jail for drug-driving crash - antidepressant

[Guest guest]

gets jail sentence for drug-driving crash

Pop star also fined and given driving ban after admitting he had taken antidepressents and cannabis before getting behind wheel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/14/george-michael-sentenced-jail-drug-crash

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Tweet this (43)

andra Topping

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 September 2010 19.48 BST

Article history

arrives at Highbury Corner magistrates court. He was given an eight-week sentence. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

, pop star, heart-throb and celebrity bad boy, is no stranger to feeling the hand of the law on his shoulder. But today the singer felt its full weight as he was sentenced to eight weeks in prison after he admitted crashing his car under the influence of cannabis.

After being greeted at the court by screaming fans and flashing cameras, the 47-year-old former Wham! frontman, real name Georgios Panayiotou, was also fined £1,250 and banned from driving for five years. He will serve four weeks of the sentence, spending the rest on licence.

The star was arrested in July this year after his Range Rover crashed into a branch of Snappy Snaps in the early hours of the morning, in Hampstead, north London.

The incident is the singer's latest brush with the law. Open about his use of cannabis, he has been cautioned on a number of occasions for possessing drugs, questioned over several minor accidents, and infamously fined for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet in California.

Highbury Corner magistrates court in north London had previously heard was convicted of driving while unfit through drugs after he was found collapsed in his Mercedes in 2006.

Today, district judge Perkins told that on the night of the crash he had taken a "dangerous and unpredictable mix" of prescription drugs and cannabis. He said he had taken into account the fact that the singer had checked himself into rehab immediately after the accident, his remorse, and his work for charity. But after 's previous conviction, a jail term was inevitable, he said.

"It does not appear that you took proper steps to deal with what is clearly an addiction to cannabis. That's a mistake which puts you and, on this occasion, the public at risk," he said.

He added: "I accept entirely that you have shown remorse for the offence, that you are ashamed of it, that you admitted it".

The singer released an audible sigh as Perkins passed sentence and glanced at those sitting in the court. As he was told prison was unavoidable, his longterm partner, Kenny Goss, sitting at the back of the court, put his head in his hands.

At the sentencing, 's barrister, Mukul Chawla QC, said mitigating factors should be taken into account. He told the judge that felt "profound shame and horror" after the accident.

"He recognises his actions of driving had the effect of causing other road users to be in danger and that stark fact caused him to be greatly ashamed," he said.

He also told the judge that, after a long period in the creative wilderness, had begun writing again. "His creativity, so long hampered by his drug dependence, is re-emerging," he said.

Chawla said the singer – who had used prescription medication to deal with his anxiety, depression and insomnia over a long period – had attempted to wean himself off drugs in March this year. He had some success, but later found "the feelings of anxiety and insomnia appeared to have redoubled".

returned to his doctor and was given the antidepressant Amitriptyline, which he took on the night of the crash.

He told police after his arrest: "I'm so ashamed of it. It is so ridiculously dangerous and that is why I have stayed away from them [the antidepressants], even though I still have insomnia and I had some anxiety." He had only started taking the drug recently, he said, adding: "They are a recent thing, and it's taken me a whole week to fuck up again."

In June 2007, was banned from driving for two years and sentenced to 100 hours of community service at Brent magistrates' court, north London.

In the latest incident, was held in Hampstead in the early hours of 4 July. He was arrested just before 4am after police found him slumped over the wheel of his car in Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, having crashed into the shop front of the photography shop.

The court heard that he did not at first appear to notice police, and tried to get the car into gear, before being roused by an officer banging on his window. Police said he appeared "spaced out", was sweating and breathing heavily. He did not initially respond to police, but, when asked what his name was, replied: "." When told he had crashed into a shop, he said: "No I didn't. I didn't crash into anything."

The star was found to be in possession of two cannabis joints, and was charged with possession of cannabis on 12 August. admitted smoking a "small quantity" of cannabis at about 10pm the previous evening, and said he also took a newly prescribed sedative to help him sleep. He told police he decided to drive between his homes in Highgate and Hampstead to meet a friend on the spur of the moment and had forgotten he had taken the sedative.

first achieved fame in the 1980s after starting the band Wham with school friend Ridgeley.

