It has been 8 years since we have lost the incredibly talented Heath Ledger and his role of the Joker in Dark Knight is enough to remember him for a lifetime. On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger was found dead in a hotel room and the exact cause of his death was due to the over intake of prescription medicines. Further reports suggested that he used a miscellaneous mix of prescribed medicines along with sleeping pills during his time of death.
The news of his death was shocking one for the entire film fraternity and his fans. Many people couldn’t believe the news. Heath Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger, wants everyone across the world to take an important message from his son’s death. According to him, his son was the only one responsible for the tragedy and he is not ready to blame anyone else for it. Kim Ledger is currently trying his level best to make the world, especially Australia, aware of the consequences and danger of medical abuse.
Kim Ledger said that his family warned Heath Ledger about his overuse of pills as it was extremely dangerous. In an interview given to The Daily Mail, he said: “It was totally his fault. It was no one else’s – he reached for them. He put them in his system. You can’t blame anyone else in that situation. That’s hard to accept because I loved him so much and was so proud of him. His sister was on the phone to him the night before telling him not to take the prescription medications with the sleeping tablets. He said: ‘Katie, Katie, I’m fine. I know what I’m doing.’ He would have had no idea.”
Very recently, an exclusive news about the overuse of prescribed medications in Australia, especially opioids, was revealed and Kim Ledger’s comments about the tragic death of his son and the overuse of prescribed medications came out exactly at the same time. ScriptWise is a non-profit organization led by Kim Ledger and according to their latest survey, most of the citizens of Australia frequently use prescription medications (prescription painkillers to be more precise). In other words, most of them are addicted to it, but they are not willing to accept it. The wide use of opioids is becoming a serious threat in Australia and a minor miscalculation in the dosage during its intake is enough to cause death.
