Macaulay Culkin - Famous child actor charged with drug possession
Actor released from Oklahoma City jail after posting bond
September 18, 2004
(CNN) -- Actor Macaulay Culkin, who gained fame as a child in the smash hit film "Home Alone," was charged Friday in Oklahoma City with marijuana possession and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, police said.
Culkin, 24, was a passenger in a Pontiac Bonneville stopped on Interstate 44 about 4 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) for speeding, police said. He was arrested after officers found the substances during a search of the car, and was released after posting $4,000 bond, police said.
Police seized 17.3 grams of marijuana, eight Xanax pills and 16 round white pills identified by police as clonazepam, a sedative used to treat anxiety and seizures that can be addictive. Police said Culkin told them he did not have a prescription for the pills.
The driver of the vehicle, Brett M. Tabisel, 22, of New York City, was charged with speeding, improper lane change and marijuana possession, police said.
According to the police report, the officer who pulled Tabisel over found a plastic bag filled with marijuana inside a black bag on the floor, in which Culkin had told the officer he had $3,000. The pills were in a clear plastic bag that Culkin pulled out of his front pocket, according to the report, and the arresting officer also found six rolled marijuana joints and two small burnt cigarettes in a silver cigarette case.
Culkin made no comment as he left the Oklahoma County Jail. His publicist, Michelle Bega, also had no comment.
Culkin has appeared in 19 films, including the 1989 film "Uncle Buck" -- one year before "Home Alone" hit the box office.
His most recent American-made film was "Saved!," which was released earlier this year. He has made numerous television appearances, including hosting "Saturday Night Live" in 1991.
Culkin was just 9 years old when "Home Alone" took America by storm. Feeding off that success, he appeared in about 10 films in a span of four years, becoming the highest paid child star in history along the way.
At the age of 14, he said he was retiring -- an announcement that upset his father so much it ultimately led to a complete estrangement between the two.
In an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live" in May, Culkin acknowledged he consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana over the years, but said, "I never had a problem."
"Everything that I do for some reason becomes this big crazy thing, you know, even though any normal person does it. Like, yes I'm a kid, I had a beer, I smoked a joint. Big deal," he said.
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