Stone

July 16, 1999
Web posted at: 3:13 a.m. EDT (0713 GMT)

BEVERLY HILLS, California (CNN) -- Film director Oliver Stone entered a plea of not guilty Thursday to charges of driving under the influence and possessing controlled substances.

Stone has been free on $12,000 bail after his arrest last month for allegedly driving drunk. Police said they observed him driving erratically in Beverly Hills.

Prosecutors say police found Hydrocodone, a pain medication, as well as a small amount of cannabis during a search of Stone's black Ford Mustang.

Stone is also facing a misdemeanor count of possessing small quantities of fenfluramine, phentermine, and Meprobamate.

Fenfluamine and phentermine are the ingredients found in fen-phen, a central nervous system stimulant. Fen-phen was widely used by dieters until 1997, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration linked the substance to heart valve problems.

Meprobamate is a muscle relaxant that is used as a sedative.

Stone, 52, won Academy Awards for the films "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July." He also directed "Wall Street," "JFK," and "Natural Born Killers."

Stone began his film career as a screenwriter after studying film at New York University under Martin Scorsese. He wrote the scripts for "Year of the Dragon" and "Scarface," and earned an Oscar for his 1978 screenplay for "Midnight Express."

Reuters contributed to this report.