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Courtney Love Faces Up To A Year In Jail For Drug Charge

Singer was arrested last week outside home of former boyfriend/manager.
By Gil Kaufman, with additional reporting by Jennifer Vineyard

Courtney Love
Photo: JT Leroy

Courtney Love was charged with one misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance on Wednesday (October 8), following her arrest last week on drug charges during a bizarre incident outside the home of her ex-boyfriend/manager/producer.

Los Angeles city attorney's office spokesperson Frank Mateljan said Love was found to be "under the influence of a narcotic drug classified as an opiate or cocaine." He said he was not able to specify at press time what the drug was, pending further lab tests.

Love took to the message boards of her Web site to explain her behavior a few days after Thursday's arrest (see "Courtney Love Rushed To Hospital For Drug OD Following Arrest").

"Five words: Don't f--- with a strong sedative," Love wrote Sunday in a posting that contradicted the attorney's office account. "The controlled substance — one f---ing word: Xanax!"

Xanax is a prescription anti-anxiety drug. The singer also made a reference to Ipecac, which is typically administered to induce vomiting when someone has ingested a poison.

"Ipecac or ambulance?," Love wrote. "I lost a day so I couldn't talk."

Love claimed that when a police officer was doing a drug assessment, she informed him she was on prescribed Xanax and that following four breathalyzer tests he "pronounced me on Xanax!"

Mateljan said Love was not found to be in possession of any illegal narcotics, but that field tests and reports from the arresting officers led them to believe that she was on a controlled substance other than, or in addition to, a prescription drug.

The penalty for the misdemeanor charge is a minimum of 90 days up to a maximum of one year in county jail, according to Mateljan. Love is scheduled for arraignment on Friday, though her presence is not required in court at that time.

Just hours after her arrest on Thursday, Love was reportedly transported to a hospital by Beverly Hills emergency medical services for an undisclosed drug overdose.

A spokesperson for the Beverly Hills Police Department would not comment on Love's post and whether it was related to her alleged overdose. "For now, it's an [EMS] issue," Lt. Mitch McCann said. "If there is a police case that ties in at some point, that will be dealt with at that time."

Love was arrested at 2:38 a.m. on Thursday outside the Los Angeles home of a man police identified as a friend of the singer. He had called to report an attempted burglary. Property records show the house is registered to Love's former manager/boyfriend, James Barber, who worked with Love on her upcoming America's Sweetheart solo album. Love suggested in her post that the house belonged to her ("two words, MY house").

Police found Love standing in the middle of the street, where she admitted to officers that she had broken several windows at the home. The person who called to report the burglary did not wish to press charges. Mateljan said the city could have filed additional charges against Love for attempted burglary but decided against pursuing those charges due to the victim's reluctance.

When police suspected that Love was under the influence, they conducted a drug evaluation at the police station and she was booked for a misdemeanor charge of being under the influence of a controlled substance. She was released a short time later on $2,500 bond.

America's Sweetheart, Love's long-in-the-works debut solo album (see "'A Lot Of God And A Lot Of Sex' On Courtney Love Solo Album"), was originally due at the end of this month but was recently postponed until February 10.

• Courtney Love
• Hole

Courtney Love Rushed To Hospital For Drug OD Following Arrest

Singer found outside friend's Los Angeles home, where she admitted to breaking several windows; she OD'd soon after.
By Gil Kaufman

Courtney Love
Photo: Geffen

Police responding to a burglary call arrested Courtney Love in Los Angeles early Thursday morning for allegedly being under the influence of narcotics, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The 39-year-old singer was found standing in the middle of the street outside a male friend's home just before 3 a.m., where she admitted to breaking several windows while trying to enter. "The resident said that he did not wish to have her arrested," LAPD spokesperson Renee Montoya said. "But as the investigation continued, the officers noticed that Ms. Love's behavior was consistent with being under the influence of controlled substances." Police would not disclose the name of the resident.

Love was taken into custody and booked under the name Courtney Michelle Cobain for allegedly being under the influence of a controlled substance. She was released a short time later after posting $2,500 bail.

A spokesperson for Love could not be reached for comment by press time.

Beverly Hills police received a call at 6:38 a.m. from a female resident of a home in the area reporting a medical emergency, according to a Beverly Hills Police Department spokesperson. Paramedics arrived a short time later and rushed Love to a hospital for treatment of a drug overdose, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Beverly Hills PD spokesperson Mitch McCann would not confirm that Love was the patient or that she had suffered an overdose, but said that it was his understanding that the patient checked out of Century City Hospital Thursday afternoon. A spokesperson for the hospital could not be reached by press time.

Love's long-in-the-works debut solo album, America's Sweetheart, was originally due at the end of this month, but was recently postponed until February 10.

[This story was updated at 1:44 p.m. ET on 10.03.2003]

• Courtney Love
• Hole