BEING DRUNK!

"Jersey Shore" train wreck NICOLE "SNOOKI" POLIZZI was arrested for public drunkenness on Friday in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

Check out her fall from a bicycle moments before arrest...(FacePlanted!)

Police took her off in handcuffs after she passed out during a marathon afternoon drinking session.  MTV was filming that day, so there's about a 100% chance that all this will be featured, at some point, on "Jersey Shore".

A so-called "eyewitness" says, quote, "She was passed out face down in the sand.  She couldn't even stand up.  She was on her knees and kept falling on the beach.  People were laughing and taking pictures of her before the cops arrested her."

Snooki was reportedly charged with disorderly conduct . . . and was later released.

Hours after Snooki was arrested, her ex-boyfriend Emilio Masella spoke to RadarOnline.com about the Jersey Shore star’s hard-partying habits...he believes his ex-girlfriend’s partying is a sign of a more troubling situation.

 He went on to say that her over-the-top antics are a bid to maintain her status as the fan favorite. “I think she needed this to draw attention to herself and keep up her fame level,” he said. “She has more competition with the new girl.”

“This is typical, I’m not surprised that she got arrested,” Emilio said about Friday’s incident on the Seaside Heights boardwalk.

“I think she is definitely an alcoholic,” Emilio added. “She always said she wanted to go on Celebrity Rehab and she is 99% on the way to making her dream come true. She doesn’t know when to stop, she falls down and gets back up and then does it again.”