Amber Portwood's attorney: Drugs were "readily available" when Teen Mom met MTV producers

Amber Portwood’s attorney: Drugs were “readily available” when Teen Mom met MTV producers

Jun, 06, 2012 | AUTHOR: Darren O; | Related : Amber Portwood, Law and Order, Teen Mom

Teen Mom Amber Portwood was re-sentenced to 5 years in prison after she failed to complete her drug court program as mandated by her initial plea agreement. She, in fact, requested to go to jail and in spite of her attorney’s request for leniency the judge handed out the full 5 years minus time served.

Additional information has come to light from yesterday’s court appearance including the troubled reality star citing her participation in 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom as the primary reason for her drug addictions. She also recanted from her previous proclamation that she would, “never be sober.”

According to area newspaper, The Herald Bulletin, Judge Happe directly asked Amber if she still felt that she would never be sober and she answered, “no.” When her attorney Evan Broderick asked for leniency he called Amber a “unique case” and added:

“Many of the drug court participants have long histories of being in and out of jail. Amber has only been convicted of two felonies.”

The judge stood firm explaining that he was bound by the previous agreement.

Portwood stated that she first started using drugs when she was 12 or 13 and that the intense exposure of Teen Mom presented increased temptations. Broderick went a step further when he told the court that before the show started (no indication as to whether he was referring to 16&P or TM) Amber was flown out to California to meet with producers. Drugs were readily available at this time as Portwood and other members of the show attended multiple parties together.

The longest Portwood remained clean was for two and a half months during the court-mandated program. She started abusing again when she underwent surgery to have gallstones removed and was prescribed hyrdrocodone, the drug she had already been addicted to.

She was previously ordered by the court to start a college fund for daughter Leah and Happe was grateful for at least that much:

“If there’s one good thing to come out of this, now your daughter has money set aside and a door open to her that wouldn’t have been otherwise. So thank you for doing that.”

Amber told the court that she believed her current situation was a direct result of her decision to be on 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom. She told the court that she wished she would have never made that choice.

Amber’s official statement via her attorney was that she was prepared to go to prison and do her time.

Photo: Amber Portwood Mug Shot – May 2012 | Splash News

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Mom of 4

I really wish they would take both shows off the air. It’s obvious that these girls are not ‘struggling’ teen moms. They have money and they get lots of perks. All the pictures of things they buy and things they do require money. They are getting paid very well for being teen moms. It’s time they faced reality and got real jobs to make ends meet.
- Claudia
  
  I agree completely. I was a teen mom and could not afford a car and insurance on top of diapers, formula, baby food, clothes, rent, my food etc. I get these girls are being paid by MTV, but at this point they are no longer the ‘average’ teen mom. I still find it funny that half of them have friends. My friends all slipped away while I was pregnant. You end up finding you have nothing in common anymore. These girls aren’t living real life situations anymore.. they’ve managed to glorify the process of having to grow up way too early.
- Forrest
  
  Yes, very true.
- Rachelle
  
  I agree with you, Mom of 4. Hell… Maci, Farrah, and Catelynn have made careers out of getting pregnant at 16. Maci is a public speaker and an author. Farrah is an author and has had other “business ventures” thanks to 16 & Pregnant. Catelynn is now affiliated with the adoption agency that she used. They’ve all been featured in magazines, etc. and it’s just not realistic. I can’t believe they’re still filming and casting for 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. I really wish these shows would go away – for good.
Smh

I somehow believe even if she wasn’t on the show she still would be in and out of jail for drugs. Only difference is it wouldn’t be national news cause she wouldn’t have been on tv. She needs to take responsibility for her actions and not blame them on other people…js. Going to jail is just taking the easy way out and leaving her daughter without a mother for 5 yrs. Drugs are still obtainable in jail from what i hear…so to me she’s better off in a rehab that she is in there for a long time and unable to sign herself out.
- Z
  
