The lead singer of Juno-winning band Barenaked Ladies will not serve time in jail for drug possession charges laid over the summer in upstate New York, a U.S. judge said Tuesday.

Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies is shown in a police photo. (Manlius Police Department/Canadian Press)

New York Judge Thomas Miller said Steven Page must seek drug treatment and stay clean for six months. He announced the arrangements late Tuesday afternoon during Page's appearance at a Fayetteville, N.Y., court.

Page, his girlfriend Christine Benedicto, 27, and her roommate, Stephanie Ford, 25, were charged in July after police allegedly found the trio with cocaine and marijuana in a Fayetteville apartment.

Both women faced similar charges, and received the same "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal" ruling as Page on Tuesday, which means the charges against them will be dismissed in six months time if they aren't arrested again, receive therapy and pass drug screening, Miller said.

Reading from a statement, Page publicly apologized in front of a crowd of media after the hearing and thanked those who supported him through the ordeal.

"The respect and responsibility I have earned over the course of my life and my career thus far are important to me and I am moving forward from this with gratitude and with hope," Page said.

"I also apologize to all of those I have hurt or embarrassed during this episode."

The Barenaked Ladies frontman was originally scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 14, but his lawyer said at the time the case was put off pending discussions with the district attorney's office over how to resolve it.

Miller said Tuesday's ruling followed "extensive negotiations" between lawyers.

"Based on each defendant's exemplary behaviour and positive attitude from the beginning, I fully expect in six months time this will be over, with each of the defendants ultimately benefitting from this painful experience," Page's lawyer, Mark Mahoney, said in a statement.

"Once the charges are finally dismissed, there will be no legal obstacle to Mr. Page entering the United States like any other Canadian citizen."

Page and one of the women were arrested in July after police discovered a car with an open door in the driveway of a Fayetteville home. While investigating the vehicle, officers said they observed a man and a woman sitting inside an apartment with a white capsule before them.

Substance tested positive for cocaine: police

According to court documents, Ford told police in a statement that she and Page were snorting powder from capsules stored in a bottle labelled "calcium."

"We never discussed what the white powder was, but I thought it was cocaine," Ford wrote in her statement.

According to police, the substance tested positive for cocaine.

Ford's statement said she and Page snorted the cocaine after an argument between Page and Benedicto.

The singer allegedly also told police the substance was cocaine after officers entered the apartment, according to separate court documents.

Page was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. He is alleged to have been in possession of about 10 grams of cocaine.

With files from the Canadian Press