Sheen admitted he used illegal drugs. Sheen has been at a residential drug rehabilitation clinic since May when he was hospitalized for an overdose. Facing an arrest warrant signed by his father, actor Martin Sheen, he surrendered to a judge then on probation violation charges from a previous battery conviction. At Malibu Municipal Court Monday, lawyer Gloria Allred, well-known for her work in the area of women`s rights, argued on behalf of Sheen`s ex-girlfriend, whom he was convicted of beating in that earlier case. She said the star of "Platoon" and "Wall

Street" should be jailed for a year because using drugs was a violation of his probation. But Judge Lawrence Mira said he would "err on the side of rehabilitation" rather than put Sheen behind bars. He noted the actor had voluntarily divulged information about his drug use and had not been arrested. Judge Mira added a year to the original probation sentence in the battery case so that it will now run until June 2000. But he warned Sheen he would be jailed if he violated the terms, which include no drinking or drug use and submitting to search at any time. Earlier, Judge Mira who ordered Sheen into rehab on May 28, said to him: "I have to say ... that you look remarkably better than you did then. "We are really at a point here where you`re going to have to deal with the issue of continuing your sobriety, continuing with a drug-free life." Sheen`s lawyer Steve Cochran told the judge that since May, "Charlie Sheen has made wonderful choices and he has performed admirably ... and Gloria Allred can`t take that away from him. Nothing has happened here that warrants

going to jail." Outside the courthouse, Sheen told reporters: "I`m in a much better place now. It`s nice to have my health back and I`m anxious to get back to work, so the next time we do this (talk to the media) it`s about a movie and nothing else."