Why is it that almost every time a celebrity under the age of 50 dies we find out that prescription drugs were involved? The official test results will not be released for weeks, but already there is a growing body of evidence that Whitney Houston was killed by prescription drugs just like so many other celebrities have been. In recent years, we have seen prescription drugs play a significant role in the deaths of Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy and Anna Nicole Smith. Two of the most famous celebrities of the 20th century, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, died with very high levels of prescription drugs in their systems. So when is the mainstream media going to start telling us the truth about the dangers of prescription drugs? According to the CDC, approximately 750,000 Americans are rushed to the emergency room each year because of reactions to prescription drugs. At least 200,000 Americans each year end up dying from reactions to prescription drugs. Unfortunately, the big pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars advertising their pills in the mainstream media, so the mainstream media has a very strong incentive to cover up the truth. But hopefully the death of Whitney Houston will get more Americans to wake up and realize that prescription drugs can be very, very deadly.
So what evidence is there that Whitney Houston was killed by prescription drugs?
Well, according to a story posted on Fox News, her family has reportedly been told by authorities that it was a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol that killed her….
Relatives of late pop icon Whitney Houston have reportedly been told by coroner officials that the singer died from what appears to be a combination of Xanax and other prescription drugs mixed with alcohol rather than drowning.
In fact, authorities reportedly found a half dozen bottles of prescription medication in her room. Radar Online is reporting that “Lorazepam, Valium, Xanax, and a sleeping medication” were found by authorities.
It is important to note that absolutely no illegal drugs were found in her room. Whitney Houston struggled with illegal drugs in the past, but they were not involved in her death at all apparently.
But this is what happens with so many celebrities. Once they get off illegal drugs they move over to prescription drugs. They believe that prescription drugs are safe because they are legal and because they are prescribed by doctors who are supposed to know what they are doing.
Unfortunately, the cold, hard reality of the matter is that many prescription drugs are incredibly dangerous.
Let’s take a look at some of the other major celebrities that have been killed by prescription drugs in recent years….
Michael Jackson
It is now well known that prescription drugs played a huge role in the death of Michael Jackson. The following is from an article about his death from TMZ.com….
The morning Jackson died, Dr. Murray gave Jackson valium at 1:30 AM. Murray said the valium didn’t work so he gave the singer an IV injection of lorazepam — an anti-anxiety drug. Murray told cops Jackson was still awake, so he then gave him midazolam — a sedative.
Murray gave Jackson more drugs. He says at 10:40 AM, he administered 25 mg of Propofol. Dr. Murray told cops Jackson repeatedly demanded the drug.
As we first reported, cops found 8 bottles of Propofol in Jackson’s house after he died, but they do not know where it was purchased.
Cops also found Valium, Tamsulosin, Lorazepam, Temazepam, Clonazepam, Trazodone and Tizanidine, along with the Propofol.
A lot of celebrities take anti-anxiety drugs very heavily and they believe that they are perfectly safe. Another victim of these anti-anxiety drugs was Health Ledger….
Heath Ledger
Health Ledger was one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by prescription drugs. The following comes from CNN.com….
Heath Ledger died from an accidental overdose of prescription medications including painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills, the New York City medical examiner’s office said Wednesday.
“Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine,” the office said in a short statement.
Brittany Murphy
Brittany Murphy was lovely, she was funny, and she seemed to have a very bright future ahead of her.
Unfortunately, that bright future came crashing to a halt in just a single day.
It turns out that prescription drugs played a major role in the death of Brittany Murphy….
“Large amounts” of prescription medications were found on Murphy’s nightstand and the coroner also found “numerous empty” bottles of prescriptions written to Murphy, her mom, Monjack and unidentified third-party names, the notes said, according to TMZ.
The drugs included the anti-seizure medication Topamax, anti-anxiety medications Klonopin and Ativan, pain relievers Vicoprofen and hydrocodone, depression medication Fluoxetine and hypertension medication Propranolol, TMZ reported.
Anna Nicole Smith
Who could ever forget Anna Nicole Smith?
The drama surrounding her life captivated the entire globe. The mainstream media simply could not get enough of her story.
Sadly, her addiction to prescription drugs eventually caught up with her.
The following comes from Wikipedia….
