Michael Phelps, Hypocrisy, & American Drug Policy

[DdC222]

Big Bong Theory By Sally Jenkins
CN Source: Washington Post February 03, 2009 Washington, DC
So Michael Phelps dove headfirst into the bong water. Is anyone really surprised, after all those laps? There has always been something submerged and escapist about the world's greatest swimmer. When presented with a chamber containing a hazy translucent liquid, he did what's become second nature to him. He buried his face in it. I'm just sorry I wasn't at that University of South Carolina house party to witness Squid Boy's binge firsthand -- not that I would ever make such a staggering misstep myself. continued...

dove headfirst into the bong water

to witness Squid Boy's binge

"...the primary reason to outlaw marijuana
is its effect on the degenerate races."
- Harry J. Anslinger - America's 1st Drug Czar (FDR - JFK)



Does Embattled Phelps Deserve a Break?
CN Source: Associated Press February 03, 2009 New York
A young man appears to be smoking pot at a party. Big deal, right? Our new president has freely admitted doing just that in his youth - inhaling, too - and it didn't derail him one bit. So should we expect more of Michael Phelps? It depends on what we want and expect our youthful role models to be: perfect, or flawed like the rest of us. And so as the Olympic swimmer's many corporate sponsors were wrestling with their options Monday, a day after an embarrassing photo emerged of the decorated athlete appearing to inhale from a bong, some were looking at the bright side. continued...

Deserve a Break? Embattled? 8 Gold Medals...

Olympic swimmer's many corporate sponsors...

"Casual drug users should be taken out and shot."
- Daryl DARE Gates - Former LAPD Chief



Michael Phelps, Hypocrisy, & American Drug Policy By John V. Santore
CN Source: Huffington Post February 02, 2009 USA
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was recently photographed using a marijuana bong at the home of a friend. The photographic evidence made a denial impossible, which led to release of the following statement today... full story

"In a republic like ours, people often think that the proper response to an unjust law is to try to use the political process to change the law, but to obey and respect the law until it is changed. But if the law is itself clearly unjust, and the lawmaking process is not designed to quickly obliterate such unjust laws, then the law deserves no respect â?? break the law." - Henry David Thoreau



"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

"Republic . . .
it means people can live free, talk free, go or come,
buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose."
-- John Wayne



Facebook: Michael Phelps's Notes

Michael you owe NO ONE an apology.
Especially the Hypocrites and Apologists.
You did not make a mistake. You toked a bong.
The entire Cannabis prohibition is the result of a lie.
The legal alternatives are far more de-habilitating.
Have the courage of your convictions.

The only time you owe anything is in the pool.
Off the clock means you are an American
with a Constitution guaranteeing your Free Speech.
Too bad Wall Street and Madison Avenue run on Fascism.

Many wise people have used cannabis for many reasons over the centuries. It reduces stress, unlike booze that inebriates into a comatose state. The smoke is an expectorant that helps open small airways and keep dangerous SMOG and pollutants from causing lung damage and cancer.

When a government outlaws research and hides past studies from the people, and even the schools. When they give away the Treasury and make wars behind our backs. Especially war on some citizens over certain drugs and plants. It is high time the people stood up and just said no.

Appeasing liars perpetuating cannabis prohibition is not good for the 3000 kids sodomized in juvi prison. Or the thousands of kids getting chemically poisoned from pesticides sprayed in drug war zones and farm lands. Not used on Hemp that is lumped into the mix. Non psychoactive narcotic burlap, blue jeans and a nutritional source of Omega 3 in its seed.

Now making up 98% of the nations "marijuana" eradication program. Protecting the kids with more fraud? Saving them from stronger fiber than trees produce? Can't tell a jury your doctor said try it cause the judge says it ain't medicine. In spite of the 300 joints Uncle Sam rolls each month for the remaining IND patients.

NO-ConPromise!
Be well,
DdC

Celebrity Stoners: American High Society

NFL Buzzkill

"Insanity [is] ...
Continuing to do the same things and expecting different results."
-- Albert Einstein

We are calling for a World Wide BOYCOTT,
of any and all companies dropping ads
on the grounds of enough hypocrisy!

Should Michael Phelps apologize for being photographed with a bong?
Craig Ferguson thinks not.



CBS Vid The Late Late Show - 02/02/09
The Whole Michael Phelps Controversy

DdC222 Reviewed by DdC222 on 02-04-2009. Michael Phelps, Hypocrisy, & American Drug Policy Big Bong Theory By Sally Jenkins CN Source: Washington Post February 03, 2009 Washington, DC So Michael Phelps dove headfirst into the bong water. Is anyone really surprised, after all those laps? There has always been something submerged and escapist about the world's greatest swimmer. When presented with a chamber containing a hazy translucent liquid, he did what's become second nature to him. He buried his face in it. I'm just sorry I wasn't at that University of South Carolina house party Rating: 5

[DdC222]

What Michael Phelps Should Have Said
Radley Balko | February 2, 2009

Smoking pot shouldn't be a crime.
Or the public's business.

