Drugs & Alcohol

"Lean on Me" star Jermaine Hopkins is becoming the king of big breaks when it comes to pot busts.

Jermaine pled guilty Wednesday to felony possession of marijuana ... according to court officials in Wake County, NC. We're told Jermaine pled guilty and was sentenced to a minimum of 4 months in prison. Now, here's the break -- that sentence was suspended.

That means Jermaine skates on jail time, and instead gets 24 months of supervised probation. If he screws up, though, he'll be headed to the slammer.

TMZ broke the story ... Jermaine was arrested back in October when cops found 5.7 lbs. of weed in his trunk. Jermaine also got probation in 2011 after he was busted for buying 200 freakin' lbs. of ganja from an undercover cop.

He'll now have to submit to drug testing as probation condition.

DMX is going back to jail -- he was taken into custody in a Manhattan court Tuesday morning for failing drug tests ... a violation of his probation in his tax evasion case.

We're told the judge ruled X was a flight risk after testing positive for opiates, cocaine and oxycodone.

As we reported ... DMX was supposed to be completing rehab while he was out on bail in his tax evasion case. He'd been given some leeway to travel for performances as of late.

U.S. Attorney Spokesman Nicholas Biase says prosecutors referenced the video TMZ got of DMX last week. Something definitely seemed off as he preached in a St. Louis airport bar. Witnesses said he was drinking and buying shots for other patrons. Boozing is also a probation violation.

DMX's attorney, Murray Richman, told us, "I'm saddened and disappointed. We'll have to deal with it accordingly." He added he'll try to get X back into a rehab program. He's set to be sentenced in March.

The judge said DMX had told a "great big lie" when he agreed to his bail terms.

Usain Bolt was locked and loaded in Cape Town this past weekend ... tearin' up the South African party city with the help of a gold-plated champagne super soaker!!

Bolt rolled through local hot spot Grand Cafe & Beach with a small entourage -- poppin' bottles, smokin' cigars and (of course) gettin' his groove on.

The retired sprinter's Sunday Funday wrapped a little before midnight -- but not before he blasted his homies with some heavenly Brut.

Dennis Rodman's blood alcohol level was more than DOUBLE the legal limit when cops arrested him for DUI back in January ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Court documents show the NBA Hall of Famer has now been charged with 2 misdemeanor counts of DUI stemming from the January 13 arrest in Newport Beach, CA ... where cops say he had been swerving and blasting loud music in his car.

Rodman's B.A.C. tested at .21 -- roughly 2.5 times the legal limit.

To make matters worse for Dennis, he was on probation at the time of his arrest from his 2016 wrong way crash case. If the judge revokes Rodman's probation, he could be thrown in jail.

Gene Simmons wants rockers to say no to drugs ... not just because it's killing the musicians, but mostly because of its impact on fans.

We got the KISS frontman Monday at LAX and asked him to elaborate on his upcoming memoir, "27," in which he details stories about famous rock stars who died at that age.

Gene, who says he's never boozed or done a drug, says his fellow rockers gotta remember there are kids out there following their every move ... and the drug use influences them.

Liz Carmouche -- the UFC's first openly lesbian fighter -- says public perception has come a long way since she came out ... and the UFC is finally ready to accept a gay male athlete.

"I do actually believe that a man could come out as openly gay and he could rise to the top," Liz told TMZ Sports.

You might remember ... Liz broke the glass ceiling back in 2013, when she fought Ronda Rousey in the UFC's inaugural women's title fight.

Back then, Carmouche had serious doubts about a man following in her footsteps ... but says she feels differently now after experiencing how LGBTQ fighters are treated in MMA gyms like her own (San Diego Combat Academy).

Liz -- who recently partnered with HempMeds -- also told us why she thinks the UFC's at a place where it can let its fighters smoke weed ... even though she's way more of an advocate for CBD oil.

Shemar Moore's not about to mess with a dude like El Chapo ... which is why he'd rather sit behind bars for a while than be a juror on the drug lord's criminal case.

The "Criminal Minds" and "S.W.A.T." star was at LAX Saturday when we asked him about jury duty, specifically about the concern for the jurors' safety in the El Chapo trial.

Moore makes it clear -- El Chapo's a scary man and thinks anyone connected to the former Cartel leader should be afraid ... despite what his lawyers say.

For that reason, Shemar says he'd take whatever punishment comes with skipping El Chapo jury duty ... because it's better than the alternative.

Mark Wahlberg might not be on 'roids, but there are a TON of Hollywood movie stars who are ... some of the biggest names in town, this according to Tyron Woodley.

The UFC champ -- who's also appeared in a bunch of big movies -- opened up about Hollywood's steroid habit on "The Hollywood Beatdown" after Wahlberg was called out by a PED kingpin ... revealing that he's met "lots of big-name, A-list actors that are openly on steroids."

But Tyron says he does NOT think Marky Mark is one of Tinseltown's PED pumpers ... and even if he is, explains why he shouldn't be shamed like all the juiceheads in pro sports.

Woodley also slams UFC star Nate Diaz, "nasty ass" Larry Nassar and the MULTIPLE Eagles fans who thought it was cool to punch a horse (it's not).

Kodak Black's legal eagle is ready to grill 3 officers to get to the bottom of what the rapper claims was a sketchy arrest.

