Whitney Houston cause of death: accidental drowning and drug abuse

Whitney Houston died from accidental drowning, but drug abuse and heart disease were also factors, a coroner has ruled today.

Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey said drug tests indicated Whitney Houston was a chronic cocaine user.

The announcement ends weeks of speculation over the cause of Whitney Houston’s death.

The report also found that Whitney Houston had marijuana, as well as Xanax (anxiety medication), Flexeril (muscle relaxer) and Benadryl (allergy medication) in her system.

A source connected to the investigation told TMZ us it is “very possible” Whitney Houston had a heart attack that caused her to lose consciousness and drown. The heart attack may have been triggered by hardening of the arteries as a result of cocaine use.

Whitney Houston was found unresponsive and underwater in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 11, a day before the Grammy Awards, and was pronounced dead at the scene soon afterward.

Coroner officials previously confirmed that prescription pill bottles were found in her room, but the pills were “not in alarming amounts.”

However, investigators found no evidence of cocaine in the hotel room.

A final report is expected to be ready for release within two weeks.

“We are saddened to learn of the toxicology results, although we are glad to now have closure,” Patricia Houston, Whitney’s sister-in-law, said in a statement released to E! News.

Whitney Houston, who had long battled drug addiction, was laid to rest on February 19 at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey, alongside her father, following a star-studded memorial the day before.