Drugs & Alcohol

Lots happened this week ... most notably Lamar Odom slipping deeper into trouble over his addiction. So we gotta ask ...

Khloe Kardashian is going through hell right now but trying to put on brave face to the world ... or so it seems.

Khloe tweeted a picture of herself Friday night -- looking flawless -- and NOT looking like a woman on the brink. An hour later she offered an explanation, writing "Smile and no one will notice." A pretty clear message.

TMZ broke the story ... Khloe is trying everything she can to save husband Lamar Odom from his downward spiral, which stems from an intense crack addiction.

Lamar Odom allegedly pulled a Kylie Jenner just 6 days before his DUI arrest -- rear-ending another car and causing a chain-reaction collision on an L.A. freeway.

The 3-car accident occurred at around 6 PM on the 101 Freeway -- the same freeway on which Lamar was popped for DUI on Friday morning.

So how did the media find out about the story? Turns out ... the person Lamar hit is a reporter for the L.A. Times. It's unclear why the Times waited so long to publish the story.

According to the reporter, Lamar's white Mercedes slammed into the back of his ride near the Gower Street exit.

After the collision, the reporter says he tried to swap insurance info with Odom ... but the NBA star was resistant ... and insisted the damage "doesn't even look that bad."

Eventually, the reporter says he obtained Odom's insurance info ... but when he tried to give the insurance card back to Lamar, he bizarrely resisted at first ... before realizing he needed to have his insurance card to drive.

The reporter says the accident was not reported to the cops.

Lamar Odom got some secret visitors yesterday -- two drug counselors who work with the National Basketball Players Association ... just hours before he was busted for DUI.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... the counselors -- former NBA players Dirk Minniefield and Cliff Robinson -- had contacted Lamar to offer help, and he accepted -- thus, the meeting.

Cliff and Dirk know a thing or 2 about addicts and drug addiction -- they both struggled with substance abuse during their careers. They currently work with the NBPA ... counseling rookies and struggling NBA players about handling addiction.

During the visit Thursday at Lamar and Khloe's house ... we're told Lamar was receptive and, as one source said, "It was very positive."

Here's the problem ... Shortly after Dirk and Cliff left, Lamar drove off and never came home.

As we first reported, he was arrested early this morning for DUI ... and law enforcement sources tell us they believe he was under the influence of both drugs and alcohol.

11:07 AM PT -- TMZ has just obtained a photo of Lamar's Mercedes SUV inside the tow yard, where his car was taken after the DUI arrest.

10:05 AM PT -- According to the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept., Odom was released from custody at 8:33 AM. However, it's unclear if Odom has actually left the station yet.

9:17 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... officers at the scene smelled alcohol on Lamar and believe he was under the influence of both drugs and alcohol. The sources say Lamar's driving and conduct were consistent with drugs. We're told there were no drugs or alcohol found in Lamar's car ... only cigarettes, 2 bottles of cologne and other innocuous items.

Lamar Odom was arrested for "driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs" early Friday morning ... TMZ has learned.

The bust occurred in the San Fernando Valley at 3:54 AM. Lamar -- who was driving a white Mercedes SUV -- was popped by the California Highway Patrol and taken to a nearby station, where he was booked and is being held on $15,000 bail.

He was pulled over on the 101 Freeway for going too slow -- 50 MPH. Cops say Odom had been driving in a "serpentine manner."

Lamar initially did not respond to cops, and drove 3 exits before finally coming to a stop. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ he showed obvious signs of intoxication.

Lamar failed numerous field sobriety tests.

When Lamar was booked, we're told he refused all chemical tests.

Lamar's booking sheet shows he is 6'10" and 235 lbs.

Lamar has been tooling around town lately ... this after TMZ broke the story he had been on a crack binge.

Sean Kingston and his bodyguard gang raped a drunk teenager in the singer's hotel room back in 2010, according to a new lawsuit -- but Sean says it's B.S.

Carissa Capeloto -- now 22 -- claims she was forced to have sex with Sean, his bodyguard and a member of Sean's band at a Seattle hotel in July, 2010, after she had smoked pot and downed 7-10 shots of vodka.

Capeloto -- who has sued all 3 men -- alleges she'd been invited to Kingston's hotel room for a meet-and-greet following a Bieber concert -- where Kingston had also performed -- but when she showed up ... Kingston was waiting naked on his bed.

Capeloto claims the bodyguard picked her up and placed her on top of Kingston, and all three of the men proceeded to gang rape her while she was "obviously intoxicated, incapable of consent."

