Poor Heath, now he can finally rest. My heart still goes out to him, Matilda, Michelle and everyone else who was touched by his presence and absence.

Oxycodone and hydrocodone are narcotics. Maybe he was taking them to help him sleep, but there is high abuse potential in those too, not just in Valium and the other benzos.

Oxycodone and hydrocodone are narcotic pain killers with high addiction/abuse potential. Why was he taking those? Just to help him sleep? I wonder.

Heath's "accident" is a tragedy a think i speak for eveyone when i say that he was a funominal actor. And he will be missed by soo many fans. Its unreal that some one so0 great as Heath thathis life could be cut short becuase of the wrong amount of perscription drugs. My heart goes out to him and all of the people that were directly touched by his death.

Adrienne,
I think he was very sick at the time too. He had Pneumonia, and stuff. Maybe he was in pain too. I don't think there was enough of any of the drugs to rule an addiction or anything. I seriously doubt he was an addict. Lets just give him the benefit of the doubt here. I mean he has a little girl, that will one day here about how her dad died. And i would hate for her to think he was some drug addict. Just because some ppl wanted to make some money. He is gone now, why try and make him look bad, when really he was a great guy and dad.

Well it sure is easy to kick someone when they are down, even easier when they have passed on. I like how none of this "drug problems" of Mr. Ledger where ever brought up when he was alive, oh yeah, because then he could actually discret all those cretins trying to taint his name. People that revel in the idea of making someone look bad only do so to make themselves feel good about their own life. Pathetic actually.

Amerie, the word is "phenomenal."

Perhaps some good will come from heath's untimely passing....that even prescription pills can kill if used improperly. So sad.

Like the other article posted on this ABC News site on Heath, that quoted doctors saying that he shouldn't have been taking two different narcotic pain killers, two different sleeping pills, and two different anti-anxiety drugs, all at once! I'm sure he didn't carefully read each label before downing the bunch of pills. The medical examiner refused to give amounts found in his system, thereby allowing the family to declare that Heath had not downed excessive amounts. Another question I have... the M.E. did not refer to blood-alcohol level OR the presence or absence of illegal drugs in his system... I would have expected that these would have been ruled out, seeing how desperately the family wanted to believe it was an accidental overdose of prescription meds. (I understand this totally... my mother wanted to tell people that my father had fallen in the garage rather than tell them that he had killed himself.) I don't think we have been given the whole picture of the toxicology report, but perhaps it doesn't matter. It breaks my heart to read Kim Ledger call his dearly loved son, "our boy"... I can hear the pain and my heart goes out to all who loved Heath.

Like the other article posted on this ABC News site on Heath, that quoted doctors saying that he shouldn't have been taking two different narcotic pain killers, two different sleeping pills, and two different anti-anxiety drugs, all at once! I'm sure he didn't carefully read each label before downing the bunch of pills. The medical examiner refused to give amounts found in his system, thereby allowing the family to declare that Heath had not downed excessive amounts. Another question I have... the M.E. did not refer to blood-alcohol level OR the presence or absence of illegal drugs in his system... I would have expected that these would have been ruled out, seeing how desperately the family wanted to believe it was an accidental overdose of prescription meds. (I understand this totally... my mother wanted to tell people that my father had fallen in the garage rather than tell them that he had killed himself.) I don't think we have been given the whole picture of the toxicology report, but perhaps it doesn't matter. It breaks my heart to read Kim Ledger call his dearly loved son, "our boy"... I can hear the pain and my heart goes out to all who loved Heath.

Like the other article posted on this ABC News site on Heath, that quoted doctors saying that he shouldn't have been taking two different narcotic pain killers, two different sleeping pills, and two different anti-anxiety drugs, all at once! I'm sure he didn't carefully read each label before downing the bunch of pills. The medical examiner refused to give amounts found in his system, thereby allowing the family to declare that Heath had not downed excessive amounts. Another question I have... the M.E. did not refer to blood-alcohol level OR the presence or absence of illegal drugs in his system... I would have expected that these would have been ruled out, seeing how desperately the family wanted to believe it was an accidental overdose of prescription meds. (I understand this totally... my mother wanted to tell people that my father had fallen in the garage rather than tell them that he had killed himself.) I don't think we have been given the whole picture of the toxicology report, but perhaps it doesn't matter. It breaks my heart to read Kim Ledger call his dearly loved son, "our boy"... I can hear the pain and my heart goes out to all who loved Heath.

Yipes! Sorry! The site wouldn't take my post, then it printed it THREE TIMES! (above) Please forgive!

awwwww... that is sad. Not surprised though.

would like to think that he's finally had his sleep. RIP heath.

