Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie was arrested on a DUI charge a few weeks ago ( I don’t really remember when though, but recently) after several motorists called in wreckless vehicle reports.When officers responded, they found Nicole in her SUV, stopped in the carpool lane. She said she’d smoked marijuana and taken Vicodin just before driving east in the westbound lanes of the 134 Freeway in Burbank.

But why was she taking drugs? She has been telling her friends that she was on Vicodin because her monthly visitor was in town ... and she was having bad cramps. (Some docs do prescribe Vicodin for menstrual pain.) "She knows she made a mistake, but overall she's in a better place," one of Nicole's "close friend" told U.S. Weekly. "She has come a long way from her heroin days."So, what's this "better place" like? Since her arrest, she has been resting, doing some retail therapy and hanging out with her new flame, Good Charlotte's Joel Madden (note: Hilary duff’s ex-boyfriend!!). But, her "pals" say, she is depressed about the whole ordeal -- and upset about the fact that her weight is listed at 85 pounds on the police report."She's so proud of her weight gain," her "friend" said. According to her girlfriend, Richie has gained about 10 pounds since September and actually weighs about 95 pounds. The fact that she was on drugs was bad enough. But were there more than pills and pot behind the wheel of that black Mercedes? Facts in a new study point to yes. Researchers in Portland, Ore., who studied people convicted of at least two DUI offenses (in the past 10 years) say that more than half of DUI offenders also suffer from at least one mental illness -- in addition to a drug or alcohol-use disorder. Does Nicole fit this profile?Well, this is her second DUI arrest, and she’s previously undergone treatment for heroin addiction after a possession arrest in 2003.Is Nicole mentally ill?According to the DUI study, 60% of those with two or more convictions – like Nicole – reported experiencing major depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder or another mental illness.But despite the fact that she has collapsed in public and been questioned on a regular basis by the media about the possibility that she may have anorexia nervosa, Nicole says she doesn’t. -- even though she weighed in at a teensy 85 lbs. on Monday. She says if she looks too thin, it's her stylist's fault.But her fans stand by her side – arrests, drugs and all.Here is a sampling of some of the quotes people have left on Nicole’s MySpace page:• "I love vicodin and weed- especially together. AND..I like to be as skinny as possible. Why is everyone always bitchin'?"• "Hey nicole!! Everyone just makes a big deal out of nothing forget about everything.... love ya!”• "Girl i am going to go get a DUI this weekend just to be liike you. No joke. I loveeeeee NR"It is just not smart to drive under the influence, endangering the lives of other people. And, it is not cool for someone who is a role model to act like that (proof of that is in the MySpace.com comments).I’m not a health care professional, so I cannot determine if Nicole is mentally ill (and I really think she isn't). But she does appear to completely clueless and plagued with stupidity.

What just sucks is that her beauty gets wasted on all this stuff. So advice to everyone: don’t smoke. Don’t drink. Do not take drugs.

( This blog contains well researched information on some of the latest things that has happened to Nicole Richie *smile* )