Capeloto says her friend later entered the room and rescued her. The police were called and Capeloto was taken to the hospital where she says she was treated for physical injuries consistent with rape.

She says her life has been ruined ... she can barely sleep, has mood swings and panic attacks. Capeloto wants $5 mil minimum.

BTW ... criminal charges against Kingston were dropped in 2010 after cops concluded Capeloto wasn't credible enough for a legit case.

Kingston has filed legal docs insisting the sex was 100% consensual.

Trial is set for November.

One of the biggest anti-drug organizations in the U.S. has drawn a hard line in the sand -- telling a trendy L.A. clothing boutique it will NOT accept donations collected from the sale of "irresponsible" drug-inspired shirts.

The shirts in question have been at the center of a media firestorm -- featuring the names of various prescription drugs like Xanax and Vicodin plastered across the back.

After taking all sorts of heat, Kitson -- the boutique selling the shirts -- has said it would donate part of the profits to the Medicine Abuse Project ... a partner of DrugFree.org.

But DrugFree.org is pushing back HARD -- firing off a letter to Kitson saying, "We would not entertain any direct donation from Kitson while you flagrantly, and without remorse, continue to sell these products."

Translation -- take your money and stick it.

DrugFree.org also demanded Kitson remove the org.'s name from the store's website -- and Kitson has obliged.

Jenny McCarthy's latest fundraising event must have been a BLAST ... because a bunch of her famous friends got busted for public intoxication afterwards.

The event -- a fundraiser for a local children's school -- began at a hotel in St. Charles, IL and eventually moved to a nearby bar called EvenFlow around 12:30 AM.

It's unclear what happened afterwards, but at 5:45 AM "General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco, "Bones" actor Heath Freeman, pro dancer Serge Onik, and Jenny's sister Joanne McCarthy were all issued $50 tickets outside the bar ... for public intoxication.

According to police reports, Joanne McCarthy told cops the group had been drinking inside EvenFlow up until they left the place around 5:45 AM, right before police arrived in response to a neighborhood noise complaint. We're told they were all waiting for cabs when police arrived.

FYI, drinking establishments are supposed to stop serving booze after 2 AM in that area.

Jenny McCarthy was NOT involved in the incident.

Atlanta Hawks head coach Michael Budenholzer says he was NOT driving drunk when he was arrested for DUI last night ... and says he has some semi-convincing proof to back his claim.

Budenholzer was arrested in Atlanta around 10:30 PM Wednesday night ... after a Georgia State Trooper noticed the NBA coach's car had a broken taillight.

During the stop, cops say they noticed a strong odor of alcohol on Budenholzer's breath -- and asked him to submit to various field sobriety tests, including a breathalyzer.

According to the incident report, obtained by TMZ, MB agreed to everything BUT the breathalyzer ... and then proceeded to perform poorly during the other field sobriety tests.

During the arrest, Budenholzer reportedly admitted to having consumed 1 glass of wine earlier in the evening. He was arrested and hauled to a nearby jail.

Budenholzer was eventually released from custody around 3:45 AM this morning (5 HOURS after the initial arrest) ... and his lawyer says the coach went directly to a local hospital where a blood test revealed his B.A.C. was less than .01.

Golden State Warriors star David Lee tells TMZ ... he thinks the NBA drug testing policy is rock solid -- and believes the reason only 1 guy has tested positive for hard drugs since 2000 is because the players are simply staying clean.

Lee was leaving Hooray Henry's nightclub in L.A. last night when we asked about the drug culture in the NBA -- specifically the statistic that the ONLY person who tested positive for a drug harder than weed in the past 13 years is Chris "Birdman" Andersen.

"I can tell you [the NBA is] very thorough with their testing," Lee told us.

As we reported, multiple NBA sources tell us players have found a loophole in the NBA drug testing policy -- because they're only tested 4 times a year, and after the 4th test "It's like Christmas Day."

There are two reasons to watch this video of rapper A$AP Rocky ...

1) He addresses the confrontation between himself and a security guard behind the scenes at the MTV VMAs.

2) He's SOOOOO HIGH!!!!!!

As for the VMAs conflict ... our friends at Bossip obtained video of Rocky chewing out a security guard ... but his girlfriend Chanel Iman stepped in and pulled Rocky away. It's unclear what Rocky was so upset about, but it's clear he was pissed.

Rocky tells TMZ he's not a troublemaker ... he's a peacemaker ... and blows off the altercation as no big deal.

Now, someone get that man some Funyuns, STAT!!!

