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Nichelle Nichols, known for playing Star Trek’s original Uhura, was temporarily detained at LAX on Friday after her male companion was busted by authorities for having methamphetamines and drug paraphanalia in his luggage.
According to TMZ, the two had been going though American Airlines’ terminal when the discovery was made. The companion’s suitcase, said to be attached to Nichols’ suitcase fell to the floor and broke open, revealing the contents.
Nichols companion was allegedly arrested for drug possession and was allowed to proceed with her scheduled flight on her own, after her innocence was established.
The 81-year-old actress is scheduled to appear at Rhode Island Comic Con this weekend.
UPDATE: Nichols appeared on Saturday, as scheduled, at Rhode Island Comic Con.
Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for more on this developing story.
Jeff Dranetz
November 1, 2014 at 11:15 am
We saw her in 2013 at two conventions,; Boston and Las Vegas. She obviously had dementia, very saddening, broke our hearts. She talked in circles and had to essentially be hand held through a presentation, with the presenter guiding her through her stories. Someone must be taking advantage of this and is trying to use her as an unwitting mule. It is sickening that someone would do this to Ms. Nichols
marianne
November 9, 2014 at 6:52 pm
Perhaps, but not necessarily. Stimulants (such as methamphetamine) can sometimes be really helpful for people with dementia… and sometimes, if you just can’t get a doctor to prescribe medication that you need in order to function properly, well, you get it from other sources. While it is actually legal to prescribe methamphetamine in the US – the brand name is Desoxyn – doctors are wary of doing so, such prescriptions are watched very closely by the government, and the drug is not approved for dementia, only for ADHD and obesity. In fact, the same thing that makes methamphetamine so dangerous as a recreational drug (its strength as a stimulant) also makes it safer when used as a medicinal drug (you can use smaller doses than you would with plain amphetamines to get the same effect, but with fewer side effects). Naturally, my comment is pure speculation (as is your drug mule hypothesis), but if Nichelle were using small doses of methamphetamine to improve her health and quality of life in old age and to fight off dementia, I can’t say I could fault her in any way. Laws be damned, a person’s health and quality of life come first.