Al Gore III Arrested On Suspicion Of Drug Possession After Calif. Traffic Stop
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., July 5, 2007
(CBS/AP) Al Gore's son posted bail and was released from jail Wednesday after being arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and prescription drugs.
Authorities said Al Gore III was driving a Toyota Prius at about 100 mph on the San Diego Freeway when he was pulled over around 2:15 a.m. Wednesday, Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.
The deputies said they smelled marijuana and searched the car, Amormino said. They
found less than an ounce of marijuana along with Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall, which is used for attention deficit disorder, he said.
"He does not have a prescription for any of those drugs," Amormino said.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday he's glad his son is safe and getting treatment a day after the 24-year-old was arrested.
"We love him very much," Gore told NBC's "Today" show, adding, "We are going to leave it as a private matter."
Gore appeared on NBC to publicize this weekend's Live Earth concerts.
Gore III had been held in the men's central jail in Santa Ana on $20,000 bail.
The son of the former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee also was pulled over and arrested for pot possession in December 2003, in Bethesda, Md., while he was a student at Harvard University.
Gore was also ticketed shortly before the 2000 presidential election for driving 94 mph in North Carolina, CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller reports.
He completed substance abuse counseling as part of a pretrial diversion program to settle those charges.
The youngest of Al and Tipper Gore's four children and their only son, Gore lives in Los Angeles and is an associate publisher of GOOD, a magazine about philanthropy aimed at young people.
The arrest of Gore's son overshadowed Gore's work on the Live Earth concerts. The star of "An Inconvenient Truth" has been planning the worldwide event to raise awareness about the environment and funding for Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit organization he leads.
© MMVII The Associated Press.
Source:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n3017343.shtml