Lamar Odom is not the only basketball player who was high on drugs during the season -- not by a long shot, TMZ has learned.

Multiple NBA-connected sources tell TMZ ... the big problem is that the league is only allowed to test players 4 times during a season. Because testing is randomized, the last test can be administered as early as January, and the season lasts for months thereafter. As one recently-retired NBA player put it, after the 4th test, "It's like Christmas Day. We can take whatever we want."

One NBA-connected source says pot is "ubiquitous" in the sport. The source adds, however, that most athletes who indulge do so in moderation so it doesn't have a perceptible impact on their performance. An NBA rep tells us ... weed is not only prevalent, it's hardly hidden -- he says the hotel rooms where the players stay, and even the halls, have the telltale smell.

The players we've spoken with all agree ... pot is prevalent. But some of the players say Lean -- Sprite and Codeine cough syrup -- has become a recreational drug of choice during the season. One player said it was even used during the recent playoffs.

One current and famous player tells TMZ, he estimates 30% of his fellow NBAers use hard drugs -- including Molly, Ecstasy, and Lean -- at some point during the season. He says he's never been aware of anyone doing cocaine during the season.

Another current and famous player tells us he estimates only 10% of NBA players use hard drugs, and no one uses cocaine during the season -- it's too risky. He also says Lean is a drug of choice.

An NBA source agrees -- he estimates 10-15% of the players use hard drugs during the season.

One NBA insider believes the drug use problem has gotten better over the last 5 years because of social media. He says players have been burned because pictures of them doing things they shouldn't be show up on Instagram and Facebook, and it's inhibited them.

Three major Rx companies are now gearing up to sue a famous L.A. clothing boutique for jacking their product names on snarky jerseys.

Kitson in L.A. is selling shirts emblazoned with popular prescription drug names like Xanax, Vicodin, and Adderall -- drugs that are widely abused and responsible for many deaths.

The people at DrugFree.org have already expressed anger over the shirts ... but now reps for Xanax, Vicodin, and Adderall tell TMZ, they're scrambling lawyers to get the shirts yanked from the shelves ... OR ELSE. The "or else" is a trademark infringement lawsuit.

Adderall's rep tells us, "We had no involvement NOR do we approve of the sale of such a product using Adderall to glorify the misuse of our product."

Vicodin's rep adds, "Prescription drug use should not be trivialized. It is a serious issue and we will be taking legal action to stop the clothing company from trying to sell such a product."

A Xanax rep tells TMZ they're also considering legal action.

Sean Kingston now says he WASN'T drunk when he got behind the wheel of his Lamborghini and roared down Sunset Blvd. Tuesday night, claiming he doesn't drink when he hits the clubs.

Kingston just went off on Twitter ... reacting to the TMZ video we posted this morning, which shows Kingston hopping into his Lambo, confessing he had "too much drinks" to answer our questions.

Kingston wrote, "For the record @TMZ I’m not 1 of these artist who u may think is living youngwild and free in Hollywood i care about my reputation and brand."

Must be a brand new policy ... considering he was so drunk at Playhouse just a couple months ago he got out of the driver's seat because he didn't want to get a DUI.

Lamar Odom would rather order tacos than answer questions about his crack problem ... and we don't blame him ... his order sounds delicious.

The NBA star was making a munchies run moments ago, hitting up a Taco Bell drive-thru near his and Khloe's Tarzana home ... and proudly displaying his wedding ring ... when he was pelted with questions about his drug addiction.

Lamar wasn't feeling talkative, but he did manage to complete his order ... laughing in the process.

It's a good sign Odom has stopped smoking crack -- at least temporarily -- because one does not typically make food runs while zonked.

As we reported, Lamar has returned home after going MIA for several days and is now listening to his wife Khloe's advice, though he's still undecided about seeking treatment for his crack cocaine problem.

Fun fact: the famous Taco Bell chihuahua died in 2009. R.I.P.

He's out with the Clippers, but Lamar Odom could have a new home in Memphis ... if Grizzlies superstar Zach Randolph has anything to say about it.

Randolph -- a former Clipper himself -- was outside The Emerson Theatre in L.A. last night when we asked if he'd welcome Lamar to his team, if L.O. can get his life back in order.

"Damn right," Randolph said ... "He's a good dude."

Randolph knows a thing or two about second chances -- he's had multiple run-ins with the law over the years and was once suspended for punching a teammate in the face ... yet overcame his troubles to emerge as a bona fide superstar.

... a superstar who knows what it's like to get SWATTED hard by L.O. (check out the video below).