The Michael Phelps Marijuana Debacle

I am sure by now most of you have seen the picture of America’s beloved merman Michael Phelps partaking in some extracurricular activities. He apologized, they accepted, and all seems to be well in the world of professional swimming sponsorships. I guess I should forget about it like everyone else… But you know what, the things he chooses to do in his spare time are NONE of our business. He does not need to apologize to ANYONE. He works his ass off 10+ months out of the year, for what? So his adoring public can turn their backs on him when they find out he has used a substance that 40 percent of you have also tried at some point in your lives?!

How dare people judge him for using a substance that is less harmful than alcohol, tobacco, or most of the prescription drugs only a doctor’s script away. If, during his well-deserved break from shattering world records and being America’s golden boy, he wants to relax with a benign plant (possibly even beneficial – Marijuana Research Studies), let him be. I know our government has done a stellar job portraying “dope” as a life destroying, mind frying, and insanely dangerous drug, but try to take a minute to free your mind from those presuppositions and think about it for yourself.

You may find out, contrary to popular belief, marijuana is not only smoked by unshaven hippies, sex offenders, rapists, drug dealers, and high school dropouts. In fact, as Michael Phelps has shown, even world class athletes hit the bong every so often. If he can smoke some weed and win 14 Olympic gold medals, perhaps other lazy, good-for-nothing pot smokers will be able to get off the couch and make a positive impact on our society. In fact, I will even compile a little list for you at the end of this post so you can see some of the other people to join Phelps in the ranks of successful marijuana smokers. He is in good company – the list includes US Presidents, Supreme Court Justices, TV personalities, scientists and world changing individuals in the arts and social sciences.

There is no reason why a photograph of a professional athlete smoking marijuana should be a top story on the nightly news. He does not need to prove himself to us, and he should not have to apologize. All his apology does is help to perpetuate the lie that is the War on Drugs, and reinforce the notion that what he puts into his body is any of our government’s business. Reefer Madness is a movie, not a fact. Now, let us move on to some of the more important tasks at hand like creating clean, efficient transportation, eradicating Washington of crooked politicians, getting our troops home safely, improving our foreign relations, and getting the economy back on track (to name a few).

The Cannabis Club:

British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly

Chancellor Alistair Darling

Josh Howard

David Paterson

Al Gore