Sophie-the M.E. did say that Heath Ledger did NOT have any alcohol or illegal drugs in his system; those were ruled out. Also, he had gotten some of the prescriptions in the UK--maybe he had forgotten he had the others, or maybe he took a couple of pills, then forgot he took them...that is why they are called "accidental" overdoses.

I agree with Adrienne. It's hard to believe someone is so ignorant as to swallow such a cocktail of powerful prescriptions and expect only a little nap.

well-udecated, a little nap is something for people who can actually sleep a good amount of time each night. For a person who suffers from insomnia and anxiety that "little nap" is far more like an oasis for a person who is stuck in a desert with no water for days. Don't belittle the situation please. When one is in constant pain, they would want to stop that pain as quickly as possible. This doesn't make that person ignorant, just desperate. I can assure you that even you in a dire situation would be most hard pressed to keep your wits about you. The man has passed on, he is no longer here with us for us to pass judgement on him, he is now and forever free of our turmoil we call life.

Just to let you know that Hydrocodone is a pain med not an anti-anxiety drug. I hope you continue to put the facts on your site! Let this poor guy rest in peace!!! So very sad to see what it takes to be in the public eye.

Just to let you know that Hydrocodone is a pain med not an anti-anxiety drug. I hope you continue to put the facts on your site! Let this poor guy rest in peace!!! So very sad to see what it takes to be in the public eye.

All prescription drugs can be abusive!! BUT let's give poor Heath the benefit of the doubt here. He was having trouble sleeping and also had health issues.

I also have a prescription for diazepam. I actually had a tablet the other night because I felt I couldn't cope with the knowledge that my 4month old son is blind, so all I wanted to do, was sleep. I've on a few occasions considered having the extra one or two to lengthen my sleep, but chose not to. But it would have been so easy to do!! I'm quite certain that I'll contemplate it again.

Different people cope in many different ways. Just because they NEED to turn to 'LEGAL' drugs doesn't mean that they are abuses. If I didn't have my diazepam, I don't think I would have made it through to now.

Also have those non believers ever considered, that just because all of these drugs were in his system, that maybe, he'd had one or two of one drug that morning, one or two of another drug later that morning and then another drug later that arvo not realising that the combination would be lethal. Also I'm sure for the fact that he was so sick, would not have helped, as body would not have been strong enough to fight it.

Let's stop being so naive. Are we really going to keep saying an accidental overdose? The guy was obvoiusly very loved. If he was a hated crep, he would all be saying he OD. This mix of meds is so over the top it would kill a horse and the MD who prescribed it should be arrested. Although, Heath L probably went to different MD's to get what meds he wanted without telling them what he was on. This is a tragedy that took a long time to unfold and I wish one of his "friends" had stepped in.

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Ok, not sure why ISHMAel's comments were not there....but from someone who deals with anxiety, I can understand "feeling" the need to take more "stuff" to get to sleep/or "fix" the constant heart racing anxiety that leads so many of us (anxiety disorder diagnoses) to, quite simply, "death". I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and have been declined life insurance due to my illness because of the death rate of people with anxiety disorders. It is an overwhelming disorder - and his "accidental overdose" may very well be what happened to him. The diagnosis of anxiety disorder IS severe. We try to stop the thinking - and we can't on our own! Please do not post anything negative for the benefit of his family.

OMG! I still can’t believe he’s dead. I just saw THE DARK KNIGHT a couple of weeks ago and I was completely amazed by the part he played. I bet he will get a post mortem Oscar for that part. He was a great actor – so this is a big lose for all movies and theater lovers. If he would have realized what he was doing… if he would have done at least from time to time a rapid detox treatment, maybe things would have been different now. We will never forget him!

Yeah… he just wanted to sleep and get reads of the joker inside his head. HE messed up his mind when playing The Joker… and that’s how he ended up needing all these pills. It’s so sad that things like this happen. :( If he would have realized in time what he was doing and if we would have went in a drug detox, things would have been different.

Yeah… he just wanted to sleep and get reads of the joker inside his head. HE messed up his mind when playing The Joker… and that’s how he ended up needing all these pills. It’s so sad that things like this happen. :( If he would have realized in time what he was doing and if we would have went in a drug detox, things would have been different.

As awful as it sounds his death may have saved a lot of people by raising their awareness of the dangers involved with abusing prescription drugs. It’s a shame addictions to prescriptions drugs can’t be seen so clearly seen as illegal substances, it’s terrible that he didn’t have a chance to receive drug treatment.