Rick Harrison continued addressing the opioid epidemic nearly two weeks after his son, Adam Harrison, died of a fentanyl overdose in Las Vegas.
“Fentanyl turned my son into someone he wasn’t, and that brought with it bad decisions and spending time in jail,” Harrison told Fox News Digital.
In an incident report obtained by the New York Post, Adam had reportedly been behind bars for months before moving into a guesthouse in the Las Vegas area, where he was found dead Jan. 19.
Adam Harrison, “Pawn Stars” TV personality Rick Harrison’s son, died of a fentanyl overdose. He was 39. (Rick Harrison/Instagram)
“Yes, I can confirm Adam died from a fentanyl overdose,” Rick told Fox News Digital this week. “The fentanyl crisis in this country must be taken more seriously. It seems it is just flowing over the borders and nothing is being done about it. We must do better.”
Adam was living in the guesthouse for two weeks before his death, according to the report. A woman who lived in an RV between the main house and the guesthouse told police he “demonstrated some alarming behavior, including barricading himself in the house by pushing furniture against the house.”
‘PAWN STARS’ RICK HARRISON’S SON ADAM DEAD AT 39
The incident report said “his conversations were often lacking sound reasoning and mental clarity.”
In the report, the woman claimed Adam gave himself two black eyes upon learning that a person, whose name had been redacted from the report, had a new boyfriend.
Harrison owns and operates the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. (Ronda Churchill)
He was last seen Jan. 17, according to the outlet. A woman renting the main house became concerned when Adam didn’t answer the door after she knocked multiple times. She reportedly found a message from Adam on Facebook saying he was sick and would quarantine.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
On Jan. 19, the woman contacted the landlord, who went into the guesthouse and found Adam unresponsive in bed.
Police reportedly found “two vials of a redacted substance next to the mattress,” in addition to “foil with an unknown pill, lighters and narcotic paraphernalia straws.”
The Las Vegas Metro Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for more information.
“Pawn Stars” debuted in 2009 on the History Channel. (Boston Globe)
The Drug Enforcement Agency lists fentanyl as a Schedule II controlled substance “that is similar to morphine but about 100 times more potent” and notes two milligrams (less than a grain of salt) of the synthetic opioid can be lethal depending on a person’s body size.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl, rose 55.6% from January 2020 to 2021 and appear to be the primary driver of the increase in overdose deaths.
Adam was Rick’s second child with his ex-wife Kim. Rick and Kim also have a son, Corey, who is featured on “Pawn Stars.” Rick remarried and has a son, Jake, with his second wife, Tracy.
While Adam was not featured on “Pawn Stars,” he reportedly worked at the shop and in the family business.
“Pawn Stars” debuted in 2009 and is the No. 2 reality show on television behind “Jersey Shore.” The premiere date for season 23 has yet to be released.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital’s Larry Fink contributed to this report.
