Pete Doherty's Controversies - Drug Abuse and Legal Problems

Drug Abuse and Legal Problems

Doherty has been repeatedly arrested for drug offences and those arising from drug use, such as driving under the influence, car theft, and driving with a suspended licence. He has pled guilty to possession of crack cocaine, heroin, cannabis and ketamine. His addictions have resulted in jail time and multiple trips to rehabilitation facilities. The influence of drugs on his life had already reached such an intensity at times, that in his younger days, Doherty worked as a drug dealer to pay for his drug habit, as he stated to author Peter Welsh in his biography. Doherty stated that he had been a rent boy, and that during that time he robbed one of his male clients.

In 2003, while Doherty's first band The Libertines was performing in Japan without him, he broke into Carl Barât's flat and stole various items, including an old guitar and a laptop computer. On 7 September Doherty was sentenced by Judge Roger Davies to six months in prison, however the sentence was eventually shortened to two months on appeal with the judge commenting, "We feel that a custodial sentence was justified in this case but sufficient credit was not given for his timely plea of guilty which it should have been. We have reduced his sentence to two months which will allow for his almost immediate release." Doherty was released from jail on 8 October 2003.

On 2 February 2005, Doherty was arrested after an altercation with documentary filmmaker Max Carlish, who was making a rockumentary about the singer and sold photos of a heroin smoking Doherty to the tabloids. Doherty and his friend Alan Wass had been charged with robbery and blackmail. On 7 February, he was released on bail after his record company Rough Trade put up £150,000 in bonds. All charges against him were later dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service due to a lack of evidence.

In late 2007, a photo was published in several newspapers of Doherty allegedly forcing his pet cat to inhale from a crack pipe.

On 8 April 2008, Doherty was jailed for 14 weeks by a court for breaching a probation order after a string of brushes with the law for drugs and driving offences. On 18 April 2008, he was moved to a private area of Wormwood Scrubs prison after learning that fellow inmates were planning to attack him, therefore making it safer for the singer. On 6 May 2008, he was released after his sentence was cut in half and further 18 days were remitted due to a government plan to reduce overcrowding. He also had another 2 days off for being in police custody (after serving just over 4 weeks of a 14-week sentence). He described prison life as "a lot of gangsters and Radio 4" and showed a certificate confirming he had passed a drugs test while inside.

Doherty made another attempt to fight his drug addiction in September 2007, when he underwent rehab for six weeks at Clouds House. However, Doherty relapsed in November 2007 following his appearance at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 in Munich. In September 2008 Andy Boyd, Doherty's manager, claimed in an interview with the Daily Mail that Doherty did not get off heroin. Boyd stated: "The only time I can be sure he's not doing heroin or crack is when he’s in rehab or prison or asleep", and implied that when Doherty had an implant fitted, which blocks the body’s opiate receptors, he replaced heroin with another drug.

In June 2009, Doherty was arrested in Gloucester and charged with driving dangerously, while drunk, and in possession of heroin. He was released on a £50,000 bail and after 'guilty' pleas were entered, was asked to return to court on 21 December for sentencing. On 21 December, he was spared jail but was ordered to pay £2,050 in fines, and was banned from driving for 18 months, despite the court hearing Doherty had 21 previous drug offences and six motoring offences. Following his release from court, he was escorted by officers to the nearest police station and re-arrested for possession of a controlled substance, later revealed to be heroin. The following day, 22 December, it emerged that Doherty could be charged with offences linked to a hit-and-run incident, which left a pedestrian in a critical condition. His manager, Andrew Boyd, appeared in court charged with a number of offences relating to the incident. While Doherty was in Gloucester court on 21 December, heroin fell out of his coat pocket. He was arrested for possession and was convicted for this offence at the same court on 27 January 2010. He was fined £750 and ordered to pay £85 court costs.

On 11 March 2010, Lowestoft magistrates fined Doherty £500 and banned him from driving for 12 months for allowing his Daimler car to be used uninsured by his manager. On 19 March 2010, he was arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs. He was reported to be bail until April 2010.

In June 2010 Doherty was, after spending 10 hours in detention in JFK Airport, refused entry into the United States – despite having a visa.

On 18 October 2010, Doherty was summoned to court under the charge of cocaine possession. In March 2011 he pleaded guilty to possession, he was granted unconditional bail until sentencing on 20 May. On 20 May, Doherty was sentenced to 6 months in jail for possession of cocaine, following the inquiry into the death of Robin Whitehead.