Spotted: Leighton Meester aka Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf at a Grammys after party in Los Angeles, "surrounded by a cloud of funny-smelling smoke. " The 21-year-old actress seems to have a penchant for smokin' joints, if this and this past November's incidents are any indication. I guess this sort of makes up for the totally-scaled-down-from-the-books drug use on the show (which is coming back in April!) Now if we could just get her to shave Vanessa's head, frizz out Jenny's hair, and, well, make Dan gay! [NYP] After the jump, an episode clip of Blair's friend Serena (Blake Lively) totally doped out and having a cutsie water fight.

Sad news to pass along. The LA County Coroner finally got around to announcing the official cause of death in the case of Brad Renfro's untimely passing. Unsurprisingly, an accidental overdose of heroin was to blame. Here's hoping that E! has hired some fact-checking interns in the last few weeks; we all remember the embarrassing gaffe from when the news of Renfro's death first broke. [Usmagazine.com]

In 2006, 16 million Americans over the age of 12 illegally obtained and used prescription pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants or sedatives. That's up from 14 million in 2004. 1 in 20 high school seniors are addicted to use one such drug, OxyContin. This kind of drug abuse led to 600,000 emergency room visits in 2005. In 2002, there were already more deaths caused by opioid painkillers than heroin or cocaine. But don't worry, experts assure us that none of this is going on in Silicon Valley. [WSJ]

A tipster chimes in to tell us that Silicon Valley's OC-80 addiction took firm hold in one of its fastest-declining companies, Yahoo.

Hey, everyone remember how Heath Ledger did all that cocaine and heroin at Hollywood "Drug Parties"? And how it killed him? Turns out, he was killed by legal drugs—perhaps ones given to him by doctors! The establishment killed him! Not, shockingly, all that deadly Mary Jane. No, the pills that did Ledger in are a bit more respectable, and all quite familiar to your standard self-diagnosing doctor-shopping members of the creative under- and over-classes.

Medical examiners have released results of Heath Ledger's toxicology report earlier today. The young star died of an accidental overdose — an "acute intoxication" — from the combined effects of hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, doxylamine and oxycodone. The latter is the active substance in Silicon Valley's drug of choice, OxyContin.

It's a rare day in Hollywood when drug-related accusations are confessed to, but yesterday's proclamation by Lynne Spears that professional bad influencer Sam Lutfi was "drugging" Britney aren't fazing Lutfi in the slightest. Quite the opposite, in fact — Us is quoting Lutfi in their latest issue as openly confessing that he gave Britney a handful of "miracle pills" to help her chillax just moments before GurneyGate 2.0 unfolded. Miracle pills, eh? Last we checked, there's nothing miraculous whatsoever about involuntarily being carted off to a psych ward. [Us Weekly]

The New York medical examiner's office declared today that actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of anti-anxiety drugs and sleep aids. Autopsy and toxicology results find that Ledger wasn't under the influence of illegal substances at the time of his death at his SoHo apartment on January 22nd. "The medical examiner released results of the toxicology report Wednesday, saying Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine." [WNBC]

After hearing reports that Britney Spears's manager Sam Lutfi was playing drug dealer for his mentally unhinged client, we immediately flashed back to the analogy section of the SATs when we realized that Sam Lutfi : Britney Spears :: Howard Stern : Anna Nicole Smith. For the first time in our lives, we're on Team Lynne Spears for banning the Lufti from the Spears Unit. If only Anna's southern dumb belle of a mother had written a scathing note to a judge like this one Lynne submitted as part of a restraining order filed against Lufti:

Back in December, we introduced you to OC-80, Silicon Valley's recreational drug of choice. It's the 80-mg. dose of OxyContin, the addictive painkiller which ensnared celebritards Rush Limbaugh and Lindsay Lohan. Silicon Valley's venture capitalists are just as susceptible to OC-80's euphoric draw. Which is their own private problem. Usually. But sometimes, as in the story told here, a founder's ability to supply an addicted VC with his fix can mean the difference between getting funded and laying off staff.

FINALLY, medical researchers have completed a detailed study of popular music. But the results are staggering: American music is "awash" with lyrics about drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Rap music was the most high, at a 77% drug-mentioning clip; Country came in second at 36%. Reuters shows its cute fairness agenda by quoting both Three Six Mafia and country singer Joe Nichols. It's a party for everyone! The bad news in all this? "The study did not quantify references to sex, violence, or expletives." [Reuters]

We fear that after Snoop's flawless performance as a warm and fuzzy "gangsta" on Larry King this past Friday, the ol' suspendered geezer/legend is gonna call one of his 89 doctors and request some of this "medical marijuana" Snoop waxes silkily about in this clip. In the final moments of the show, King, as usual, saves the only question we actually care about for last: Snoop, what's the deal with you and this 'pot' you continuously speak of? After a stoned-out-of-his-gourd grin, the father of three responds with, "I'm on medical marijuana as we speak." Righteous! We just hope that producers from the Martha Stewart show were watching. After all, can you imagine a more awesome hour of television than Martha and Snoop making and eating a whole plate of pot brownies?

