Gore's Son Arrested for Drug Possession

Former Vice President Al Gore's son was getting treatment Thursday after he was arrested for illegal possession of marijuana and prescription drugs.

Al Gore III was pulled over on a San Diego freeway driving at about 100 mph.
Sheriff's deputies said they smelled marijuana and decided to search Gore's car. They found a small amount of marijuana and Xanax, Valium, Vicodin and Adderall, which is used for attention deficit disorder, said Jim Amormino, spokeman for the Orange County Sheriff's office. The 24-year-old Gore did not have a prescription for any of the drugs, Amormino said.

He was released from jail in Santa Ana on Wednesday afternoon after posting $20,000 bail.
Gore said he is glad his son is safe and that he is getting treatment.

"We love him very much," Gore told NBC's "Today" show, adding, "We are going to leave it as a private matter."

The youngest of Gore and wife Tipper's four children, Al Gore III was previously arrested in suburban Washington in 2003 for marijuana possession while he was a student at Harvard University.

He completed substance abuse counseling as part of a program to settle the charge. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he is an associate publisher of GOOD, a philanthropy magazine aimed at young people.

His son's arrest early Wednesday overshadowed Gore's work on the upcoming Live Earth concerts. The former Democratic presidential candidate and star of "An Inconvenient Truth" has been planning the worldwide concert series, on television this weekend, to raise awareness about the environment and funding for the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit organization he leads.

In his NBC appearance, Gore reiterated that he has no plans to run for president, hoping to qualm widespread speculation.

"I don't expect to be a candidate again, ever," he said. "I've kind of fallen out of love with politics."

He said the best use of his experience is to bring awareness and a sense of urgency to the issue of climate change