Docs Cleared By Feds in Ledger Investigation

16. Whatever he was on, regardless of who prescribed it, it was up to him take the dosages prescribed. There's labels on medications saying just that. Doctor's ask patients what med there taking specifically for the reason that some meds
can not be taken together. If he mislead Doctors or Doctor shopped for pills .... well look what happened....don't need to
say anymore.

Posted at 3:11PM on Feb 29th 2008 by jb

17. 5 Jami

I am not positive about England but I do know that Scotland and Ireland do not have vicodin, so he didn't get it there.


Posted at 11:23AM on Feb 29th 2008 by Diana
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I wasn't talking about the vicodin or oxycontin. The benzos he had were prescribed in England, I believe. There is no dispute where the vicodin and oxy were prescribed - as far as I can tell, since the tmz post states that doctors in Texas and Los Angeles-- but he did NOT die from those drugs alone and there is no proof those doctors did anything wrong..but.he had benzos in his system, too.

I don't think the coroner ever said that any one of the drugs is what killed him. It was the combination of the drugs. Here is the exact quote the chief medical examiner gave about the cause of death:

"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,"

diazepam = valium (a benzo), alprazolam = xanax (benzo), temazepam = restoril (benzo) and then doxylamine is an anti-histamine.

He had three benzos in his system plus a prescribed anti-histamine (in addition to the vicodin and oxy). It was the combo of ALL the drugs that led to his death. It was reported in the press that he got the benzos in England. Obviously, he doctor shopped if he got meds in England, Houston and Los Angeles.

Posted at 2:24PM on Feb 29th 2008 by Jami

18. Kudos to #16. Finally, the voice of reason surfaces. You made so many valid points and presented them in a very civilized manner. Thanks! Perhaps now people will just let go of all their ill will towards Heath and allow the man to rest in peace. He was a great actor and will be remembered by future generations for the genius of his body of work, not judged for the way that he died. Just like Elvis is remembered for his music and not maligned for dying of a drug overdose while sitting on the toilet.

Posted at 7:55PM on Feb 29th 2008 by Whitewing

19. It is very easy for Doctors to cover up stuff like this. I should know, I work for them. Everyone lies, especially the press, so people should just back off and let Heath rest in peace. He was a person just like everyone else!

Posted at 9:51PM on Feb 29th 2008 by Harriet

20. DEA had no business investigating those doctors. A famous person abused drugs and died. Heath Ledger took the drugs, who cares where he got them. Why does DEA go after medical doctors? Stay out of the doctor's office DEA.

Posted at 8:12PM on Feb 29th 2008 by toomanydoggies

21. Brad Refro was a true actor and no one talks about how gifted he was. And here's everyone talking about a no talet just like britney spears dirt bag. Whats is wrong with the world? People now and day consider idiots like puff daddy and kayne (or whatever his name is) true talent. yet there music says nothing other than the usual "Uh, Uh, yeah, yeah yeah come on, yeah, uh, uh yeah, yeah". And Booooom 2 million records sold. Does this mean the coming generations headed for the stone age.

Posted at 5:47AM on Mar 2nd 2008 by critic

22. I think one of the major reasons the DEA is investagating is heath is a public figure but also he had a pill bottle from a doctor...they are cracking down on meds being sold on the internet...most of it being diet pills and pain pills and we heard of chris b the wrestler being able to purchace massive amounts of steroids pain pills and growth hormones enough to choke a stable of horses...perhaps they saw this as a good opportunity to stop the doctor and or pharmacy from giving one more mass dose to someone else or they saw a huge red flag when they saw oxycontin bottle in his apt...no healthy male takes that kind of medication..Heath had issues and his baby ma ma left for that reason not wanting to raise her child under the roof of a man who was hell bent on self destruction...love isnt enough,....a addict is a addict no matter if they live on the upper east side or in harlem...he was playing doctor to himself ..he also moved in the same circles as the party crowd....no doctor in thier right mind would give oxycontin to a seemingly health male...the drug is reserved for severe pain such as the bone pain cancer patients endure...heaths death is a horribly sad ...he was a talented person but he also was a sad person who couldnt seem to free himself from whatever demons where on his back...He just didnt think that each time he self medicated he put more distance between himself and his child and the one woman who loved him so completely...she loved him enough to say I wont live this way and moved out but he couldnt free himself from the not so merry merry go round of medications that took over and took his life

