Actress Brittany Murphy Dies

The actress Brittany Murphy, who starred in the movies "Clueless," "8 Mile," and "Just Married," has died at the age of 32 of a heart attack. Her close friends say that she had a drug problem and was addicted to prescription drugs, including Vicodin. They say that she became dependent on painkillers after having a series of plastic surgery operations. Before her death, she had been taking prescription medication for flu-like symptoms and was very sick when she went into cardiac arrest. She was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, where she pronounced dead on arrival at 10:04 a.m. on Monday. Many different prescriptions were found in the home that were prescribed to her, her husband Simon, Monjack, and Murphy's mother. The LA County Coroner's office will perform an autopsy and toxicology report on her against her husband's wishes.

DJ AM Found Dead

On Friday, the club disc jockey known as DJ AM was found dead at his apartment in New York City around 5:20 p.m. Prescription pill bottles and a crack pipe were found in the apartment. He had been saddened by the recent breakup with his girlfriend, named Haley Wood, and was having a hard time dealing with post-traumatic stress stemming from the nearly fatal plane crash he survived in September of last year. He previously had suffered a drug addiction but had been sober for nine years until recently.

Paula Abdul Crazed Fan Died from Overdose

A coroner in Los Angeles has found that the crazed fan of singer Paula Abdul had died from committing suicide by using prescription drugs. The woman, named Paula Goodspeed, was recently found dead near the outside of Abdul's home. She also had been a contestant on season five of the show "American Idol."

Death of Singer Sean Levert Encourages New Jail Drug Policy

The death of the singer Sean Levert has encouraged a proposed new policy that provides more flexibility in giving inmates their anti-anxiety medication. Levert died on March 30th of 2008 after becoming sick at a county jail in Cleveland, OH and was not given the Xanax prescription that he had brought to the jail after he was sentenced for not paying child support. The jail administrator and a jail doctor proposed the policy to allow inmates to get their prescription medication as soon as their prescriptions are verified.

Heath Ledger’s Hometown Names Theater After Him

The hometown of the late actor Heath Ledger had decided to name a theater after him for his commitment to acting. The 575 seat Heath Ledger Theater is located in Perth, which is in Western Australia. Heath Ledger had died earlier this year at his loft in New York of an accidental prescription drug overdose.

Woman Claims Walgreen’s Pharmacy Caused Miscarriage

In Missouri, a woman, named Chanda Givens, and her husband is suing Walgreen after she had a miscarriage after she went to the Walgreen pharmacy for a prescription of prenatal vitamins and instead they filled her prescription with a chemotherapy drug that had a similar brand name.

She was supposed to have been given Materna but instead they filled her prescription with Matulane, which is used to treat Hodgkin’s disease. Matulane interferes with the growth of cells and their ability to split and reproduce. Givens had a miscarriage less than a month after taking the drug.

Kentucky Sues the Makers of Drug OxyContin

On Thursday, Kentucky officials sued the makers of OxyContin, a prescription painkiller, because of its harmful effects on its residents. The lawsuit wants reimbursement for the costs of drug abuse programs, law enforcement, and prescription drug payments through Medicaid and the Kentucky Pharmaceutical Assistance Program.

The makers of OxyContin are defending themselves by saying that the package has warnings against abusing the drug and the company shouldn’t be responsible for people who abuse the drug.

The lawsuit is also seeking punitive damages and a court-monitored fund that would pay for a program that would notify the users of possible harms of the drug and fund the research on the effects of the drug.

Kentucky officials decided to go through with the lawsuit after the drug maker and three executives pleaded guilty to misleading the public about its risk of addiction. They agreed to pay $634.5 million in fines for saying that the drug is less addictive and has less of a possibility of drug abuse than other pain medications.

Ike Turner Gets His Own Reality Show

It is reported that Ike Turner, Tina Turner’s ex-husband, is getting his own reality show with another ex-wife of his named Audrey Madison, whom he accused of trying to poison him. The two divorced earlier this summer after Ike said Audrey was trying to kill him by giving him overdoses of prescription pills. The couple recently got back together though and is planning a tour of Europe.