I wonder what kind of sentence he would have gotten if he wasn't a movie star? CALGARY, Alberta - A Canadian judge granted Dennis Hopper, known for his portrayal of a ``pot''-smoking hippie in the film ``Easy Rider,'' an absolute discharge on Friday after the actor pleaded guilty to a minor mar1juana possession charge. Hopper, 64, was charged by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in October 1999 after customs officials at Calgary International Airport found the actor with 12 grams (less than half an ounce) of mar1juana when he arrived on a flight from Los Angeles. The actor, director and writer, who has appeared in more than 100 movies throughout his long career, did not appear in a Calgary court on Friday to answer to the misdemeanor charge, which carries a maximum fine of C$1,000 ($680). The discharge means Hopper will have no criminal record and will be able to travel to Canada without any problems. ``In terms of Canadian justice, he got the easiest ride possible,'' Hopper's Toronto-based lawyer Eddie Greenspan, one of Canada's highest-profile criminal attorneys, said after the judge's ruling. Greenspan asked the judge not to take into account Hopper's character in ``Easy Rider,'' the low-budget 1969 classic about two hippies who embark on a motorcycle trip across the United States in a drug-fueled search for freedom from convention. The film, which became a runaway success, also starred Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson. Instead, Greenspan asked the judge to consider Hopper's clean criminal record, his charitable work with numerous causes, such as AIDS research, and the fact that he cooperated with authorities after a drug-sniffing dog alerted them to his two film canisters of mar1juana. Hopper also donated $1,000 to Calgary AIDS hospice. ------------------ Don't you have anything better to do?
