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Heath Ledger found dead in New York He was reportedly battling Drug Addiction and depression.
It is all too common these day to hear that a famous man or woman has succummed to drug addiction and or Drug abuse, celebrity addiction. Ledger was found dead by a housekeeper and was surrounded by prescription drugs, sleeping pills. Although in the news, this particular incident is only one of countless examples of the damages drug abuse visits upon our society.
Overdoses of and addiction to prescription drugs take a continuing toll. The not infrequent death of a famous personality from these drugs may bring it more into the public consciousness, but the damage is non-stop.
The list of celebrities who have died from drug overdoses and drug related diseases is extensive to say the least. Although there are many more, below is a list of some of the more visible of these tragic celebrity overdoses:
Celebrity drug related deaths
Nick Adams (1931-1968) - actor, drug Overdose.
Honoré de Balzac (51) - Caffeine poisoning from drinking over forty cups of coffee per day.
John Belushi (33) - of the Blues `Brothers, actor, and comedian, Heroin and Cocaine overdose (speedball).
Lenny Bruce (40) - comedian, Morphine overdose.
Montgomery Clift - actor, heart attack due to severe alcoholism and drug abuse.
Brian Cole - musician, the Association, heroin overdose.
Pamela Courson - common law wife of Jim Morrison of The Doors, heroin overdose.
Dorothy Dandridge (42) - actress, singer, anti-depressant overdose.
Tommy Dorsey (51) - jazz musician and bandleader, choked to death while sleeping with the aid of drugs.
Chris Farley (33) - comedian, cocaine and heroin overdose (speedball).
Sigmund Freud (83) - Austrian neurologist, long-term cocaine use, physician assisted morphine overdose.
Judy Garland - American singer and actress, disputed drug overdose as cause of death.
Margaux Hemingway (41) - actress, disputed suicide, overdose of sedatives.
Billie Holiday (45) - jazz singer died from cirrhosis of the liver attributed to longtime Alcohol and heroin abuse.
Howard Hughes (70) - aviator, engineer, industrialist, movie producer, playboy, liver failure - autopsy showed lethal amount of Codeine and also valium in body.
Anissa Jones - actress ("Buffy" on Family Affair) - accidential overdose of cocaine, angel dust, Quaaludesand Seconal. and Seconal.
Janis Joplin (27) - rock and roll and blues musician, heroin overdose.
David Kennedy - fourth child of Robert F. Kennedy, cocaine and Demerol overdose.
Bela Lugosi (73) - actor, drug-related heart attack.
Marilyn Monroe - actress, overdose of sleeping pills.
Christina Onassis - daughter of the billionaire Aristotle Onassis, pulmonary edema, caused by constant drug abuse and dramatic weight changes.
River Phoenix (23) - actor, overdose of heroin and cocaine (speedball).
Dana Plato (34) - actress, of Diff'rent Strokes, suicide - overdose of Vanadom and Vicodin.
Elvis Presley (42) - singer, heart attack brought on by overdose of Barbiturates.
Freddie Prinze (22) - comic, actor (Chico and the Man), self-inflicted gunshot wound while under the influence of Quaaludes.
Anna Nicole Smith (39) - Playboy playmate, actress, reality show star, lethal combination of chloral hydrate and various Benzodiazepines.
Inger Stevens - American actress, suicide - overdose of sleeping pills.
Vinnie Taylor - musician, Sha Na Na, heroin overdose.
Gary Thain - musician, Uriah Heep, drug overdose.
Dylan Thomas - poet, Chronic alcoholism.
D. M. Turner (34) - author/psychonaut, drowned in a bathtub while on ketamine.
Natalie Wood -actress, drowned when intoxicated.
Musicians
Tommy Bolin (25) - musician, Deep Purple, drugs overdose and/or alcohol poisoning.
John Bonham (32) - musician Led Zeppelin, alcohol related asphyxiation caused by choking on his own vomit.
Toy Caldwell - musician, Marshall Tucker Band.
Paul Butterfield (44) - musician, drug and alcohol overdose.
Gene Clark (46) - musician, the Byrds, bleeding ulcer due to long term alcohol abuse.
Steve Clark (30) - musician, Def Leppard, accidential death (anti-Depressants, painkillers and alcohol).
Michael Clarke (47) - musician, the Byrds, liver failure due to long term alcoholism.
Brian Cole - musician, the Association, heroin overdose.
Brian Connolly- musician, Sweet, liver damage caused by long-term substance abuse and chronic alcoholism.