His first solo album, Faith, topped the UK charts in 1987, but he spent much of the early 90s locked in a legal fight with Sony, which prevented him from recording any fresh material. Virgin and Spielberg's Dreamworks paid Sony $40m (£23.8m) to release him from a multi-album deal. His last album of original material, Patience, was released in 2004.

Nick Freeman, a lawyer who has represented a string of celebrities accused of drink driving offences, criticised the sentence.

"This is a man in the public eye who clearly has problems," he said.

"What good will this kind of sentence do? He obviously needs help. Locking him up will achieve nothing.

"It is obvious that he is being made an example of. An immediate jail term is a terrible outcome for him.

"The government tell us that short-term sentences don't work, so why has one been given in a case like this where treatment is clearly the best solution?"

Fans gathered outside the court today included , 41, from east London, who said she hoped the singer would continue with the process of trying to improve himself.

"I am here to show my support, I have been a fan for 26 years – that's longer than a marriage," she said.

As the singer was escorted to the court's cells following his sentence, broke down into noisy tears. Her idol said nothing, but kept his eyes to the floor, before later being driven away in a white security van

[Guest guest]

gets jail sentence for drug-driving crash

Pop star also fined and given driving ban after admitting he had taken antidepressents and cannabis before getting behind wheel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/14/george-michael-sentenced-jail-drug-crash

(43)

Tweet this (43)

andra Topping

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 September 2010 19.48 BST

Article history

arrives at Highbury Corner magistrates court. He was given an eight-week sentence. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

, pop star, heart-throb and celebrity bad boy, is no stranger to feeling the hand of the law on his shoulder. But today the singer felt its full weight as he was sentenced to eight weeks in prison after he admitted crashing his car under the influence of cannabis.

After being greeted at the court by screaming fans and flashing cameras, the 47-year-old former Wham! frontman, real name Georgios Panayiotou, was also fined £1,250 and banned from driving for five years. He will serve four weeks of the sentence, spending the rest on licence.

The star was arrested in July this year after his Range Rover crashed into a branch of Snappy Snaps in the early hours of the morning, in Hampstead, north London.

The incident is the singer's latest brush with the law. Open about his use of cannabis, he has been cautioned on a number of occasions for possessing drugs, questioned over several minor accidents, and infamously fined for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet in California.

Highbury Corner magistrates court in north London had previously heard was convicted of driving while unfit through drugs after he was found collapsed in his Mercedes in 2006.

Today, district judge Perkins told that on the night of the crash he had taken a "dangerous and unpredictable mix" of prescription drugs and cannabis. He said he had taken into account the fact that the singer had checked himself into rehab immediately after the accident, his remorse, and his work for charity. But after 's previous conviction, a jail term was inevitable, he said.

"It does not appear that you took proper steps to deal with what is clearly an addiction to cannabis. That's a mistake which puts you and, on this occasion, the public at risk," he said.

He added: "I accept entirely that you have shown remorse for the offence, that you are ashamed of it, that you admitted it".

The singer released an audible sigh as Perkins passed sentence and glanced at those sitting in the court. As he was told prison was unavoidable, his longterm partner, Kenny Goss, sitting at the back of the court, put his head in his hands.

At the sentencing, 's barrister, Mukul Chawla QC, said mitigating factors should be taken into account. He told the judge that felt "profound shame and horror" after the accident.

"He recognises his actions of driving had the effect of causing other road users to be in danger and that stark fact caused him to be greatly ashamed," he said.

He also told the judge that, after a long period in the creative wilderness, had begun writing again. "His creativity, so long hampered by his drug dependence, is re-emerging," he said.

Chawla said the singer – who had used prescription medication to deal with his anxiety, depression and insomnia over a long period – had attempted to wean himself off drugs in March this year. He had some success, but later found "the feelings of anxiety and insomnia appeared to have redoubled".

returned to his doctor and was given the antidepressant Amitriptyline, which he took on the night of the crash.

He told police after his arrest: "I'm so ashamed of it. It is so ridiculously dangerous and that is why I have stayed away from them [the antidepressants], even though I still have insomnia and I had some anxiety." He had only started taking the drug recently, he said, adding: "They are a recent thing, and it's taken me a whole week to fuck up again."

