Carmelo Anthony cited for marijuana possession
 

Claims it was his "friend's bag."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1906525

Thursday, October 21, 2004


Associated Press
DENVER -- Carmelo Anthony was cited for marijuana possession while boarding the team plane last week, though the Denver Nuggets star says the bag was left in his backpack by a friend.


Anthony, 20, was issued a summons last Friday at Denver International Airport while the Nuggets were waiting to board a flight to Milwaukee for a preseason game. Anthony's attorney, Daniel Recht, said he wasn't aware the marijuana was there and that it was left there by an out-of-town friend who borrowed the backpack last week.


"The friend obviously uses marijuana and left a small amount in the backpack when he returned it to Carmelo," Recht said Thursday. "Carmelo had no idea there was any marijuana in the backpack."


Anthony was charged with possessing less than 1 ounce of marijuana, a petty offense with a maximum $100 fine and no jail time. He was in Los Angeles for a preseason game against the Clippers and not immediately available for comment.


Recht said he has met with a city attorney and requested the citation be dismissed. He also said the friend acknowledged the marijuana was his and would come forward to accept responsibility as early as Thursday.


Recht also said he received a letter from Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe verifying Anthony passed four random drug tests last season and another just two weeks ago. The letter also said tests from U.S. Olympic Committee at the Athens Games this summer came back negative.


"He was devastated to learn there was marijuana left in the backpack," Recht said.


The charismatic Anthony led Syracuse to an NCAA title as a freshman in 2003, then was the third overall pick in the draft. He helped the Nuggets to one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history, from the league's worst record at 17-65 to reaching the playoffs last year for the first time since 1995.


There also have been some growing pains.


Anthony refused to go back into a game last season after his teammates complained about his shot selection and he was relegated to the bench at the Athens Games after U.S. coach Larry Brown called him a selfish player.


Anthony also was involved in a scuffle at a New York bar after someone reportedly spit on his girlfriend, MTV host La La Vasquez. He said the incident was blown out of proportion.

Damn... it has not been a spectacular offseason for the kid. I hope he can shake off all the trouble he has accumulated in his young life and start to make smarter decisions.

What is it with the hippie lettuce these days? Damn... There are alot of crackdowns on tokers these days... why cant they catch the heroin addicts instead?

It wasn't his it was a friends. Doesn't seem to be a whole lot of sharpe people coming into the NBA the last 15 years.

Well, the law of averages suggest that at least a small percentage of the time it really is a friend's marijuana.

My parents sure weren't buying that story, though.

I'm gonna give Carmelo the benefit of the doubt on this one only because, in this day and age, no one could be stupid enough to try and slip something illegal through airport security.

Makes me think of the Damon Stoudamire situation a little while back. He got busted carrying marijuana in an airport because he wrapped it in tin foil which was picked up by the metal detector. D'oh.

But its so easy.

Apparently not for Carmelo.

Well, if your friends are carrying you're wrong. Just the way it is when you are a pro athlete.

I didn't even try and run that one by my dad. Getting caught was one thing but trying to weasel out of it would have brought down major wrath.

I used that numerous times, I think the 1st time they believed, then they just got a bit suspicious every time they'd catch me and I said it's my friends.

Then I learned a good way to not get caught so I wouldnt have to blame it on my friends...I quit doing it.

So THAT'S why they call him "melo"....

Remember Robert Parrish mailed the stuff to himself? roflmao

melo, melo, melo. dumb, dumb, dumb. I mean it's not like he couldn't find some net*** in Mil to party with.

He will be cleared. I honestly believe he is innocent. He is the type to want to be looked up to by his fans (kids mostly).

I used to get so paranoid I smuggled some hash INTO Mexico. Hash because it's so small. I put it in one of those big gum mints to cover the smell. Ha!

Can't be cleared when you're caught with it. That's there forever no matter what happens now.