Drug Charges Against Dionne Dropped

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/06/2002 at 11:00 AM EDT

Drug charges against singer Dionne Warwick were dropped Wednesday after Florida Judge Loree Schwartz Feiler agreed to a plea bargain deal, which included a drug treatment program, reports the Associated Press. The "What the World Needs Now" singer and former spokesperson for the Psychic Friends Network, 61, did not appear in court to hear the jurist's decision. She was arrested May 12 at Miami International Airport after baggage screeners said they found what they suspected were 11 marijuana cigarettes inside her lipstick container. "To this day, I am puzzled about exactly what happened at the Miami International Airport. But through the grace of God, I can now put this unpleasant chapter behind me," Warwick said in a statement. Per the terms of the plea bargain, Warwick has completed a drug treatment program and donated $250 to Project Cradle, an organization that supports children born with HIV. She also will have to make an anti-drug public service announcement directed at youth, Ed Griffith, a spokesman for the State Attorney's Office, told AP. The day before her arrest, the five-time Grammy winner had attended a Hollywood, Fla., reception during which she received a lifetime achievement award from the American Red Ribbon Awards, an HIV/AIDS service organization.