When Whitney Houston Was Busted for Weed in Hawaii

Whitney Houston 1963-2012 (image via Rex Features)

The new Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody briefly touches on her 2000 marijuana arrest in Hawaii. Here's what happened:

On Jan. 11, 2000, security at Keahole-Kona International Airport on Hawaii's Big Island found a half ounce of pot and three half-smoked joints in Houston's handbag. Somehow, Houston, who was 36 at the time, and her husband Bobby Brown were able to evade being arrested. They got on the plane to San Francisco, where police were waiting for the couple. Houston was charged with a misdemeanor for marijuana possession.

Fourteen months late, on March 8, 2001, the charge was dropped after an agreement was made between her legal team and Hawaii authorities in November that required Houston to seek drug treatment. But the March ruling in Houston's favor acknowledged that rehab was not necessary. She had faced a 30-day sentence and $1,000 fine.

Houston subsequently went to rehab several times for a cocaine and alcohol abuse. Coke was found in her system after she died in a hotel bathtub on Feb. 11, 2012. 

 

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Steve Bloom

Steve Bloom

Publisher of CelebStoner.com, former editor of High Times and Freedom Leaf and co-author of Pot Culture and Reefer Movie Madness.