  Completely agree.
- CMH
  
  Amber needs to own up to her actions. She is blame every one but herself. No one forced her to take the drugs she did that her self. She said she started when she was 12 or 13. she was not a part of MTV at that time. MTV is doing the right thing by make this the last season of her teen mom. Maybe now amber will focus on her recovery. But the most important thing she needs to focus on is her daughter because Leah is truly the one she is hurting in all of this.
  - Posh
    
    MTV didnt have much of a choice due to Amber’s legal issues. They had a contract with girls to film until their kids turn 5 so dont give them credits
- Nadia
  
  Agree..She will just be doing her time high for 5 yrs! damn, I would prob pick jail over rehab!! I cant stand to watch her act like such an idiot, I would prob attempt suicide too if I were her! thats rude but come on you know your all thinking the same thing!
Nikk

Playing the blame game again aren’t you Amber. Now it is MTV’s fault. Let’s see you have blamed your home life, your father’s illness and alcoholism, your mother, Gary oh wait everyone but yourself! Yeah Leah has a college fund set up only because it was court mandated. If she cared about her daughter she’d have cleaned up her act a long time ago. Oh and give the girl a cookie she only has TWO felonies! Guess what that is two more than everyone I know. Amber is a pathetic excuse for a mother, a pathetic human being. The best thing for Leah is to be raised by someone not associated with anyone in Amber’s family and to be honest Gary isn’t that much better either!
- Z
  
  Yep. Don’t forget her baby sister dying too..
- Nadia
  
  I am sure MTV didnt make her swallow!
Mango

It irritates me that most of the Teen Moms have been negligent with their money; 3 of them got plastic surgery, and I’m sure Amber was spending her money on drugs. That money will not last forever. At least Leah does have a college fund, though.
Joei

I feel for Amber. Its hard to struggle, but in the public spotlight it has to be worse.

Also, not ALL the TM or TM2 stars are spoiled partiers. Catelynn and Tyler bought a house, and seem to be paying for college. Chelsea Houska seems to keep her nose clean. So does Leah Messer (cheating for no, her kids seem to be taken care of. Really, Jenelle and Amber are the ones that have seemed to find themselves in the middle of such chaos. It is sad.
Blahblahblah

What temptations!? She’s a.) a teenager, what “parties” is she getting into? And b.) on a show about being a parent! The excuses flow as if she was really put on the Jersey Shore! She has caused her own trouble, 1000%. Yeah, it wasn’t cool that Leah was present when she hit Gary….but no one was faulting her for hitting that huge oaf! The subsequent fights (Ihop anyone?) were what really turned the public against her dumba$$. Its not the show. Its her behavior….and I don’t buy that she’s all of a sudden this hardcore addict. She doesn’t need rehab or jail time, just super intensive, years long, 6 day a week, anger management.
- Mindy
  
  Why would no one fault her for hitting Gary? That is a horrible thing to do to any person. Whether you like him or not. You should never hit someone. If she was so sick of the situation with him, just let him leave. He was leaving anyway. There was no reason for her to hit him.
Amanda

I think the whole siutaion is pathetic on Amber’s part and very sad for her daughter. She really needs to grow up and stop blaming others for her poor decisions. I do agree that for some of the girls on the show they seem to have it pretty easy compared to what life is really like in the real world. It’s just sad and I hope some of these girls (Amber and Jenelle) grow up one day and start making better decisions. I hope they can also restore the broken relationships with their kids. I have a 3 year old son and I can’t imagine being away from him from for more than a day. They may think those babies are young and don’t realize what’s going on, but they are WRONG.
Jessica

Yeah, blame MTV for your lack of self control. Drugs are “readily” available at any city you go to. Hasn’t she ever heard “don’t bite the hand that feeds you?” she would probably be another welfare junkie living in section 8 if it wasn’t for MTV.
- Nona
  