Sources tell us Kodak's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, has some tough questions he wants answered ... why was there no body cam footage of last week's arrest for grand theft of firearms, neglect of a child and weed possession? Cohen also wants to know why a gang task force effected the arrest.

Cohen filed legal docs setting the gears in motion to take depositions of 3 officers involved in the arrest to determine if it was kosher.

The cruise on which "Storm Chasers" star Joel Taylor allegedly died of an OD continues to be party central ... with abundant drug use.

A "White Party" was held Thursday night on the cruise ship and passengers tell us drugs were everywhere ... including ketamine and ecstasy.

TMZ broke the story ... law enforcement sources tell us they believe Taylor's death was an OD. Passengers told us Taylor consumed enough GHB Monday night to lapse into unconsciousness on the dance floor. He was taken back to his room where he was later found unresponsive.

One big change the XFL can have over the NFL? Let the players use marijuana -- so says Tommy Chong!

Chong's argument is simple ... weed's good for athletes dealing with pain and concussion issues.

He also claims since so many states have legalized marijuana (either medically or recreationally), allowing players to use cannabis wouldn't really go against Vince McMahon's strict no-lawbreakers rule.

Of course, Vince has vowed to ban any player with a whiff of a criminal record -- but he didn't speak specifically to marijuana use ... at least not yet.

Joel Taylor's death is officially off the FBI's plate -- for now at least ... TMZ has learned.

Carlos Osorio -- a spokesman for the FBI's San Juan Division -- tells TMZ the feds have been pulled off the "Storm Chasers" star's case, and it's been passed back to local authorities.

Osorio says FBI members conducted a preliminary investigation on the cruise ship Taylor died on this week, and concluded his death was not the result of a violent crime. That, coupled with other factors he wouldn't elaborate on, made U.S. officials determine the case was no longer in the FBI's jurisdiction.

Here's the catch -- if it's determined Taylor's death is linked to murder ... we're told the feds could reopen the investigation. That doesn't seem likely -- Taylor's death appears to be tied to a drug OD.

As we reported ... Taylor was so out of it after consuming what we're told was GHB that he was rendered unconscious on the dance floor and had to be carried to his room. Passengers told us drug us was rampant on the cruise ship as passengers partied.

No arrests have been made, and local police in San Juan are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding Taylor's demise.

The cruise line on which "Storm Chasers" star Joel Taylor died of an apparent OD this week does not allow illegal drugs on the boat ... which raises the question -- how did they ignore a river of drugs on board?

Royal Caribbean International tells TMZ they have a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to drugs. If the crew finds them, they confiscate them.

So the question ... multiple passengers tell us drug use was out in the open ... flagrant and notorious. The parties were drug-fueled and, as we reported, Taylor was so out of it he fell into unconsciousness on the dance floor and had to be carried to his room after allegedly consuming GHB.

As we reported ... we're told several passengers suspected of drug possession were stopped after drug-sniffing dogs zeroed in on them at the Ft. Lauderdale port where the ship departed.

TMZ broke the story ... the FBI is now investigating Taylor's death and has already spoken to folks at the cruise line to find out what went down on board.

The apparent drug overdose that led to the death of a "Storm Chaser" star on a cruise ship has triggered an FBI investigation ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

TMZ broke the story ... "Storm Chaser" star Joel Taylor had been doing GHB late Monday night going into Tuesday morning, dancing during a wild party, when he lapsed into unconsciousness. Taylor was carried into his cabin and left there. He was pronounced dead later that morning.

We're told there were huge quantities of party drugs on board the ship, including cocaine, Ecstasy and GHB. Our sources say several people were arrested before the ship left the Ft. Lauderdale port.

After Taylor died, the boat docked in Puerto Rico and passengers tell us there was a lot of commotion involving drugs on board the Royal Caribbean ship, Harmony of the Seas.

Passengers tell us, the night Taylor apparently OD'd, drugs were flowing freely among many of the partygoers.

We're told the FBI is investigating the circumstances of Taylor's death, how the drugs got on board and who supplied them.

Countess Luann de Lesseps has officially been hit with 3 charges for her alleged drunken holiday attack on a cop ... TMZ has learned.

The 'Real Housewives of NYC' star has been charged with a felony count of resisting an officer with violence, along with a trespassing and disorderly intoxication charge -- both misdemeanors ... according to new docs. She faces up to 5 years in prison for the felony charge.

The good news for Luann -- 2 additional felony counts of corruption by threat were not filed against her.

As we reported ... Lesseps was originally looking at 4 felony counts after being busted in Palm Beach, Florida around Christmas Eve. She checked into rehab a few days after the drunken arrest.

After completing a week at an inpatient rehab center in Jersey, Dennis Rodman is out ... but swears to continue working on his sobriety.

Rodman had checked in to the Turning Point treatment center following his DUI arrest earlier this month. Now, his rep Darren Prince says he's moving to a nearby outpatient center operated by Turning Point before continuing his long-term treatment in California.

"He’s been working with psychotherapists as well as in group recovery classes," Prince says ... adding, "[Rodman] has finally been accountable for his behavior from alcohol over the years."

Rodman also commented ... saying, "The doctors and nurses at Turning Point were really cool and made me feel comfortable and understand how I got myself into this position and what I need to do to stay on this path."