Ledger's Toxicology Results: Died From Acute Intoxication, Abuse Of Prescription Medications, Death Accidental

The NYC medical examiner finished Heath Ledger's toxicology report 15 days after he was found dead in his New York apartment. They ruled Ledger's death was caused by "acute intoxication" and abuse of prescription medications.

In a statement Ellen Borakave, spokesperson for Office of Chief Medical Examiner, confirms:

"Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine. We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."

The Feds says they will probe how Ledger obtained his many prescriptions:

"We are working with the NYPD to identify any illegally prescribed drugs that may have been prescribed to [Ledger]," Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Erin Mulvey tells PEOPLE, confirming news first reported by TVGuide.com on Wednesday.

TMZ reports :

The NYPD found five different medications in Ledger's apartment after his death, including anti-anxiety medications Alprazolam (Xanax), Diazepam (Valium) and Lorazepam (Ativan). The sleeping medication Zopiclone (Lunesta) and the sedative Temazepam (Restoril) -- which is used by people with "debilitating insomnia" -- were also found.

The autopsy two weeks ago was inconclusive.

Ledger's family has released a statement on the findings:

We remain humble as parents and a family, among millions of people worldwide who may have suffered the tragic loss of a child. Few can understand the hollow, wrenching, and enduring agony parents silently suffer when a child predeceases them. Today's results put an end to speculation, but our son's beautiful spirit and enduring memory will forever remain in our hearts.

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.

Our family enjoyed an extremely happy two week visit with Heath just prior to the New Year. Those recent precious days will stay with us forever. We as a family feel privileged to have some of his amazing magic moments captured in film. To most of the world Heath was an actor of immeasurable talent and promise. To those who knew him personally, Heath was a consummate artist whose passions also included photography, music, chess and directing. We knew Heath as a loving father, as our devoted son, and as a loyal and generous brother and friend.

We treasure our beautiful granddaughter Matilda (to our dear Michelle) as well as an unbelievably wonderful network of close friends, forever, around the world. Families rarely experience the uplifting, warm and massive outpouring of grief and support as have we, from every corner of the planet. This has deeply and profoundly touched our hearts and lives. We are eternally grateful.

At this moment we respectfully request the worldwide media allow us time to grieve privately, without the intrusions associated with press and photography.

Former fiancee Michelle Williams arrived in Perth with their daughter Matilda earlier today for Ledger's burial this weekend. His family returned home earlier this week.

Comments

[UltraClassic]

Live by the pill, die by the pill. He made his decisions in life and paid a heavy price.

Money does not bring happiness.

[gedankensindfrei]

Why do we not ask why someone would use drugs to such an extent? Why would a content person risk his health and even his life to numb his feelings and deceive himself and his body? In this article about Depression:
http://www.alice-miller.com/articles_en.php?lang=en&nid=55&grp=11
one can find the following quote: "The lives (and deaths) of all these successful stars indicate that depression is not a form of suffering that relates to the present, which after all has bestowed on them the fulfillment of all their dreams. Instead it is the suffering caused by the separation from one's own self, abandoned early on, never mourned for, and accordingly doomed to despair and death. It is as if the body used depression as a form of protest against this self-betrayal, against the lies and the dissociation of genuine feelings, because authentic feelings are something it cannot live without. It needs the free flow of emotions in constant flux: rage, grief, joy. If these are blocked by denial the body cannot function normally. People resort to all kinds of "remedies" to compel the body to function normally all the same: drugs, alcohol, nicotine, tablets, immersion in work. It is an attempt to avoid understanding the revolt of the body, to prevent ourselves from experiencing the fact that feelings will not kill us but, on the contrary, can free us from the prison we call depression."

[fredamae]

we trust our doctors, we trust our pharmacists. however, in the world of BigPharma, those med professionals are Not getting the whole story on the dangers of the drugs they prescribed.

More than 600,000 deaths are caused each and every year from Legal drugs, After taking them as directed.
106,000 from prescribed Pharma drugs
106,000 from alcohol
435,000 from tobacco
17,000 from OTC's and in comparison just 17,000 dead annually from ALL illegal drugs combined.

yes, this country is at war with drugs and the damage they cause, but we are in the wrong arena to combat the real issues and that is Legal drug use.

doctors are listed as the third leading cause of death in this country from unnecessary surgeries, infection introduced while in hospital and Adverse drug reaction, administered by health care professionals while IN hospital.
http://www.mamas.org/Images/HazardsMortality.pdf
http://www.naturodoc.com/library/public_health/doctors_cause_death.htm

don't be too quick to blame the victim.

[Rachel36]

This is not just a celebrity problem. When Prozac is showing up in our water supply who is to blame?

[NeverRepublican]

Gee, I don't want to offend anyone but I'm getting real tired of hearing about these muti-millionaires turning to drugs and being in a state of depression. And thier incredible talanet?...I know plenty of teachres who are talented and actually engauage with young folks on a daily basis to educated them. Yet they get crapped on. Please tell me how these entertainers touch anyone outside of seeing thier face on a screen. And what do they really do besides a few "appearances" in public?... they go back to the party.

