I’ve been dealing with this with him since he was, like, 20 years old,” he said. “It was a tough week. I mean, if I wasn’t screaming at a wall, I was, like, crying my eyes out.”

“It’s my boy,” the father added.

Bill Pan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.