by Rex Wockner
Gay pop singer George Michael began performing 100 hours of community service Aug. 13 as part of his punishment for driving while under the influence of drugs.
He did some gardening at a London hostel for the homeless.
"I'm just like everyone else. If you do something stupid you have to pay the price," Michael told the Daily Express.
"I've been doing some gardening and really enjoyed it," he said. "I'll do whatever they want me to do. I don't want any special treatment."
Michael, who also had his driver's license taken away for two years, was found last October slumped over the steering wheel of his SUV, drooling, sweating and blocking an intersection.
He admitted he'd taken cannabis, and prosecutors said tests found evidence he'd consumed the club drug GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), the antidepressant Efexor and the sleeping pill Ambien.
Michael's lawyer pointed out that GHB, found in Michael's system at 16 milligrams/1 milliliter, can occur naturally in the body at that level.
Judge Katherine Marshall determined that "cannabis was not the cause of unfitness" and that "GHB was found, but I make no findings about the origin."