Dear America,

I take it back. I donâ??t apologize.

Because you know what? Itâ??s none of your goddamned business. I work my ass off 10 months a year. Itâ??s that hard work that gave you all those gooey feelings of patriotism last summer. If during my brief window of down time I want to relax, enjoy myself, and partake of a substance thatâ??s a hell of a lot less bad for me than alcohol, tobacco, or, frankly, most of the prescription drugs most of you are taking, well, you can spare me the lecture. continued...

"In any civilized society,
it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws.
But at the same time,
it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.

SC sheriff investigating Phelps' pot pipe photo,
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)

considers marijuana charge

Olympic superstar Michael Phelps could face criminal charges as part of the fallout from a photo that surfaced showing the swimmer smoking from a marijuana pipe at a University of South Carolina house party.

A spokesman for Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who is known for his tough stance on drugs, said Tuesday the department was investigating.

"Our narcotics division is reviewing the information that we have, and they're investigating what charges, if any, will be filed," said Lt. Chris Cowan, a spokesman for agency. continued...



Michael Phelps, Hypocrisy, & American Drug Policy (thread)

Hypocrites and their Apologists... tsk tsk


No Extradition for the BC3!

[luciddreamer]

Jill Porter: Phelps a toke-ing of pot legalizers' affection | Philadelphia Daily News | 02/04/2009

Anyone know Phelps' address? I want to write to him.

[DdC222]

Kellogg to drop Phelps over pot smoking photo
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. said it won't renew its sponsorhip contract with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps because of a photo that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said Thursday that Phelps's behavior â?? caught on camera and published Sunday in a British tabloid â?? is "not consistent with the image of Kellogg."

The company put Phelps on boxes of its Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes.

Phelps has kept the backing of many sponsors since the photo surfaced from a November house party at the University of South Carolina.

Phelps's agent was not immediately available to comment.

Kellogg says its contract with Phelps expires at the end of the month.

Top travel destinations for Michael Phelps and other marijuana smokers
Posted by The Marijuana News Staff on February 5th, 2009

Divide and Maintain Dysfunction.

Michael Phelps - the good stuff
DWR: Pete Guither 2.4.9

Yes, there have been a lot of ridiculous columns by entertainment and sports journalists about how Michale Phelps "shames us all" for his horrible action in taking a bong hit, but it's been entertaining to me to read the comments to most of these articles and see the journalists being torn a new one by the public.

Some of them have been quite astonished that their readers weren't supporting them in their ritual condemnation of Phelps. Hilarious.

Here's a couple of delightful instances where the writers got it right.

Andrew Stuttaford at National Review Online's the corner

Look, I don't blame Michael Phelps for apologizing. He has a living to earn, so he did what he had to do.

In the meantime, I merely note that this broken wreck of a man's failure to win any more than a pathetic fourteen Olympic gold medals (so far) is a terrifying warning of the horrific damage that cannabis can do to someone's health--and a powerful reminder of just how sensible the drug laws really are.



And then, a clear must-read is Kathleen Parker in today's Washington Post: Phelps Takes a Hit

She's on fire:

And the law is the law. Therein lies the problem.

Our marijuana laws have been ludicrous for as long as we've been alive. Almost half of us (42 percent) have tried marijuana at least once, according to a report published last year in PLoS Medicine, a journal of the Public Library of Science.

The U.S., in fact, boasts the highest percentage of pot smokers among 17 nations surveyed, including The Netherlands, where cannabis clouds waft from coffeehouse windows. [...]

Other better-known former tokers include our current president and a couple of previous ones, as well as a Supreme Court justice, to name just a few. A complete list would require the slaughter of several mature forests. [...]

One recent ad produced by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy says: "Hey, not trying to be your mom, but there aren't many jobs out there for potheads." Whoa, dude, except maybe, like, president of the United States.

Once a kid realizes that pot doesn't make him insane -- or likely to become a burrito taster, as the ad further asserts -- he might figure other drug information is equally false.

Thanks, Michael, for jump-starting a national conversation by taking a hit on a bong.

If it were only that easy for the rest of us...

Update: Joe Klein at Time Magazine jumps in: Legalize it, already

Kathleen Parker has the precisely correct reaction to the Michael Phelps flap. Marijuana should be legalized and taxed. It's costing the society way too much in terms of law enforcement and hypocrisy.



