overdose news stories on Newser

Thomas Kinkade Died of Booze, Valium OD: Coroner

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:16:00 CDT

Painter Thomas Kinkade died of an accidental overdose of alcohol and Valium , according to a California coroner's report. "Mr. Kinkade died of respiratory depression as a result of a high concentration of ethanol combined with benzodiazepine use," the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office determined in a report released by NBC...

Heather Locklear Hospitalized After OD

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:30:00 CST

Actress Heather Locklear was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital yesterday after downing a dangerous mix of prescription pills and booze, according to officials. The 50-year-old Melrose Place actress was conscious when paramedics arrived and is responding well to treatment, sources told TMZ . Locklear was treated in 2008 for depression,...

Occupy Vancouver Woman Dies

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:00:00 CST

An Occupy Vancouver tent city resident has died of a suspected drug overdose, and the city's mayor is calling for the encampment to be shut down. A woman in her 20s was found unresponsive in a tent and rushed to a local hospital over the weekend, but died shortly after,...

Ex-Busch CEO's Girlfriend OD'd on Oxycodone

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:16:05 CST

The dead woman found at the home of ex-Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV accidentally overdosed on the painkiller oxycodone, the medical examiner said yesterday. Friends previously said Adrienne Martin, 27, was firmly against illegal drugs, but Busch had speculated medication she was taking could be to blame for her death....

Four Loko, Drugs Found Alongside 2 Dead Teens

Nick McMaster — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:03:54 CST

Four Loko might be banned, but it's still showing up in sketchy situations: Police in California's Huntington Beach found the bodies of two teenagers—a boy and a girl, aged 15 and 16—surrounded by drug refuse, beer bottles, and one can of the infamous alcoholic energy drink, the AP...

Caffeine OD Kills Man

Rob Quinn — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 03:04:34 CDT

The family of a 23-year-old British man killed by a colossal dose of caffeine say the sale of caffeine powder over the Internet should be banned. He died after swallowing two spoonfuls of the powder, equivalent to the caffeine in 70 cans of Red Bull, at a party, the Nottingham...

Mass Overdose Stuns Central Wash. U

Rob Quinn — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 05:52:08 CDT

Police believe a mass spiking of drinks was responsible for turning a house party in rural Washington state into a nightmare. A dozen Central Washington University students, mostly young women, were rushed to hospital after they overdosed; some say that the date-rape drug Rohypnol had been mixed into their beverages,...

Comedian Greg Giraldo Dead at Age 44

Antisweep — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:31:15 CDT

Comic Greg Giraldo died today of an apparent prescription drug overdose. Best known for his work on several Comedy Central roasts and NBC's Last Comic Standing , the 44-year-old died in a New Jersey hospital days after being hospitalized. "The tragic news of Greg's passing hits us very, very hard. Greg...

Dead Man in Driver's Seat Gets Parking Ticket

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:25:00 CDT

Nicholas Rappold was parked illegally on a New York street, so a traffic agent issued him a parking ticket . Only one problem: Rappold was dead in his car at the time. The officer apparently couldn't see Rappold through the "heavily tinted windows," a police source tells the New York Daily...