Tommy Dorsey (51) - jazz musician and bandleader, choked to death while sleeping with the aid of drugs.
John Entwistle (57) - musician, bassist for the Who, died from heart failure brought upon by cocaine use.
Howie Epstein (47) - musician, ex-bassist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, heroin overdose.
Rick Evers - musician, drummer and songwriter, was married to Carole King, heroin overdose.
Andy Gibb - singer, younger brother of the Bee Gees; cardiac damage strongly exacerbated by cocaine and alcohol abuse.
Bobby Hatfield - musician, The Righteous Brothers, heart attack triggered by cocaine overdose.
Rudy Lewis - musician, the Drifters.
Janis Joplin (27) - rock and roll and blues musician, heroin overdose.
Jimi Hendrix (27) - rock and roll musician, respiratory arrest caused by alcohol and barbiturate overdose and vomit inhalation.
Gregory Herbet - musician, Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Bob Hite - musician, Canned Heat, heart attack.
Keith Moon - musician, the Who, overdosed on anti-seizure Medication prescribed for alcoholism.
Jim Morrison (27) - musician, The Doors, heroin and alcohol (cause and fact of death disputed).
John Phillips - musician, of the Mamas and the Papas, heart failure due to lifetime of alcohol and narcotics abuse.
Dee Dee Ramone - musician, the Ramones, heroin overdose.
Joe Schermie - musician, Three Dog Night, heart attack resulting from long-term drug abuse
Bon Scott - musician, AC/DC, aspiration brought on by alcohol Intoxication.
Bobby Sheehan - musician, Blues Traveler, drug overdose.
Hillel Slovak (26) - musician, Red Hot Chili Peppers, heroin overdose.
Vinnie Taylor - musician, Sha Na Na, heroin overdose.
Gary Thain - musician, Uriah Heep, drug overdose.
Sid Vicious (21) - musician, the Sex Pistols, heroin overdose, disputed suicide
Alan Wilson - musician, Canned Heat, drug overdose (possible suicide).
Hank Williams (29) - musician, drugs and probably alcohol.
Dennis Wilson (39) - musician, The Beach Boys, alcohol-related drowning
| Definitions of Terms Used |
| Addiction | Strong physiological, emotional and/or psychological dependence on a substance such as alcohol or drugs that has progressed beyond voluntary control. For more on addiction see the section Addiction Information in this website.
| | Alcohol | Refers to ethyl alcohol or ethanol.
| | Barbiturates | Depressant drugs that produce relaxation and sleep. Barbiturates include sleeping pills such as pentobarbital (Nembutal)and secobarbital (Seconal).
| | Benzodiazepines | A class of drugs used in medicine as minor tranquilizers which is frequently prescribed to treat anxiety. They are central nervous system depressants and are subject to abuse.
| | Caffeine | Caffeine A mild stimulant,the most widely used drug in the world.
| | Chronic | Refers to a disease or condition that persists over a long period of time. Also a slang term for a particularly potent strain of marijuana.
| | Cocaine | A highly addictive stimulant drug derived from the cocoa plant that produces feelings of euphoria. Also see Crack.
| | Codeine | A natural opioid compound that is a relatively weak, but still effective, opiate analgesic. It has also been used to treat other problems (e.g., to relieve coughing).
| | Depressants | Drugs that relieve anxiety and produce sleep. Depressants include barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and alcohol.
| | Drug | Any substance, other than food, that changes the function or structure of the body or mind when ingested. Drugs essentially are poisons. The degree they are taken determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant. A greater amount acts as a sedative. A larger amount acts as a poison and can kill one dead. This is true of any drug. Each has a different amount at which it gives those results.
| | Drug abuse | The use of illegal drugs or the inappropriate use of legal drugs. The repeated use of drugs to produce pleasure, to alleviate stress, or to alter or avoid reality - or all three.
| | Heroin | The potent, widely abused opiate that produces a profound addiction. It consists of two morphine molecules linked together chemically.
| | Intoxication | Being under the influence of, and responding to, the acute effects of a psychoactive drug. Intoxication typically includes feelings of pleasure, altered emotional responsiveness, altered
perception, and impaired judgment and performance.
| | Medication | A drug that is used to treat an illness or disease according to established medical guidelines.
| | Morphine | Morphine The most potent natural opiate compound produced by the opium poppy.
| | Overdose | The condition that results when too much of a drug is taken, making a person sick or unconscious and sometimes resulting in death.
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| | ©2005 remository.com |
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