I keep reading that his death was caused by an ACCIDENTAL overdose???
He had oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine in his system. The drugs are the generic names for the OxyContin painkiller, the anti-anxiety drug Valium, Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is another name for Vicodin.
Is it me or does that NOT seem like its an accident?! Who takes all that crap and thinks they're going to be fine?? I call BS on accidental. Thats just too many pills for one person.
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Comments: 42
Also keep in mind that all the drugs listed stay in your system long after the intended effect has worn off. For instance, if he took a Valium on Monday and a Xanax on Tuesday, there would still be some Valium in his system which would increase the effect of the Xanax.
However, the presence of multiple opioid painkillers just doesn't make sense. Had he recently broken a bone or had surgery? You simply don't take strong pain meds for insomnia or anxiety, especially on top of meds that treat those conditions. That part of the cocktail may well have been "recreational" rather than therapeutic. All in all, I still think that the absence of a suicide note or final phone calls strongly suggests that his death was accidental rather than intentional.
"Hydrocodone and oxycodone are painkillers. Diazepam is an anti-anxiety drug commonly sold under the brand name Valium; alprazolam is also an anti-anxiety drug, sold under such names as Xanax. Temazepam, sold under such names as Restoril and Euhypnos, is a sleeping agent, as is doxylamine." -- CNN
They are usually good about telling intent or lack there of.
From the New York Times: Ledger's father is quoted:
" 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."
I think he was simply seeking relief from his suffering rather than the euphoria of a high.
One of the most common reasons for getting loaded.
It's easy to do things that judgmental people think are silly when you're impaired. The 2 opiates and 2 strong anti-anxiety meds are possible indicators of doctor shopping. They could also mean that some were older prescriptions. Regardless it hardly matters whether or not Ledger was a polydrug kind of guy. I don't see why it matters whether he killed himself or made a mistake. He's a human being and he's dead.
I can't see celebrity deaths as more important than the deaths of the people in the death notice (not obituary) section of the paper. They're all human beings and they all died. They probably left people behind who are sad.
Check out what's going on with this guy. He's a coroner. In fact he is a world-renowned expert in forensic pathology. He's also human and as capable as anyone of being a selfish manipulative bastard.
Of course, Dr. Wecht had nothing to do with Mr. Ledger's autopsy, but, in response to your question, some people lie, cheat & steal to get ahead - including some coroners.
As several people have posted above, prescription drug overdose can happen to anyone that takes some of these very potent drugs. This particular death is no less tragic than any other, but the loss is felt by more people by virtue of Ledger's talent & fame.
I suspect that he had a longterm sleeping problem and should have gotten professional help to resolve the issue. Just taking more and more sleeping medicine is never a solution. As big a star as he was, there's no reason he couldn't have afforded a sleep specialist.
No doubt he felt the need to be alert on the job and reasoned that the only way to accomplish that was to always get plenty of sleep at night. Thus, it would be unacceptable for it to take a long time to "drift off".
He had a really promising career ahead of him, or at least it looked that way. That makes his early demise all that much worse.