Launched in 2013, the harris project is a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention and treatment of co-occurring disorders (COD) — the combination of mental health challenges and substance use issues. Us Weekly has partnered with the harris project to bring you The Missing Issue, a special edition focusing on the stories of celebrities who struggled with COD. Here, we’re revisiting our past coverage of some of those stars.
This story ran on usmagazine.com on June 10, 2022:
ORIGINAL STORY: TikTok Star Cooper Noriega Dead: Social Media Star Died at Age 19 Days After Chilling Video
[Read the full original story.]
NEW STORY: TikTok Star Cooper Noriega Died of Fentanyl Poisoning After Struggling with Co-Occurring Disorders
TikTok star Cooper Noriega was found dead in a Burbank, California, parking lot on June 9, 2022, less than three weeks before his 20th birthday. Six months later, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined that Noriega died of the “combined effects” of alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders) and fentanyl. The medical examiner also noted “recent clonazepam use” — a medication known as Klonopin, which is also used to treat anxiety — as a “significant condition,” according to NBC News. At that time, his death was ruled an accidental overdose but is now being prosecuted as poisoning from fentanyl.
The investigation into his death and report from the medical examiner confirmed what Noriega had expressed to his more than 1.7 million followers – he was struggling with mental health challenges. The medications found in his system indicate that he was trying to cope with his anxiety with prescription drugs. In November 2023, six suspects were charged with multiple crimes, including money laundering, the distribution of a controlled substance, and distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death by a “fatal fentanyl overdose” according to federal prosecutors. Noriega’s parents, Harold and Treva, and sister, Parker, wrote in a Nov. 22, 2023, Instagram post of their gratitude for the “incredible work” that led to the arrests of the individuals “responsible for the death of our beautiful boy, Cooper Noriega, from fentanyl poisoning.” Multiple suspects are expected to face trial in August 2025.
Noriega — and his family — knew he was struggling and while not calling it by name, he often shared his awareness of co-occurring disorders as he talked about substance misuse, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, as well as at least one attempt to die by suicide. His parents sent him to treatment programs, and he revealed details of what he found helpful and what he believed was detrimental to his recovery.
Highlights of his journey through co-occurring disorders shine a new light on what the model and influencer was going through.
He Survived a Previous Suicide Attempt and Wanted to Open a Rehab
He publicly shared that his struggles had led to his suicide attempt, but that he had found his way to sobriety, posting via X in January 2021: “90 days clean!! [It’s] been hard but so much beauty during this process, its also crazy that [four] months ago [I] was at such a low point, I had a deadly overdose/suicide attempt on fent[anyl], when I stopped breathing and was rushed to the ER, luckily, someone found me before it was [too] late :).”
Noriega revealed on a February 2022 episode of “The Good Boys” podcast that he was taken to a wilderness therapy program followed by a stay at a residential therapy facility when he was around 15 years old and that a fear of flying led to his being prescribed Xanax as a child.
By 13, he was smoking marijuana, and by 14 “it was really bad,” he said. After an overdose at age 15, he said, he was watching a SpongeBob Squarepants episode in his mother’s room when men barged in and “dragged my ass to Utah.” Though he was initially petrified and “had a mental breakdown, after a few months at the wilderness camp, he felt like he wanted to “do better,” and that it “helped a lot.”
But his experience at residential rehab erased the months of progress he’d made, he said. He claims that drugs were being misused inside the facility without repercussions and that some staff members were not helpful and were “corrupt” in his opinion. When he was released from the facility, “I did more drugs than ever,” he said.
In the days before his death, he talked about opening his own rehabilitation facility — a place where others could openly discuss their own struggles with mental health safely — and expressed that he wanted to make sure staffers at his center were trustworthy.
Noriega wanted others struggling with mental health challenges to know they were not alone. He created a communications channel he described as “Discord for mental health strictly.” He shared his plans in a June 2022 Instagram post, writing, “One of the many things I’ve learned while struggling with addiction was that surrounding yourself with negative people will only bring you down. For that reason, this discord is meant to bring us all together and create a safe space where people can vent and help others through their tough times.”
Finding Strength and a ‘Moment of Clarity’
At age 18, Noriega had a particularly “crazy week of drugs,” and was taking Xanax, cocaine, ketamine and various opioids, he said during his “The Good Boys” podcast interview. “It was so bad.”
A “moment of clarity” made him realize that he needed to stop. “I couldn’t do it for myself,” he said. “I have to do it for my mom and dad.”
Noriega decided to go “cold turkey” and told podcast hosts Toddy Smith and Brett Bassock that he was completely clean. “It’s been a long time since I touched any hard drugs,” he said. “I learned how to be in tune with my emotions. My emotional intelligence is good for a 19-year-old.”
An Ongoing Legacy
Noriega’s family continue to support the Discord channel he created – Coop’s Advice Discord – and launched the podcast “Coop’s Advice Podcast,” which has over six thousand YouTube subscribers. Harold and Treva Noriega were filmed in a podcast episode talking about their son and the need for more mental health advocacy and support.
“He was so silly and so funny,” his mother Treva said. “He laughed all the time.” Asked a question about whether or not there was enough support for mental health treatment, she and Noriega’s father both said an emphatic “No.”
“When you have some type of physical issue, we go to the doctor, or a specialist,” Noriega’s father, Harold, said. “And with mental health, it’s still stigmatized. We grieve differently, we suffer differently, we all have different mental health issues. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. A ton.”
“[Cooper’s] message was: ‘It’s OK to feel these feelings.’ We are bringing more resources to the Discord [channel]. We want more resources to help people who suffer from mental health [issues] and addiction. If we…can help just one kid, it’s a success.”
Drawing attention to the issues of mental health and substance use — co-occurring disorders — is imperative, the Noriegas said. “This is an epidemic,” Treva said. “Everyone should be screaming.”
Giving others hope through their son’s memory is their focus. “Cooper’s life could have been saved… the next day, he could have recovered,” Harold said. “You don’t know.”
To purchase The Missing Issue for $8.99 go to https://magazineshop.us/harrisproject.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health and/or substance use, you are not alone. Seek immediate intervention — call 911 for medical attention; 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; or 1-800-662-HELP for the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Helpline. Carrying naloxone (Narcan) can help reverse an opioid overdose.
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