Courtney Love charged with drug possession

Actress-singer Courtney Love was charged with two counts of drug possession in a complaint that specified she illegally had the painkillers hydrocodone and oxycodone.

Both painkillers can be prescribed legally.

Love surrendered voluntarily and was booked by Beverly Hills police in California, according to district attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.

She said bail was recommended at $20,000 (around €17,100) and the court will consider whether Love is eligible for a anti-drug education programme.

“If she had prescriptions, we would not be charging illegal possession,” Ms Gibbons said yesterday.

The charges stem from an incident earlier this month when Love, 39, was arrested and booked on two misdemeanour drug counts after she allegedly tried to break into a Los Angeles home.

Hours after she was released, Beverly Hills police and paramedics were called to her home and took Love to a hospital for treatment of a drug overdose. The new charges relate to the overdose.

The performer is the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who committed suicide in 1994. She received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the 1996 film, The People vs Larry Flynt.