These jack ass actors and actress's and other entertainers who get caught up in drugs are no more intitled to sympathy than any one who dies in the streets. Yet we get the 24-7 dose of guys like this and loosers like Spears and Lohan just enjoying the American drugged-dream. I have said it before...main-stream hollywood really sucks.

Hey...if the Huffington Post would continually post the names of the dead soldiers or the soldiers who are living in the streets and maybe the other dead people who get murdered in this country...we do lead the world in that category you know...maybe I'd have a better opinion about another well-off actor who decided his lavish life style was just too much to handle. But they don't...so I could really care less about some "high school level prom king" with a drug addiction and now living dead in a hole. Why not imprison the drug dealer Dr's? There's a start.

[ibivi]

I've heard a few stories that he was having psychological problems. His girlfriend tried to get him to get treatment but he refused. I feel sorry for his loved ones.

[angryoldman]

Doctors are only interested in providing expensive treatments to disease, well after the patient could have had a cheaper prophalactic intervention at an earlier stage of illness. Unfortunately, our current system of health care discourages preventative doctor visits.Drug companies and pharmacists don't give a rats ass about really helping sick people, yes, they only care about getting top dollar for the drugs they peddle.

[rollingdivision]

Poor guy, what a shame. There is a lesson in his death, drug deaths aren't only caused by illegal drugs but also by overdoses or combinations of doctor prescribed prescription drugs. Wonder if he had a single doctor who was aware of every drug he was taking?

[stacecoaster]

The lesson people is that Hollywood thinks we're so dumb to think this was accidental. How many drugs was in his system? The variety??? Looks like he was on this path for a long time. I am not blaming anyone... but please don't tell me that this was all sort of a mistake.

can me move on now? he was just an actor. not a true hero. let's mourn the men and women dying in iraq please?

[ellezeebub]

Frontline had an episode recently about medicated kids, one of whom died as a result of "acute intoxication." She was four years old, taking the doses prescribed to her. I know a number of people on a variety of anxiety and psychiatric medications, from children to the elderly. The side effects alone are troublesome, but none of these people think the drugs can actually kill them. Well, they can. I would have preferred to have better drug studies done and the negative findings released, than to have this kind of feedback on overmedication. The Ledgers lost a beloved child, but so did the parents of that four-year old. Let's be careful out there, and have a great deal of caution for any drug, maybe especially prescribed drugs, because we are not well advised of their danger.

[differnet]

Drugs and alcohol will take everything you love given a chance. Poor Mr. Ledger. It could happen to any of us.

[BlueBoomer]

Xanax has been available as a street drug for years, and is included on virtually EVERY pharmaceutical list of most dangerous Rx drugs.

Oxy seems to be in the same league.

It's a shame and a mess, but I'm not sure that there is any fool-proof way to avoid the problem or its consequences...

The only thing that could possibly be done is that everytime a Dr. prescribes a drug for someone, they must, beforehand, provide the patient with a 3-ply form where they indicate any and all other Rx drugs they are taking, as well as their average daily alcohol intake. The Dr. and patient would both sign it, with a copy going to the patient, one to the pharmacist and one retained by the prescribing doctor.

The patient should also be given a LEGIBLE (not infinitesimally small-print) copy of the contra-indications of the drug being prescribed, which they would also initial while still in the doctor's office.

Then, if the patient has interraction episodes and the info on the form suggests that he/she shouldn't have been prescribed the drugs, the doctor can be held liable...BUT, if the form shows that the patient lied on it (based on his/her tox screen), it's just a case of them being held accountable, albeit fatally, for their own actions.

...Because, when all is said and done, we are ALL responsible for ourselves, and unless there is mental deficiency involved, we need to face that fact and deal with it... For those who are just too weary with life to do that, then there is no reason why, barring risking the lives of dependent children, they shouldn't be allowed to make their exit on their own terms.

Life can be hard or not... sometimes of our own doing and sometimes not... We are not meant to live forever, but let's hope that we all strive to live and die as gracefully and as humanly as we possibly can.

[beekeeper]

IGNORANCE is truly bliss. People unless you are educated about the disease of addiction then don't post your preconceived notions because it is truly harmful, incorrect and just plain annoying.

[OhgReaTone]

The tragedy of Heath Ledger's death can reap the benefit of greater awareness of the pandemic illness sweeping out country.
Ohg
http://thefiresidepost.com/2007/11/02/pandemic-disease-test-and-immunize/

[GQTaste]

Look it, I'm addicted to hydrocodone and have been for eight years. Take up to twnety a day. But I never fucked around w/ mixing different drugs. Esp. booze. Maybe Soma, but rarely.


And I never mixed them w/ valium or zanax! Or sleeping medications. Part of me thinks he knew what the hell he was doing.