Ultimately her death was ruled an accidental drug overdose of the sedative chloral hydrate that became increasingly lethal when combined with other prescription drugs in her system, specifically 4 benzodiazepines: Klonopin (Clonazepam), Ativan (Lorazepam), Serax (Oxazepam), and Valium (Diazepam). Furthermore, she had taken Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) and Topamax (Toprimate), an anticonvulsant GABA agonist, which likely contributed to the sedative effect of chloral hydrate and the benzodiazepines. Although the individual levels of any of the benzodiazepines in her system would not have been sufficient to cause death, their combination with a high dose of chloral hydrate led to her overdose.
Are you starting to get the picture?
How many times do we have to see the same story played out in front of our eyes before we understand?
Prescription drug deaths in America just keep going up and up and up. The following comes from a Scientific American article….
The number of deaths and hospitalizations caused by prescription drugs has risen precipitously in the past decade, with overdoses of pain medications, in particular opioids, sedatives and tranquilizers, more than doubling between 1999 and 2006, according to a new study.
In fact, by 2006, overdoses of opioid analgesics alone (a class of pain relievers that includes morphine and methadone) were already causing more deaths than overdoses of cocaine and heroin combined.
Yet despite all of this, the American people are taking more prescription drugs than ever before.
Everywhere you turn, people are popping pills like crazy. The following list is from a previous article I authored about prescription drugs in America….
#1 According to the CDC, the percentage of Americans that say that they have taken a prescription drug within the last month has risen to almost 50 percent.
#2 The percentage of Americans that say that they have taken two or more prescription drugs within the last month has risen to 31 percent, and the percentage of Americans that say that they have taken five or more prescription drugs within the last month has risen to 11 percent.
#3 If you can believe it, the CDC also says that approximately 9 out of every 10 Americans that are at least 60 years of age say that they have taken at least one prescription drug within the last month.
#4 According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 25 percent of all kids in the United States take prescription drugs on a regular basis.
#5 One brand new study has found that more than 20 percent of all American adults are taking at least one drug for “psychiatric” or “behavioral” disorders.
#6 A recent Government Accountability Office report shockingly discovered that approximately one-third of all foster children in the United States are on at least one psychiatric drug. In fact, the report found that many states seem to be doping up foster children as a matter of course. Just check out these stunning statistics….
In Texas, foster children were 53 times more likely to be prescribed five or more psychiatric medications at the same time than non-foster children. In Massachusetts, they were 19 times more likely. In Michigan, the number was 15 times. It was 13 times in Oregon. And in Florida, foster children were nearly four times as likely to be given five or more psychotropic medications at the same time compared to non-foster children.
#7 The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higher than in any other country in the world.
#8 Children in the United States are three times more likely to be prescribed antidepressants than children in Europe are.
#9 The total number of Americans taking antidepressants doubled between 1996 and 2005.
#10 According to the CDC, approximately three quarters of a million people a year are rushed to emergency rooms in the United States because of adverse reactions to pharmaceutical drugs.
#11 It has been reported that approximately 200,000 Americans a year are killed by prescription drugs.
#12 According to the Los Angeles Times, drug deaths (mostly caused by prescription drugs) are climbing at an astounding rate….
Drug fatalities more than doubled among teens and young adults between 2000 and 2008, years for which more detailed data are available. Deaths more than tripled among people aged 50 to 69, the Times analysis found. In terms of sheer numbers, the death toll is highest among people in their 40s.
#13 According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 36 million Americans have abused prescription drugs at some point in their lives.
#14 A survey conducted for the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that more than 15 percent of all U.S. high school seniors abuse prescription drugs.
#15 The CDC says that spending on prescription drugs more than doubled between 1999 and 2008.
#16 Prescription drugs cost about 50% more in the United States than they do in other countries.
#17 Each year, tens of billions of dollars is spent on pharmaceutical marketing in the United States alone.
#18 There were more than two dozen pharmaceutical companies that made over a billion dollars in profits during 2008.
How many more celebrities have to needlessly die before the American people wake up to the truth?
Whitney Houston should not have been taking so many prescription drugs. Now she has been killed and we will never hear her sing again.
But hopefully millions of people out there will learn a lesson from her death.
Prescription drugs can be absolutely deadly. It is a huge mistake to get hooked on them.
