Heath Ledger’s Death Seen as Caution on Prescription Drugs

Heath Ledger’s father and others are casting the death of the young actor as a warning about the dangers of prescription drug use.

Reacting to the New York medical examiner’s ruling that Ledger, 28, died of an accidental overdose of multiple painkillers and sedatives, the actor’s father, Kim Ledger, said, “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.”

The elder Ledger’s comments were reported by the Associated Press on Feb. 7. Ledger died in his New York hotel room on Jan. 22.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is looking into how Ledger acquired such a large quantity of prescription drugs, the Boston Herald reported Feb. 7. “We are working with the NYPD to identify any illegally prescribed drugs that may have been prescribed to Ledger,” said DEA spokesman Erin Mulvey.

Toxicology reports found that Ledger died from “acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine.”