A 30 second spot during this Sunday's Super Bowl costs $2.7 million. TheAntiDrug.com is running two ads during the game. What else could you get for two point seven million dollars (let alone $5.4?) I've compiled a handy chart for you after the jump (and included the anti-drug ad), in case you suddenly come into a shitload of money. [SacBee]

While rumors of Britney Spears' addiction to crystal meth have been swirling through the blogowebs for a few months now, two papers are now claiming last night's gurney shitshow happened after the fallen star spent days wide awake on Fergie's pre-hab drug of choice. The National Enquirer is reporting that Britney and manager Sam Lufti checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel at 2am on Wednesday morning after sporting around in the brand-new Mercedes she picked up earlier that day. Upon checking into the hotel:

A "shocking video" of Heath Ledger "snorting what appear to be drugs off a table" at noted Hollywood drug haven the Chateau Marmont has "surfaced." Entertainment Tonight bought it for $200,000, teased it, then backed away from playing it. Same with The Insider. Not, according to the Daily News, the case with Australia's Channel 9, which will play the tape tonight. Expect to be shocked! Shocked to see an actor attend a party, after an awards show (2006 SAG Awards), and snort a line of coke! Ledger expresses "remorse" at his life of habitual drug-taking, saying he used to smoke a lot of weed. "'I'm going to get serious s—t from my girlfriend,' Ledger tells his companions. 'We just had a baby three months ago.'" Does this seriously sound like a man in the grip of, according to today's Post, a major drug habit?

In the attached clip, CNN shouting head Glenn Beck creeps out charming GOP strategist Amy Holmes (seriously, we love her!) while ostensibly discussing Ted Kennedy's endorsement of change-monger Barack Obama. His opening question: "You ever just pictured Ted Kennedy naked?" Sometimes, Beck explains, "that picture with him with his shirt off just kind of pops into your head." Sure, Glenn. Percocet withdrawal can be rough. [MediaMatters]

So we were a tad scatterbrained on Friday and forgot entirely to post the second weekly installment of Old School Odes, in which we (and you!) remember The Press The Way It Was. We apologize heartily for neglecting our elders. Last week our inbox was flooded with the smells, sights and sounds of journalism's Golden Age. We've never seen the word 'fedora' quite so many times. We also got a good serving of cranky Si Newhouse stories and heard some whacked-out altweekly shit from the 1970s for which we have zero proof, but it involved crack cocaine and who can resist a good crack-cocaine-in-the-newsroom story. After the jump, our favorites from your nostalgia. Thanks to all who wrote in-keep them coming!

Thanks, health and public policy journalist Maia Szalavitz, for finally writing some Heath Ledger News We Can Use. Her service-y piece for HuffPo is called "What We Can Learn from Heath Ledger's Death: Don't Mix Downs!!!" In a perfect world, it would run in the crappy health section of every major Sunday paper, instead of "TEARFUL CHILD THANKS DEAD ORGAN DONOR" or whatever. Here's how to avoid dying like Heath Ledger:

We generally shy away from servicey items, but we suspect that enough of our readers are afflicted with "insomnia," "free-floating anxiety," and "appetite problems" severe enough to earn them legal entry to Dr. Kindbud's Pain Management Clinic And Herbal Bakery that the following will be of interest: By Monday, two local medical marijuana dispensaries will boast vending machines that will provide round-the-clock access to five different strains of their glaucoma-ameliorating products. Be the first card-carrying stoner on your block to nearly faint with glee at your newfound ability to order up some Granddaddy Purple at the press of a button! [Thrillist]

Is it officially time to retire the suffix "to-the-stars"? All signs point to yes, now that New York's self-proclaimed "Drug Dealer to the Stars" is hunting down members of the press willing to pay for his stories of celebs snorting his stuff. Especially when homeboy's marketing skills include teasing the NY gossips with the least shocking client listing ever: Lindsay Lohan. No. Effing. WAY. At this point, hasn't every single drug dealer from Los Angeles to Laos helped aid LiLo's (alleged) addiction? If this guy wants a payday, at least give us an Olsen, a Baldwin or a Wilson to write about.