Celebrities Busted for Marijuana

Despite their fame (or even because of it), stars are just as susceptible to run-ins with the law as the average Joe, and more than a few have been picked up on marijuana charges. Some, like Willie Nelson (a longtime pot advocate who was issued a citation in 2006 for possession of marijuana and narcotic mushrooms), won't surprise you. But some of the other star-studded cases just might.

Louis Armstrong

Armstrong was arrested in 1930, along with drummer Vic Berton, outside the Cotton Club in Culver City, Calif. Allegedly, according to Berton's brother Ralph, Berton and the famous jazz musician spent the night "laughing it up" in a cell, where they were kept overnight after the arrest, because "they were still high." A judge gave them each six-month jail sentences (which were later suspended) and a $1,000 fine.

John Lennon

In 1968, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were arrested at their London home and charged with drug possession. Police read the warrant through Lennon's bedroom window as he was attempting to get rid of evidence, and then broke down the front door. Drug-sniffing dogs reportedly found hashish, a cigarette-rolling machine containing traces of marijuana and a small amount of morphine. Lennon pleaded guilty and was fined 150 pounds.

Eric Clapton

In 1968, Clapton was arrested in Los Angeles, along with three members of the band Buffalo Springfield - Neil Young, Jim Messina, and Richie Furay - on suspicion of marijuana use. The latter three were later found guilty and fined, but Clapton beat the charges.

George Harrison

On March 12, 1969, officers raided the London home of Harrison and Patti Boyd, and arrested them for marijuana possession. The arrest forced them to miss the wedding of Paul and Linda McCartney, which took place the same day. Both pleaded guilty and were fined 250 pounds each. The raid was conducted by Sgt. Norman Pilcher, who also busted John Lennon on drug charges the year before.

Bill Murray

Before Murray became a comedy star on "Saturday Night Live," he was taking pre-med courses at Regis College in Denver - that is, until he was expelled after he was arrested in 1970 for attempting to smuggle nearly nine pounds of marijuana through O'Hare Airport in Chicago. In 2007, the college later awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.

David Bowie

In March 1976, Bowie wascharged with felony pot possession in Rochester, N.Y., along with Iggy Pop and two others, following a Saturday night concert. All four pleaded not guilty and charges were eventually dropped.

Bob Marley

In the spring of 1977, while living in London, Marley was arrested and fined by British police for marijuana possession.

Paul McCartney

In 1980, while on tour with the band Wings, McCartney was detained at Tokyo's Narita Airport after customs officials found half a pound of marijuana in his luggage. He spent 10 nights in jail before being released and deported. He later admitted, according to the BBC, that "it was the daftest thing I've done in my entire life."

Chuck Berry

In 1990, police raided Berry's home and found 62 grams of marijuana. The legendary guitarist pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of marijuana possession, and was given a six-month suspended jail sentence, placed on two years unsupervised probation and ordered to donate $5,000 to a local hospital.

Woody Harrelson

On June 1, 1996, Harrelson was arrested and charged with marijuana possession in Kentucky after he planted four hemp seeds to symbolically challenge the state law, which did not distinguish between marijuana and hemp, which has industrial uses. A jury later dismissed the charge.

Lil' Kim

Before her turn on "Dancing with the Stars," Lil' Kim - also known as Kimberly Jones - was arrested in 1996 for marijuana possession after police raided the New Jersey home of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. and found weapons and pot.

Snoop Dogg

In 1998, Snoop Dogg and another rapper, Delmar Arnaud, were given citations for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana following a concert in Los Angeles. In 2001, he was nabbed again when Cleveland police searched his tour bus and found 200 grams of the drug. He pleaded no contest to possession of marijuana the next year and was fined $250.

Whitney Houston

In 2000, Whitney Houston was detained at an airport in Hawaii after authorities searched her handbag and found 15.2 grams of marijuana. Security reportedly tried to hold the singer, but she walked away and got on her flight to San Francisco, which left before police could arrive. She later pleaded no contest and the marijuana possession charge was dropped.

Bo Bice

When Bice found national fame on "American Idol," drug charges from his past came into the spotlight as well. In 2001 he was arrested for posession of cocaine, and in 2003 he was busted again for posession of marijuana, public intoxication and posession of drug paraphernalia. The drug charges were later dropped and Bice pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges.

Macauley Culkin

Culkin was the passenger in a car pulled over for speeding in Oklahoma City in 2004, and when police searched the car and found marijuana, Xanax and clonazepam, he was charged with posession of marijuana and posession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He was given a one-year deferred sentence on each charge and had to pay a $540 fine.

Haley Joel Osment

In 2006, Osment lost control of his car and collided with a brick pillar. Police charged the actor with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. He pleaded no contest and was placed on three years probation, ordered to pay $1,500 in fines and to spend 60 hours in an alcohol rehabilitation and education program and attend at least 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in a six-month period.

Mischa Barton

Barton was pulled over in West Hollywood, Calif., in 2007 after police saw her driving erratically. She was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a license, possessing a controlled substance and possessing marijuana. The actress pleaded no contest to misdemeanor driving under the influence and driving without a license and was given three years probation.

Dawn Wells

The "Gilligan's Island" actress was arrested in October 2007 after she was pulled over for driving erratically and was caught with marijuana in her car. She later denied the marijuana was hers and was not convicted on marijuana posession. She did plead guilty to one count of reckless driving and was sentenced to five days in jail, fined $410.50 and placed on six months probation.

Amy Winehouse

The singer is known for her troubled history with drugs and alcohol, and among that history is her October 2007 arrest in Norway for possession of seven grams of marijuana. She and then-husband Blake Fielder-Civil were released and fined 3850 kroner. Winehouse tried to appeal the fines, claiming the police made mistakes, but she later dropped the claim.