Douglas' Lawyers Blame Dad's Fame for Drug Addiction

Saturday 27th February 2010 - 04:37:54

Lawyers for Michael Douglas' son Cameron urged a judge to hand their client bail on Thursday (25Feb10) by insisting he was pushed into a life of drugs because of his father's fame.

Cameron Douglas was arrested last August (09) following a drugs raid onhis room at the Hotel Gansevoort in New York City.

He was initially put under house arrest at his mother's Manhattan address after pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possession of heroin.

However, the 31 year old was thrown back behind bars after he allegedly asked girlfriend Kelly Sott to smuggle heroin to him in an electric toothbrush.

And during a request for bail on Thursday, the 31 year old's defence lawyers claimed Douglas' troubles stemmed from his "difficult upbringing" with his Oscar-winning father.

Defence attorney Dan Gitner said, "(Douglas') serious heroin addiction (stems from) notoriety that is not due to any acts of his own but by dintof birth and a difficult upbringing".

While fellow defence lawyer Nicholas DeFeis added, "He didn't benefit from his celebrity. He was hurt by it in a variety of ways, including waysin this case".

At an earlier hearing on 11 February (10), the star's psychiatrist Dr Robert Millman made similar claims, describing how Douglas' privileged background made him "reckless".

He told the court, "He has been sort of a reckless person since he was really young, endangering himself constantly. "Not violent, just screwing up in every way - car accidents, motorcycleaccidents, tattoos.