Soul singer James Brown is in trouble again, this time on gun and marijuana charges.
Less than a week after leaving a hospital where his agent said he was treated for an addiction to painkillers, Brown surrendered Tuesday and was charged with marijuana possession and unlawful use of a firearm.Brown, 64, who was freed on bond, said he smoked a small amount of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
"I have bad eyes," he told The Chronicle of Augusta, Ga. "It was just a little tiny bit. It wasn't even a misdemeanor - it should've been in recorder's court."
Brown, who served three years in prison for 1988 convictions on weapons and assault charges, said he keeps guns at his Beech Island home and doesn't plan to stop.
"I got to have protection," Brown said. "I have guns and I'm going to keep on having guns. Thank God it's a free country."
Jeff Allen, Brown's agent, has said the singer became addicted to painkillers he began taking after he was injured on stage.
Brown has denied that he was addicted. He said his daughter hospitalized him against his will after he became upset while watching a television program about poor children in South America.