http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20223122,00.html


MacKenzie Phillips has entered rehab, her attorney Blair Berk confirmed Wednesday.

Phillips is seeking treatment following her arrest on Aug. 27 for alleged drug possession at Los Angeles International Airport. She was found "carrying what appeared to be heroin and cocaine in baggies and balloons," airport police said.

Since then, the former One Day at a Time star has been formally charged with two felonies, for possession of heroin and cocaine, as well as a misdemeanor charge of unauthorized possession of a hypodermic needle or syringe.

If convicted of all charges, Phillips faces three years and eight months in prison for the two felonies, and six months in jail for the misdemeanor, prosecutors said. Phillips's arraignment is set for Oct. 3.

The actress, 48, has long struggled with drug addiction – making multiple trips to rehab – stemming back to her youth while starring on the '70s sitcom.

This is her 10th time in rehab. ohno: Hopefully, this time she gets straightened out for good...or there may not BE a next time.

I hope that MacKenzie can get the help that she needs. I also hope that she doesn't have to do any jail time. I think that the poor woman has been through enough. People do drugs because they have a sickness not because they are bad people. And when someone is sick you help them out, you don't put them in jail. Good luck, Mackenzie.

This is her 10th time in rehab. ohno: Hopefully, this time she gets straightened out for good...or there may not BE a next time.


That's an excellent point, how many times can you dodge a bullet. It's not like she is doing weed or something small. She is doing HARD drugs. Believe me, I am not condoning smoking weed either, I am just saying...

I hope that MacKenzie can get the help that she needs. I also hope that she doesn't have to do any jail time. I think that the poor woman has been through enough. People do drugs because they have a sickness not because they are bad people. And when someone is sick you help them out, you don't put them in jail. Good luck, Mackenzie.


Another great point!

Good Luck Mackenzie

I hope that MacKenzie can get the help that she needs. I also hope that she doesn't have to do any jail time. I think that the poor woman has been through enough. People do drugs because they have a sickness not because they are bad people. And when someone is sick you help them out, you don't put them in jail. Good luck, Mackenzie.

So you're saying drugs should not be illegal and police should not arrest people
who have them in their possession? That doesn't make sense.

Why can't she just get drunk or something? Hard drugs are really bad! Doesn't she realize that she could kill herself?

So you're saying drugs should not be illegal and police should not arrest people
who have them in their possession? That doesn't make sense.

They should be illegal. What I'm saying is that our society is more concerned with putting drug users behind bars instead of helping them. People don't do drugs because they are bad people, they are doing drugs because there is something wrong with their lives. We need to help those people.

If a person is caught doing drugs, they should be arrested, but instead of being sent to jail they should be sent to a hospital where they can get some much needed help. I've know people who were drug users and they did drugs because they had such difficulty in life, they honestly felt that drugs were their only way out.

Most of the bad people who commit crimes do drugs. Many crimes are committed so that the people can get more drugs. If drugs were legal there would be a lot less crime. The bad part is a large part of society would be on drugs and destroy themselves. Maybe that is a chance that we need to take. Anything would be better than the way it is today. People get robbed and shot because some gangster wants money to buy drugs. If the drugs were legal, maybe the crime would have never been committed.

Any news on How Mackenzie is doing how long has she been in rehad.

Most of the bad people who commit crimes do drugs. Many crimes are committed so that the people can get more drugs. If drugs were legal there would be a lot less crime. The bad part is a large part of society would be on drugs and destroy themselves. Maybe that is a chance that we need to take. Anything would be better than the way it is today. People get robbed and shot because some gangster wants money to buy drugs. If the drugs were legal, maybe the crime would have never been committed.

But here's the thing, if street drugs were legalized, people still wouldn't be able to get them for free, so we'd just have these sick desperate addicts doing terrible things in order to get money to buy these (hypothetically) now legalized drugs. Things would be no different.

Why can't she just get drunk or something? Hard drugs are really bad! Doesn't she realize that she could kill herself?.

Alcohol can be just as bad as any street drug, and it could kill Mackenzie as well. And I'm sure deep down Mackenzie knows that these drugs can, and will if she keeps it up, kill her. However, her brain is probably also telling her that NOT having the drugs could kill her also. Not only is her brain addicted, but her body is addicted as well. That's why withdrawal can be so dangerous, both with drugs and alcohol. Some people actually die from it.

But I agree with Crazy for Blair, when addicts (both drugs and alcohol) are busted for something drug-related, I most certainly think that they shouldn't be thrown in jail. Sitting in jail isn't going to do an addict any good. It will just make them want to use even more once they get out. Instead of jail, they need to be ordered to go into a hospital for a couple of months or so, so they'd at least have a fighting chance of staying clean and leading a normal life once they got out. But then again addicts also have to want to get better, and forcing them into treatment may not help either. That's the only problem with rehab as an alternative to jail.

My mother is an alcoholic, and got two DUI's within a month of each other two years ago. I don't condone drunk driving in the least bit, but they treated my mother like a hardened criminal instead of like a mentally sick person in dire need of invasive professional help. When she was in court for one of her probation violations, I had to sit there while her witch of a probation officer told the judge that she thought my mom was "an extreme threat to the community." I wanted so badly to jump right up and put her head through a wall! I can't help but wonder what things may have been like today had they made my mom go into rehab for a couple of months. Maybe today she'd still be sober and still have her job. Wh knows.

^ Thank you for sharing your story. God be with you and your mom, and thanks again for the insight.

^ Thank you for sharing your story. God be with you and your mom, and thanks again for the insight.

This coming from a person who is normally so hard on crime?

I hope she recovers, but I fear she could screw up again.