Summer House

Australian actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, the New York City medical examiner’s office has announced.

The ruling comes two weeks after the 28-year-old was found dead in his New York apartment. Police found six types of prescription drugs, including pills to treat anxiety and insomnia, in his bedroom and bathroom.
    

Heath Ledger Ledger was found dead on January 22, A spokesman for the medical examiner said Ledger died as a result of "acute intoxication by the combined effects" of the drugs oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine.

The drugs are the generic names for the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drug Valium, Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom.

Hydrocodone is a widely used prescription painkiller.

"We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications," the statement added.

Meanwhile, Ledger’s former fiancée Michelle Williams has flown into Australia ahead of the actor’s funeral in the western city of Perth. Dressed in black, Williams was carrying the couple’s two-year-old daughter Matilda as she arrived in Perth on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles.

Matilda clutched a white stuffed rabbit, as the pair was escorted from the terminal amid tight security.

Williams refused to answer questions about plans for Ledger’s funeral, which is expected to take place this week.

The Brokeback Mountain star’s parents, sister and other family members have also arrived back home in Perth after attending two memorial services in the US.

Ledger’s memorial service in Los Angeles drew an A-list of mourners including Tom Cruise and wife Katie Homes.

The Australian won critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his performance as a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain in 2005, and was regarded as one of Hollywood’s rising stars.

NEW YORK (CNN) — Tests on a $20 bill found at the Lower Manhattan apartment where "Brokeback Mountain" actor Heath Ledger died yielded no drug residue, New York Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said.

The bill was collected to see whether it had been used to snort illegal drugs because of the way it was folded, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said earlier. The Academy Award-nominated actor was found dead Tuesday. He was 28.

An autopsy Wednesday morning was inconclusive, and a cause-of-death determination will take 10 to 14 days, a medical examiner’s spokeswoman said.

"There were no illegal drugs found" in the apartment, Kelly said on Wednesday. He said there were prescription drugs, in their bottles, not strewn around as previously reported.

Two law enforcement officials who asked not to be named said six types of prescription drugs, including an antihistamine and pills to treat anxiety and insomnia, were found in the apartment, according to The Associated Press. A publicist for Ledger told CNN Thursday that the actor was suffering from the flu and had been prescribed antibiotics during recent filming for "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" in London. New details are emerging about the moments before and after Ledger’s death.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Methadone-related deaths have skyrocketed, fueled by a jump in theft and misuse of the addiction treatment drug, according to a Justice Department report released Wednesday

The report said methadone-related deaths jumped from 786 in 1999 to 3,849 in 2004. By contrast, during the same period, deaths related to cocaine increased 43 percent from 3,822 to 5,461.

The National Drug Intelligence Center, an arm of the Department of Justice, says it published the assessment because of its concern over the sharp increases stemming from the diversion and methadone abuse.  The center, which analyzes and dispenses strategic drug intelligence, noted methadone is safe and effective when prescribed and used correctly to treat opiate addiction, but is deadly when misused –"particularly in combination with other prescription drugs, alcohol, or illicit drugs."

The report said physicians dispensed the drug more frequently in the management of pain during the years studied.

"Methadone thefts from manufacturers, distributors and retailers have increased the amount of methadone available for abuse," the report said.

"Diversion from pain management facilities, hospitals, pharmacies, general practitioners, family and friends, and to a lesser extent narcotics treatment programs, increased availability, primarily at the retail level," the study said.

The study said Florida had by far the most methadone deaths during the past three years of the study — 2002 to 2004. Four hundred deaths occurred in Florida during 2004. North Carolina was second with 245 deaths, followed by California, New York, Washington, Texas, Virginia and Kentucky. Officials say the problem continues to get worse, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reporting as many as 716 methadone deaths in 2006.