Accidental Pill Overdose Killed Ledger

By AMY WESTFELDT
Associated Press Writer

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Statement from Heath Ledger's Father on Medical Examiner's Report (02/06/08)





NEW YORK (AP) -- Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs, the New York City medical examiner said Wednesday.

The cause of death was "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.

The drugs are the generic names for the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is a widely used prescription painkiller.

Borakove wouldn't say what concentrations of each drug were found in Ledger's blood, or whether one drug played a greater part than another in causing his death.

"What you're looking at here is the cumulative effects of these medications together," she said.

The ruling comes two weeks after the 28-year-old Australian-born actor was found dead in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment. Police found bottles of six types of prescription drugs in his bedroom and bathroom.

Ledger's family returned to the actor's hometown of Perth, Australia, on Tuesday to prepare for his funeral. Arrangements were private.

In a statement released through Ledger's publicist, the actor's father, Kim, said Wednesday: "While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."

Heath Ledger was discovered by his masseuse Jan. 22 after she arrived for an appointment that afternoon. She entered his bedroom to set up for the massage and found him unresponsive, and proceeded to call Mary-Kate Olsen three times over the next 9 minutes before dialing 911. Ledger had been dead for some time, and police say no foul play occurred.

Ledger, nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Brokeback Mountain," had returned to New York from London, where he had been filming a $30 million Terry Gilliam film, days before his death. He said in a November interview that his most recent completed roles in the Batman movie "The Dark Knight" and Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There" had taken a toll, saying he couldn't sleep.

"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told The New York Times. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He said he had taken two Ambien pills, which only gave him an hour of sleep.


http://breakingnews.nypost.com/dynamic/stories/H/HEATH_LEDGER?SITE=NYNYP&SECT...

Jeeeez...whatever happened to just plain good ole weed :)

What this shows, if nothing else, is how he was a true believer in doctors and the pharmaceutical industry...as most people are. There are vast numbers of people out there who are taking that many drugs...and more. They don't think twice about it.

I was watching Bowling for Columbine last night, and while MM made many good comments about why there is so much violence in our society, not once did he mention the use of perscription drugs (or recreational ones, for that matter).

Ledger supposedly had a history of substance abuse problems, if you believe what some of his friends who are willing to talk say. I don't buy into the notion that he was an innocent victim in all of this. He was a male in his late 20's who liked to party and get high. He was no dummy. I know males who abused pills at that age and all of them knew what they were getting into. With the exception of marijuana, any drug (legal or illegal) can cause an overdose. I certainly think that drug companies are scum and have to answer for the evil things they have done over the years (and continue to do) in a general sense, but when it comes to individuals such as these who od then I think the lions share of the blame needs to fall on the individual.