In June 2007, was banned from driving for two years and sentenced to 100 hours of community service at Brent magistrates' court, north London.

In the latest incident, was held in Hampstead in the early hours of 4 July. He was arrested just before 4am after police found him slumped over the wheel of his car in Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, having crashed into the shop front of the photography shop.

The court heard that he did not at first appear to notice police, and tried to get the car into gear, before being roused by an officer banging on his window. Police said he appeared "spaced out", was sweating and breathing heavily. He did not initially respond to police, but, when asked what his name was, replied: "." When told he had crashed into a shop, he said: "No I didn't. I didn't crash into anything."

The star was found to be in possession of two cannabis joints, and was charged with possession of cannabis on 12 August. admitted smoking a "small quantity" of cannabis at about 10pm the previous evening, and said he also took a newly prescribed sedative to help him sleep. He told police he decided to drive between his homes in Highgate and Hampstead to meet a friend on the spur of the moment and had forgotten he had taken the sedative.

first achieved fame in the 1980s after starting the band Wham with school friend Ridgeley.

His first solo album, Faith, topped the UK charts in 1987, but he spent much of the early 90s locked in a legal fight with Sony, which prevented him from recording any fresh material. Virgin and Spielberg's Dreamworks paid Sony $40m (£23.8m) to release him from a multi-album deal. His last album of original material, Patience, was released in 2004.

Nick Freeman, a lawyer who has represented a string of celebrities accused of drink driving offences, criticised the sentence.

"This is a man in the public eye who clearly has problems," he said.

"What good will this kind of sentence do? He obviously needs help. Locking him up will achieve nothing.

"It is obvious that he is being made an example of. An immediate jail term is a terrible outcome for him.

"The government tell us that short-term sentences don't work, so why has one been given in a case like this where treatment is clearly the best solution?"

Fans gathered outside the court today included , 41, from east London, who said she hoped the singer would continue with the process of trying to improve himself.

"I am here to show my support, I have been a fan for 26 years – that's longer than a marriage," she said.

As the singer was escorted to the court's cells following his sentence, broke down into noisy tears. Her idol said nothing, but kept his eyes to the floor, before later being driven away in a white security van

[Guest guest]

gets jail sentence for drug-driving crash

Pop star also fined and given driving ban after admitting he had taken antidepressents and cannabis before getting behind wheel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/14/george-michael-sentenced-jail-drug-crash

(43)

Tweet this (43)

andra Topping

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 September 2010 19.48 BST

Article history

arrives at Highbury Corner magistrates court. He was given an eight-week sentence. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

, pop star, heart-throb and celebrity bad boy, is no stranger to feeling the hand of the law on his shoulder. But today the singer felt its full weight as he was sentenced to eight weeks in prison after he admitted crashing his car under the influence of cannabis.

After being greeted at the court by screaming fans and flashing cameras, the 47-year-old former Wham! frontman, real name Georgios Panayiotou, was also fined £1,250 and banned from driving for five years. He will serve four weeks of the sentence, spending the rest on licence.

The star was arrested in July this year after his Range Rover crashed into a branch of Snappy Snaps in the early hours of the morning, in Hampstead, north London.

The incident is the singer's latest brush with the law. Open about his use of cannabis, he has been cautioned on a number of occasions for possessing drugs, questioned over several minor accidents, and infamously fined for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet in California.

Highbury Corner magistrates court in north London had previously heard was convicted of driving while unfit through drugs after he was found collapsed in his Mercedes in 2006.

Today, district judge Perkins told that on the night of the crash he had taken a "dangerous and unpredictable mix" of prescription drugs and cannabis. He said he had taken into account the fact that the singer had checked himself into rehab immediately after the accident, his remorse, and his work for charity. But after 's previous conviction, a jail term was inevitable, he said.

"It does not appear that you took proper steps to deal with what is clearly an addiction to cannabis. That's a mistake which puts you and, on this occasion, the public at risk," he said.

He added: "I accept entirely that you have shown remorse for the offence, that you are ashamed of it, that you admitted it".

The singer released an audible sigh as Perkins passed sentence and glanced at those sitting in the court. As he was told prison was unavoidable, his longterm partner, Kenny Goss, sitting at the back of the court, put his head in his hands.

