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'Home Improvement' Child Star Taran Noah Smith Popped for DUI, Drugs

By Andrew Chow, Esq. on February 01, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Former "Home Improvement" sitcom star Taran Noah Smith is all grown up -- but the ex-actor apparently still has some room for personal improvement when it comes to parallel parking and alleged drug use.

Police in Burbank, Calif., arrested Smith, 27, in connection with driving under the influence and drug possession about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reports. (However, several other sources, including the local Burbank Leader, reported Smith was arrested early Wednesday.)

Smith, who played the youngest son on the 1990s TV show "Home Improvement," had stopped his car at an odd angle in front of a fire hydrant, police told the Times. That aroused officers' suspicions, but an incriminating smell led to Smith's arrest.

When officers approached Taran Noah Smith's car, it was stopped at a hydrant with its engine still running, the Times reports. Officers picked up on the familiar smell of marijuana.

The scent of marijuana can give police "reasonable suspicion" to legally search a car for drugs. That's exactly what the Burbank officers did -- their search of Smith's car turned up weed along with hash, a marijuana derivative, the website TMZ reports.

Smith was arrested for DUI -- which can include drugs like marijuana, as well as alcohol -- and felony drug possession, according to TMZ.

In light of Smith's charges, it seems he may not be a medical marijuana patient -- or perhaps he didn't have his doctor's recommendation readily available. California's state laws generally allow medical marijuana patients to carry up to a half-pound of pot with a legitimate prescription. It's not clear how much pot Smith had in the car.

After "Home Improvement" ended, Taran Noah Smith turned away from acting for good. Unfortunately his DUI and drug arrests have shoved him back in the Hollywood spotlight.

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