Charges of drug possession were dropped on Wednesday (April 2) against

Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan.

The singer was busted last Thursday

(March 27) in the seedy Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco when police

spotted what appeared to be a drug transaction taking place in an alley near

the Phoenix Hotel, where the band was staying while in town to play two shows

at Slim's.

Lanegan was booked on charges of felony possession of a

controlled substance and two misdemeanor charges of possession of controlled

substance paraphernalia. All charges were dropped, according to John Shanley,

spokesperson for the San Francisco District Attorney's office, because the

amounts involved were "below the threshold for prosecution.

Shanley said

that Lanegan was arrested for "possession of a controlled substance that

appeared to be crack cocaine, possession of controlled substance paraphernalia

that appeared to be a crack pipe and possession of a hypodermic needle."

The amount of drugs found both in Lanegan's possession and in the pipe

were not enough for prosecution and, due to the city's participation in a

needle-exchange program, aimed at lessening the spread of HIV among intravenous

drug users, the D.A.'s office normally doesn't charge people with possession of

needles.

The arrest came the morning after the first of two San Francisco

shows at the tail end of a two-week West Coast tour that began with three dates

in Seattle. Lanegan, who spent time in a rehabilitation facility last year, was

released on bail; he performed at both shows.