At the sentencing, 's barrister, Mukul Chawla QC, said mitigating factors should be taken into account. He told the judge that felt "profound shame and horror" after the accident.

"He recognises his actions of driving had the effect of causing other road users to be in danger and that stark fact caused him to be greatly ashamed," he said.

He also told the judge that, after a long period in the creative wilderness, had begun writing again. "His creativity, so long hampered by his drug dependence, is re-emerging," he said.

Chawla said the singer – who had used prescription medication to deal with his anxiety, depression and insomnia over a long period – had attempted to wean himself off drugs in March this year. He had some success, but later found "the feelings of anxiety and insomnia appeared to have redoubled".

returned to his doctor and was given the antidepressant Amitriptyline, which he took on the night of the crash.

He told police after his arrest: "I'm so ashamed of it. It is so ridiculously dangerous and that is why I have stayed away from them [the antidepressants], even though I still have insomnia and I had some anxiety." He had only started taking the drug recently, he said, adding: "They are a recent thing, and it's taken me a whole week to fuck up again."

In June 2007, was banned from driving for two years and sentenced to 100 hours of community service at Brent magistrates' court, north London.

In the latest incident, was held in Hampstead in the early hours of 4 July. He was arrested just before 4am after police found him slumped over the wheel of his car in Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, having crashed into the shop front of the photography shop.

The court heard that he did not at first appear to notice police, and tried to get the car into gear, before being roused by an officer banging on his window. Police said he appeared "spaced out", was sweating and breathing heavily. He did not initially respond to police, but, when asked what his name was, replied: "." When told he had crashed into a shop, he said: "No I didn't. I didn't crash into anything."

The star was found to be in possession of two cannabis joints, and was charged with possession of cannabis on 12 August. admitted smoking a "small quantity" of cannabis at about 10pm the previous evening, and said he also took a newly prescribed sedative to help him sleep. He told police he decided to drive between his homes in Highgate and Hampstead to meet a friend on the spur of the moment and had forgotten he had taken the sedative.

first achieved fame in the 1980s after starting the band Wham with school friend Ridgeley.

His first solo album, Faith, topped the UK charts in 1987, but he spent much of the early 90s locked in a legal fight with Sony, which prevented him from recording any fresh material. Virgin and Spielberg's Dreamworks paid Sony $40m (£23.8m) to release him from a multi-album deal. His last album of original material, Patience, was released in 2004.

Nick Freeman, a lawyer who has represented a string of celebrities accused of drink driving offences, criticised the sentence.

"This is a man in the public eye who clearly has problems," he said.

"What good will this kind of sentence do? He obviously needs help. Locking him up will achieve nothing.

"It is obvious that he is being made an example of. An immediate jail term is a terrible outcome for him.

"The government tell us that short-term sentences don't work, so why has one been given in a case like this where treatment is clearly the best solution?"

Fans gathered outside the court today included , 41, from east London, who said she hoped the singer would continue with the process of trying to improve himself.

"I am here to show my support, I have been a fan for 26 years – that's longer than a marriage," she said.

As the singer was escorted to the court's cells following his sentence, broke down into noisy tears. Her idol said nothing, but kept his eyes to the floor, before later being driven away in a white security van

[Guest guest]

gets jail sentence for drug-driving crash

Pop star also fined and given driving ban after admitting he had taken antidepressents and cannabis before getting behind wheel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/14/george-michael-sentenced-jail-drug-crash

(43)

Tweet this (43)

andra Topping

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 September 2010 19.48 BST

Article history

arrives at Highbury Corner magistrates court. He was given an eight-week sentence. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

, pop star, heart-throb and celebrity bad boy, is no stranger to feeling the hand of the law on his shoulder. But today the singer felt its full weight as he was sentenced to eight weeks in prison after he admitted crashing his car under the influence of cannabis.

After being greeted at the court by screaming fans and flashing cameras, the 47-year-old former Wham! frontman, real name Georgios Panayiotou, was also fined £1,250 and banned from driving for five years. He will serve four weeks of the sentence, spending the rest on licence.

The star was arrested in July this year after his Range Rover crashed into a branch of Snappy Snaps in the early hours of the morning, in Hampstead, north London.

