LOS ANGELES ? The son of actor Ryan O'Neal and cancer-stricken actress Farrah Fawcett was behind bars on Monday on new drugs charges, Los Angeles authorities confirmed.

Redmond O'Neal, 24, was being held in jail ahead of a hearing on Tuesday after being arrested at the weekend while taking a friend to visit an inmate at a jail in Castaic, northwest of Los Angeles, officials said.

O'Neal, who is already facing drug possession charges relating to an incident in September last year, allegedly admitted carrying drugs during a routine security stop on Sunday, police said.

Authorities did not say what kind of drugs were found.

"If you are familiar with Mr. O'Neal's challenges, it reminds us how difficult it is to break the cycle of apparent drug dependency," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

Redmond O'Neal's arrest comes as his mother, former "Charlie's Angels" star Fawcett, was reported to have been hospitalized following a fresh setback in her three-year battle with cancer.