POP DIVA HOUSTON SILENT ON MARIJUANA CHARGE

LOS ANGELES -- Pop diva Whitney Houston has remained silent on a decision
by Hawaiian prosecutors to charge her with possessing about half an ounce
of marijuana.

Houston has been given until Oct. 26 to appear in Hawaii's Kona District
Court to contest the charges which are punishable by a maximum 30 days in
jail or $1,000 dollar fine.

But deputy prosecutor Charlene Iboshi said Tuesday that if Houston decided
to plead guilty, she could do so through paperwork without appearing in court.

"At this time we are unable to comment," said a Los Angeles spokeswoman for
Houston.

The petty misdemeanor charges stem from an incident at Kona airport in
January when security personnel found a bag believed to belong to Houston
that allegedly contained marijuana. The singer and actress boarded a plane
to San Francisco without the bag.

Houston's husband Bobby Brown spent 26 days in a Florida jail in June after
testing positive for cocaine in violation of probation terms imposed for a
1996 drunk driving incident.