The incident is the singer's latest brush with the law. Open about his use of cannabis, he has been cautioned on a number of occasions for possessing drugs, questioned over several minor accidents, and infamously fined for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet in California.

Highbury Corner magistrates court in north London had previously heard was convicted of driving while unfit through drugs after he was found collapsed in his Mercedes in 2006.

Today, district judge Perkins told that on the night of the crash he had taken a "dangerous and unpredictable mix" of prescription drugs and cannabis. He said he had taken into account the fact that the singer had checked himself into rehab immediately after the accident, his remorse, and his work for charity. But after 's previous conviction, a jail term was inevitable, he said.

"It does not appear that you took proper steps to deal with what is clearly an addiction to cannabis. That's a mistake which puts you and, on this occasion, the public at risk," he said.

He added: "I accept entirely that you have shown remorse for the offence, that you are ashamed of it, that you admitted it".

The singer released an audible sigh as Perkins passed sentence and glanced at those sitting in the court. As he was told prison was unavoidable, his longterm partner, Kenny Goss, sitting at the back of the court, put his head in his hands.

At the sentencing, 's barrister, Mukul Chawla QC, said mitigating factors should be taken into account. He told the judge that felt "profound shame and horror" after the accident.

"He recognises his actions of driving had the effect of causing other road users to be in danger and that stark fact caused him to be greatly ashamed," he said.

He also told the judge that, after a long period in the creative wilderness, had begun writing again. "His creativity, so long hampered by his drug dependence, is re-emerging," he said.

Chawla said the singer – who had used prescription medication to deal with his anxiety, depression and insomnia over a long period – had attempted to wean himself off drugs in March this year. He had some success, but later found "the feelings of anxiety and insomnia appeared to have redoubled".

returned to his doctor and was given the antidepressant Amitriptyline, which he took on the night of the crash.

He told police after his arrest: "I'm so ashamed of it. It is so ridiculously dangerous and that is why I have stayed away from them [the antidepressants], even though I still have insomnia and I had some anxiety." He had only started taking the drug recently, he said, adding: "They are a recent thing, and it's taken me a whole week to fuck up again."

In June 2007, was banned from driving for two years and sentenced to 100 hours of community service at Brent magistrates' court, north London.

In the latest incident, was held in Hampstead in the early hours of 4 July. He was arrested just before 4am after police found him slumped over the wheel of his car in Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, having crashed into the shop front of the photography shop.

The court heard that he did not at first appear to notice police, and tried to get the car into gear, before being roused by an officer banging on his window. Police said he appeared "spaced out", was sweating and breathing heavily. He did not initially respond to police, but, when asked what his name was, replied: "." When told he had crashed into a shop, he said: "No I didn't. I didn't crash into anything."

The star was found to be in possession of two cannabis joints, and was charged with possession of cannabis on 12 August. admitted smoking a "small quantity" of cannabis at about 10pm the previous evening, and said he also took a newly prescribed sedative to help him sleep. He told police he decided to drive between his homes in Highgate and Hampstead to meet a friend on the spur of the moment and had forgotten he had taken the sedative.

first achieved fame in the 1980s after starting the band Wham with school friend Ridgeley.

His first solo album, Faith, topped the UK charts in 1987, but he spent much of the early 90s locked in a legal fight with Sony, which prevented him from recording any fresh material. Virgin and Spielberg's Dreamworks paid Sony $40m (£23.8m) to release him from a multi-album deal. His last album of original material, Patience, was released in 2004.

Nick Freeman, a lawyer who has represented a string of celebrities accused of drink driving offences, criticised the sentence.

"This is a man in the public eye who clearly has problems," he said.

"What good will this kind of sentence do? He obviously needs help. Locking him up will achieve nothing.

"It is obvious that he is being made an example of. An immediate jail term is a terrible outcome for him.

"The government tell us that short-term sentences don't work, so why has one been given in a case like this where treatment is clearly the best solution?"

Fans gathered outside the court today included , 41, from east London, who said she hoped the singer would continue with the process of trying to improve himself.

"I am here to show my support, I have been a fan for 26 years – that's longer than a marriage," she said.

As the singer was escorted to the court's cells following his sentence, broke down into noisy tears. Her idol said nothing, but kept his eyes to the floor, before later being driven away in a white security van