  She WAS on welfare (TM season 1) AND on Section 8 until she got busted for lying about her income.
doubtit

If you started when you were 12 or 13, then how can you blame the show? You were into drugs before the show was even conceived.
Kate

I agree with who ever said TM & TM2 needs to stop. As much as I like the show the girls are getting paid a lot of money for nothing. They’re not celebrities they’re mothers. 16 & pregnant was good because it showed reality and real struggles but TM & TM2 is not reality!! Its totally scripted and fake. I believe that if Amber hadn’t been on tv then none of this would be happening to her, I don’t think Amber is a bad person I just think she’s a very messed up girl who needs a lot of help!!! The most important person in this is Leah and I really hope she’s ok! She deserves a stable mother & father and I hope to God that she gets it. Amber doesn’t need people being horrible to her she needs people support, she’s obviously very ill!!! The whole thing is so sad!
Elle

Amber loves to play the blame game.. everything is everyone elses fault and nothing is her fault. For shame.
Ashley

1) does it mean that she was on drugs while pregnant with Leah, since it is stated that 2 1/2 months is the longest she’s been clean and she says she started using at 12 or 13?
2) if she has been using drugs since 12 or 13, I think it’s pretty safe to say that her drug use is not directly MTV’s fault.
3) what doctor would prescribe her a drug she had been addicted to less than 3 months prior?!
- Brittany
  
  Not the doctor’s fault. Medical records do not get released without consent and doctor’s often have to probe and ask questions to the patient in order to get (correct) information. A doctor can’t assume she’s been addicted to anything; that’s why when they prescribe they ask if that drug is “ok” or if they have any “allergic reactions,” what other medications the patient is taking, if they drink, so on and so forth. That is the patient’s opportunity and responsibility to say “that drug makes me sick…I had an addiction problem with that…” yada yada. I am 100% positive that Amber did not tell him/her she was addicted to that drug. She probably just heard the doctor say “hydrocodone,” and figured since he was prescribing it, it’s ok for her to take, and lied by omitting vital information. Her doctor should not get any crap for her manipulation of the system.
  
  Sorry for the long rant. I’m in the medical field and have a mother who does not inform her doctor of necessary things, so stunts like this irritate me.
- Jennie
  
  I completely agree with you Ashley. I could see how not having to work and having access to alot of money made it WORSE but it isn’t MTV”s fault
jm

If she’s claiming she was already addicted to drugs at age 12-13, I’m unclear how being on MTV at age 16 is the primary cause for her addiction. Addicts love to play the blame game; they are never responsible for their own misfortune.
whoa

She wasn’t saying that MTV is the reason she was on drugs she was saying that her being on MTV made her go towards those drugs even more. To me it sounds like with all the attention she was getting, most of it negative, she turned to drugs to help her cope with that. Since she had already had a drug problem before the show everything that happened as a result of the show made it that much worse. She feels that if she had not been on MTV and faced the things that she has now with the public that her drug addiction wouldn’t have escalated the way that it did. No one will ever know if that is the case though so you can’t really judge and say that she is full of shit.
- Anna
  
  She needs to have a little personal responsibility. Maybe drugs were readily available at MTV meetings and Hollywood parties, but she didn’t have to use. And if she knew she already had a problem- and she clearly knew that by admitting she has been using since age 12- then she should have removed herself from that situation. I get that the temptation of that easy money would have been hard to pass up, but was it really worth it now? She’ll do at least a few years in jail. She’ll have a record for the rest of her life She’s missing out on this precious time with her daughter. And for what? Money that it sounds like she’s already blown through. The type of trashy person she is, she’ll face situations for the rest of her life where she’ll be tempted to use, MTV just happens to be a public company that’s convenient to blame. Look at both Tyler and Caitlyn. They were both in a situation as rough as Amber. They both have backgrounds where you’d suspect they’d be predisposed to addictive personalities. They didn’t grow up Amish, so they were exposed to drugs and alcohol just like every kid in America. They both had the MTV money and Hollywood parties. But they’ve decided to better themselves and stay away from that stupidity. So to say that MTV is at ALL to blame is crazy This is just Amber always choosing the easiest path without looking at consequences.
coco

