Never mind having $1 million -- right about now, we bet Steven Page wishes he had a time machine.

And if he did, we suspect he would set the controls for sometime before last Friday, when he was arrested on drug charges in suburban Syracuse, N.Y.

The 38-year-old singer-guitarist of Barenaked Ladies -- whose hits include If I Had $1000000 -- was reportedly visiting an apartment at 2 a.m. when police, after finding a car with its driver's door open outside the home, approached a window and saw two people sitting at a table. With them at the table was a white capsule that later tested positive for cocaine. Page was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony that supposedly carries a maximum term of -- gulp -- 15 years in prison.

After he posted $10,000 bail and his case was adjourned until Aug. 26, his manager Terry McBride said he is confident "Steven will be completely exonerated."

We sincerely hope so. But until then, he could very likely face more troubles than David Letterman's proverbial monkey on a rock.

First and foremost, of course, is the damage this does to his band's squeaky-clean image. Sure, there are some musicians -- like Scott Weiland or Snoop Dogg, for instance -- who can get away with racking up drug charges as if they were parking tickets. If Jimmy Page got caught like this, it might almost be a badge of honour. But Steven Page? The four-eyed, stocky, teddy-bear frontman of beloved Can-pop superstars BNL? Not so much.

Plus, cocaine possession just seems so ... well, un-Canadian. Our musicians don't get charged with drug possession; they get charged with drunk driving like Nickelback's Chad Kroeger. And there's plenty more where he came from. Heck, it's practically a part of our proud Can-rock heritage.

Even worse, though, is the timing of the whole affair. BNL's latest album is -- get this -- a kid-friendly affair called Snack Time. And Page is scheduled to perform at a children's-themed charity benefit in New York next month. For the moment, McBride says it's "business as usual" for the band, but we wouldn't be surprised if that changes -- at least in the short term.

Speaking of business, that's where Page's real problems lie. A drug conviction could seriously derail his ability to tour, especially in the lucrative U.S. market, where increased border scrutiny and security have caused visa issues for artists such as Amy Winehouse and others.

Just look at Kroeger. Two years after he blew .14 in Surrey, B.C., he's still appealing his conviction. Presumably that's not because he can't afford the $600 fine or deal with the one-year licence suspension, but because -- as his lawyer claimed at the time -- he could have trouble entering the States with a record. (Frankly, we think more countries should bar Kroeger because of his records, but that's a different column.)

Bottom line: If Page does have $1 million, he's probably gonna need it.