Posted at 10:00AM on Mar 1st 2008 by cat

23. cat,
Will you please stop making assumptions about this story since you clearly don't have enough information and are only trying to tear down a popular figure after is death. Very little of what you said in your comment is either true or provable. Your assumption about the uses of Oxycodone and Hydrocodone are just plain wrong. Your assumptions about Michelle's reasons for leaving are simply unprovable. Your assumption that because someone moves with a crowd they must indulge in all the behaviors of that crowd is just plain stupid. The only thing that you are most likely right about is your theory as to why the DEA was investigating.

As I said earlier, while no doctor who took the Hippocratic Oath seriously would give Oxycodone or Hydrocodone to a healthy person who was not in pain, we do not know the full state of Heath Ledger's health at the time of his death. He may indeed have been in pain. We will never know unless someone seriously invades is privacy after death. I do not know whether he was in enough pain to need the opiates but you do not know that he was not. We only know that they were prescribed for him by a doctor. We do not even know how many pills were supposed to be in that bottle nor do we know whether they came from a pharmacy or through the mail.

Once again you have made in incorrect statement as to the use of oxycodone and hydrocodone in pain control. Both drugs are used for severe pain but not only for chronic pain such as cancer. I don't know where you got that idea but you are plain and simple wrong. They are both prescribed for short-term severe pain such as post-operative and wisdom teeth extraction which actually is a form of surgery. Please check your facts before making such cruel and damning statements. In fact, why don't you learn something about medicine before you post another comment which displays your lack of medical knowledge.

You are also making inflammatory assumptions about Michelle's reasons for leaving. Unless you were in the room when that conversation was held, you do not know she left because he was continuing to use drugs. Even if he was traveling with the party crowd of celebrities that does not mean he was currently using. I have been in the music scene most of my life. Yes, there are a lot of drug and alcohol abusers in that group but for every musician who abuses there are several who don't. You only hear about the big name junkies because they make better news copy.

You are damning him as a drug-abuser on the evidence that he once used drugs. I'd like to see you try to explain to Alcoholics Anonymous that once someone has abused alcohol, they will always return to abusing alcohol. It happens but it is not a certainty. I know a number of sober alcoholics just as I know a number of sober drug addicts and even non-smoking smokers since nicotine is also a drug and never lets go of you. I know because I stopped smoking nearly 20 years ago but I still crave a cigarette sometimes.

I agree that the DEA was probably investigating because they want to stop the pill-pushing doctors. It is a major problem that people have access to these drugs and are using them to get high and not for their true purpose. Does anyone know what happened to the doctors who prescribed for Rush Limbaugh?

Posted at 1:18PM on Mar 1st 2008 by Bipolarsufferer

24. Maybe they should ask MK how Heath got those painkillers??

Posted at 7:41AM on Mar 2nd 2008 by hirojay

25. "Doctors need to be able to prescribe" ... Yes, they do, but not for profit, or for friends. When people get DUIs, or kill people in car crashes, the police DO investigate where the alcohol came from, if the person had already had too much to drink when he/she was sold more, and so on. It is illegal to sell an intoxicated person alcohol. They're investigating the doctors, or dealers, not the people who make the drugs ... so your post is irrelevant, as far as I'm concerned.

Doctors need to be able to do their jobs, but people need to make sure they do their jobs properly, and within the law.

Posted at 3:12PM on Mar 2nd 2008 by FIGHT

26. critic, I don't know if the generations going to the stone-age but their taste seems to be headed for the rocks and they aren't paying attention to the lighthouse.

Go Sox

Posted at 3:13PM on Mar 2nd 2008 by Baseball Junkie