Monday, February 2, 2009
Updates: Cheye Calvo and Michael Phelps

Olympic Champion Michael Phelps Caught With Marijuana Pipe
Phelps, who vaulted to international stardom during the 2008 Summer Olympics by winning a record eight gold medals in swimming, has been caught in a very compromising position, according to a report by the British paper News of the World. full story

Marijuana Wars In The Workplace
US OR: Edu: Fox, Lauren Oregon Daily Emerald 03 Feb 2009

Richland Sheriff Could Charge Phelps
US SC: Beam, Adam The State 03 Feb 2009

The United States Is Mired In Adolescent Behaviour
CN BC: Editorial: Vancouver Sun 04 Feb 2009

Phelps, Pot And Consequences
Editorial: Dallas Morning News 03 Feb 2009

So, Phelps Is Human
CN ON: Editorial: Ottawa Citizen 04 Feb 2009

Michael Phelps' Public Stoning
US CO: Harsanyi, David Denver Post 03 Feb 2009

DEA Chief: Winners Occasionally Use Drugs
September 9, 1997 | Issue 32â?¢06 WASHINGTON, DC
In a surprise announcement with wide-ranging implications for U.S. narcotics policy, Drug Enforcement Administration director Thomas Constantine acknowledged Monday that some winners "may occasionally" use drugs.

Phelps unites pot smokers By David Edwards
CNNâ??s Jeanne Moos reported that the photo of Michael Phelps smoking a bong has united pot smokers on the internet.
This video is from CNNâ??s American Morning, broadcast Feb. 4, 2009.

Former Olympian defends Phelps for bong use

Smoking pot with Michael Phelps?



72% want Obama to end DEA raids
DWR: Pete Guither 2.4.9

According to a California NORML press release:

While the DEA continues to stage medical marijuana raids in California, nearly three-quarters of voters think President Obama should honor his campaign pledge to end the raids, according to a poll of 1,053 likely voters by Zogby International.

In a question sponsored by NORML, voters were asked: During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama said he would stop federal raids against medical marijuana providers in the 13 states where medical marijuana has become legal. Should President Obama keep his word to end such raids?

Response:

* Yes - 72%
* No - 21%
* Not sure - 7%.

Yes votes outnumbered No by over 2 to 1 in all geographic, political, and demographic groups. The poll, conducted Jan 29-31, had a margin error of +/-3.1%.

The question is, of course, designed to encourage a "Yes" vote (that's not unusual in commissioned polls), but it's still an impressive number and very useful to make a good point.

[SmokiNomad]

Yeah, I wish he didn't apologize. I met this kid at the beach that said he cleaned the house of Charles Schwab. (Well, his house in Hawai'i.) He said that his son smokes a shitload of weed, and "Chuck" himself does.

I wish these rich fuckers would come out of the cannabis closet. They can afford it. I wish I could. I would jeopardize my career if I did. So, I understand why he apologized. But, man... You know, I am just too angry to talk about this right now. Plus I am dry except for a little bowl of kief. Fuck, man.

[Rusty Trichome]

Wishing he didn't break the law, break his contracts, and step on parents' trust world wide...is folly. Do we wish cannabis was legal...? Of course. But as the laws stand now...he played the game and has gotten slapped-down as a result.

He signed-off on the personal morality clauses in his contracts, cannabis possesion and use is still against federal law, and since the games ended, he's acted like an adolescent. Nothing like bringing an exotic dancer (escort) home to have dinner with the family, then getting caught on camera effectively operating a bong.

With the Kellogs contract, they didn't drop him, they're just not resigning him. In fact, isn't this progress? A few years ago he would have been dropped effective immediatelly, with a smear campaign against him designed to highten the companies image as an all-american institution that will not condone this 'aberrant' behavior.

At least he's only gotten a 3 month suspension from USA Swimming.

[veggii]

and so know the great corporate USA is gonna trample all over his rights, they better be careful that young man is very bright and might just sue the pants off of them !! I hope he does, they had better watch their step. all federal laws placing cannabis on the substance abuse act have been Illegally placed there by the dea. It clearly states for a plant or substance to placed there it has to have "of no medicinal value" I think 75% of the usa population know it has a "medicinal value" there by it is Illegally placed on the substance abuse act! so any acts against the people using cannabis by the dea are crimes !! I think Barrack Obama knows this and will fix it!

[phatsesh101]

the hell with it i think stoners should boycott kelloggs id bet they would feel that in there pockets then probly sign cheech and chong

oh and IF he said that it would have been sweet i love open defiance like when L.A. said they werent sending money to sacramento cause the legislature is not doing thier jobs

[Weedhound]

I have to 100% agree with Rusty here.......if your word (or signing a contract and taking the money) just doesn't matter anymore to anyone, then we are totally screwed. I'd sure like to think that if I pay someone that they are actually doing what they PROMISED and is being paid for.......pot or otherwise.

PS....Doesn't he have a DUI as well from 2004? Ooopsie.....who'd like to defend THAT one?

[Weedhound]

And for the record, I couldn't care less if Phelps smokes pot......more power to him with all his medals and being able to toke at the same time. It's his WORD that I have questions about (and not good ones.)