Courtney Love faces new drug allegations

LOS ANGELES - A California judge has ordered rock singer Courtney Love to appear in court next week to respond to accusations that she took drugs while on probation.

The 41-year-old singer, who was sentenced to a drug rehabilitation programme last year after a slew of assault and drug-related incidents, was told to attend court on August 19 or face arrest.

"I'm certainly not happy with what's going on," Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rand Rubin said at a brief hearing, which Love was not required to attend.

According to court papers, prosecutors say Love violated the terms of her probation by being under the influence of a controlled substance last month. Prosecutor Gina Satriano told reporters the allegation involved "some sort of narcotic".

Love, the widow of Nirvana rocker Kurt Cobain, was taken by ambulance to a Los Angeles hospital in July after a Hollywood party amid conflicting reports over whether it was a fainting spell or a drug-related incident.

Love's lawyer, Michael Rosenstein, said at the time that Love was making "fantastic" progress in her rehab programme and had passed all her drug tests since March.

Recent tabloid photos have shown the previously waif-like Love looking plump and healthy, a weight gain she has attributed to her new drug-free life.

Love was given probation and ordered to drug rehab in May 2004 after a frenetic period in which she was charged in both New York and Los Angeles with offenses including forging painkiller prescriptions, taking cocaine, hitting a man with a microphone stand at a nightclub and attacking a woman at the home of an ex-boyfriend.

- REUTERS