• View Comments
• Share with Shortlink:

Dionne Warwick, the R&B legend, was arrested after airport security in Miami International Airport found 11 joints of weed in a lipstick case. She was charged with a misdemeanor for the less than 5 grams of the drug found on her. In the past, the 61-year-old has been extremely critical of rappers who advocate the smoking of marijuana and other lifestyles associated with hip-hop.

According to a spokesperson for the singer, Warwick uses the drug for her glaucoma, not to get high. ”She’s not a drug abuser,” she said and that the weed is only for “medicinal” purposes. In written statements, baggage screeners said they found a “suspicious item” in Warwick’s carry-on luggage, which was the marijuana. Before being released, she had to sign an affidavit promising to return for a court date.

Warwick, a Grammy award winner, recorded such hits as “Don’t Make Me Over,” ‘Walk On By” and “That’s What Friends Are For.” She was also the national spokesperson for “Psychic Friends Network,” until the organization went bankrupt in 1994. Through the years, she has been an advocate of many causes and has made it public that she feels current hip-hop is a force of negativity.

“That music’s just wrong. I love a song with a strong positive message and I don’t like the message in rap,” she told the Associated Press. “What’s the point of writing songs about murder, using foul language and calling women all those bad names?”