No one can blame the show for Amber’s downfall. I watch the show and while I can complain about a lot of issues that I have with it, explain how most of the other girls from all the season of 16 & pregnant don’t have the same problems as Amber? The exposure, money, and perks might have been too much for her but none of this is a cause for having a messed up life.
Caroline

Amber statement reads like she is going to try and sue MTV which would be ridcilous. If she started taking drugs 5 years before mtv came along, mtv is not to blame. I sure it is tempting for some girls when they go to LA or NYC for mtv events to party. We have seen pictures of Maci, Janelle, Chelsea and Amber partying but not all the girls. It is a choice.
If she really feels mtv played a part I hope she uses her time to try and get laws passed about kids on reality tv, payments, and ways to help budget wisely.
uih

mtv doesnt give them the money until they finish shooting. and they might only give them small amounts. Also, when you go into a meeting they deff have drugs/or are snorting while you have a conversation.
Z

Yea nice, blame someone else for YOUR problem.
Let’s see, you started when you were 13.. you chose to continue taking them..and you continued after teen mom finished. It is YOUR fault. No one forced pills into you. You don’t see every other girl who has been on the programme taking drugs.
I hate people who look for someone else to blame, take responsibility for your actions or she’ll probably never get clean.
Jo

the article says she started using drugs at 12 or 13. If that is correct the she started long before MTV came along. MTV is not to be blamed, Amber made her own decision and now she has to deal with them.
- Jo
  
  The article says that the longest she remained clean was 2 months… did she stay clean while she was pregnant?
Mrs. T

It saddens me to see so many hateful people. How does that saying go? “He who lives in glass houses should not cast the first stone”. It’s really easy to judge when you no nothing of what she is going thru. You think you can sum up her issues in the 15 minutes worth of segments you see of her each week. Yes, she has had some issues. Haven’t we all had some kind of demon lurking over us? If you say no, go to a mirror and try saying it, because you are a bull face liar, and a hypocrite if so. She needs to be surrounded with love, support, and encouragement. People lose sight that her addiction issues started with medications legally prescribed to her, then it progressed. Those meds are aweful to come off of even short term. They tend to stir up emotions you never knew you had. The way those meds are handed out like candy now a days, I can guarentee a good portion of you haters have had the same issue. Difference is, you have been able to keep it quiet. So why don’t you keep it quiet now!
kristen

Those of you who want this show taken off the air or are complaining that you were a teen mom with no perks…

First of all, you’re jealous because you never had the same perks they do. If you had the opportunity to be on the show when you were a teen mom you would have jumped at the opportunity too. Don’t hate on the girls of TM or TM2 because they made a smart move. When the girls start out on 16 and pregnant, they are not paid much for their episode. Google it. When they are on TM/TM2, they do get paid more, but it’s not anything outrageous.

Second, if you hate them so much and don’t want the show on TV, how do you know so much about what they do. You obviously watch the show or have some interest in them.

People like the shows because they are real girls, going through real life issues. This is reality TV. If anything needs to be taken off the air, it’s these Kardashian shows. THOSE people do not need any more money!
- BDavis
  
  She could’ve made the choice not to take the medicine. No one held her down and said you’re going to take these pills or your going to die.
  People are not jealous. Perhaps, they find the irony amusing. A “reality” show filming unwed teens raising a baby with a sweet MTV income. What’s real about that? Is it “real” that it happened? Yes, however it’s not your typical teen mom scenario. Amber sure did have a nice car and was looking at a fairly nice house for someone in her predicament. Cate & Ty are the only ones that have it together because they are the only ones that made a mature decision. A 16 year old has no business raising a child when they aren’t financially responsible.