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Post by Saggitariutt Jefferspin (ith) on Feb 3, 2009 10:58:49 GMT -6
www.reason.com/news/show/131438.htmlDear America, I take it back. I don’t apologize. Because you know what? It’s none of your goddamned business. I work my ass off 10 months a year. It’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 that’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. I put myself through hell. I make my body do things nature never really intended us to endure. All world-class athletes do. We do it because you love to watch us push ourselves as far as we can possibly go. Some of us get hurt. Sometimes permanently. You’re watching the Super Bowl tonight. You’re watching 300 pound men smash each while running at full speed, in full pads. You know what the average life expectancy of an NFL player is? Fifty-five. That’s about 20 years shorter than your average non-NFL player. Yet you watch. And cheer. And you jump up spill your beer when a linebacker lays out a wide receiver on a crossing route across the middle. The harder he gets hit, the louder and more enthusiastically you scream. Yet you all get bent out of shape when Ricky Williams, or I, or Josh Howard smoke a little dope to relax. Why? Because the idiots you’ve elected to make your laws have, without a shred of evidence, beat it into your head that smoking marijuana is something akin to drinking antifreeze, and done only by dirty hippies and sex offenders. You’ll have to pardon my cynicism. But I call bullshit. You don’t give a damn about my health. You just get a voyeuristic thrill from watching an elite athlete fall from grace–all the better if you get to exercise a little moral righteousness in the process. And it’s hypocritical righteousness at that, given that 40 percent of you have tried pot at least once in your lives. Here’s a crazy thought: If I can smoke a little dope and go on to win 14 Olympic gold medals, maybe pot smokers aren’t doomed to lives of couch surfing and video games, as our moronic government would have us believe. In fact, the list of successful pot smokers includes not just world class athletes like me, Howard, Williams, and others, it includes Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, the last three U.S. presidents, several Supreme Court justices, and luminaries and success stories from all sectors of business and the arts, sciences, and humanities. So go ahead. Ban me from the next Olympics. Yank my endorsement deals. Stick your collective noses in the air and get all indignant on me. While you’re at it, keep arresting cancer and AIDS patients who dare to smoke the stuff because it deadens their pain, or enables them to eat. Keep sending in goon squads to kick down doors and shoot little old ladies, maim innocent toddlers, handcuff elderly post-polio patients to their beds at gunpoint, and slaughter the family pet. Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll apologize for smoking pot when every politician who ever did drugs and then voted to uphold or strengthen the drug laws marches his ass off to the nearest federal prison to serve out the sentence he wants to impose on everyone else for committing the same crimes he committed. I’ll apologize when the sons, daughters, and nephews of powerful politicians who get caught possessing or dealing drugs in the frat house or prep school get the same treatment as the no-name, probably black kid caught on the corner or the front stoop doing the same thing. Until then, I for one will have none of it. I smoked pot. I liked it. I’ll probably do it again. I refuse to apologize for it, because by apologizing I help perpetuate this stupid lie, this idea that what someone puts into his own body on his own time is any of the government’s damned business. Or any of yours. I’m not going to bend over and allow myself to be propaganda for this wasteful, ridiculous, immoral war. Go ahead and tear me down if you like. But let’s see you rationalize in your next lame ONDCP commercial how the greatest motherfucking swimmer the world has ever seen...is also a proud pot smoker. Yours, Michael Phelps
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Post by thunderhawk on Feb 3, 2009 11:44:18 GMT -6
I'd hit the weed too if I had to abuse my body like those guys do.
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Post by roxxstar on Feb 3, 2009 12:10:56 GMT -6
It's the truth. All though, he would never say that. I can't blame him. He's making millions of dollars off of advertising.
If he were to come out and say that though, I would think Phelps is the man.
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Post by Saggitariutt Jefferspin (ith) on Feb 3, 2009 12:23:42 GMT -6
It's the truth. All though, he would never say that. I can't blame him. He's making millions of dollars off of advertising. If he were to come out and say that though, I would think Phelps is the man. Of course not - like you said, he'd lose all of his endorsements...and I certainly don't blame him. When I first saw this story, I turned to the wife and said, "oh great, here come the moral crusaders to save the day". I'm not much of a smoker, but this narrow mindset that it's so evil is nothing short of full retard.
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Post by MoHawk on Feb 3, 2009 12:48:58 GMT -6
Agreed. I don't smoke, but I have little issue with it. In my line of work, I get to listen to the police scanner all day long. In my nearly 8 years in the biz, I've NEVER heard a cop say, nor read a press release or any report that says, "we believe the violent individual was under the influence of marijuana"
It's ALWYAS, booze, meth, cocaine, etc..., but NEVER marijuana.
The government is missing out on a HUGE cash cow by not legalizing and taxing the damn stuff. It'd make them more money than a liquor tax or anything else. It causes no more harm than booze, probably less.
It's not my cup o' tea, but what right to I have to tell others about what they should and shouldn't do?
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Post by lpcalihawk on Feb 3, 2009 13:38:27 GMT -6
Only if Phelps would come out and say this.........this country needs someone to put it in its place on this issue. Double standards and hypocrisy abound......and no one in high places is listening to the Wastelanders on this one.
South Carolina is looking into potentially prosecuting him criminally over this picture. Maybe they should concern themselves with prosecuting the brother and sister fuckers of their state.
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Post by iammrhawkeyes on Feb 3, 2009 15:14:30 GMT -6
South Carolina is looking into potentially prosecuting him criminally over this picture. Maybe they should concern themselves with prosecuting the brother and sister fuckers of their state. Well that's not going to happen. Brother and sister fuckers run the place. I'll bet Iron Lung Phelps' lung capacity gives him an unfair advantage among dope smokers. Sucking down half the doob in one fell puff. I'd make sure he brought his own shit.
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Post by lpcalihawk on Feb 3, 2009 15:44:34 GMT -6
South Carolina is looking into potentially prosecuting him criminally over this picture. Maybe they should concern themselves with prosecuting the brother and sister fuckers of their state. Well that's not going to happen. Brother and sister fuckers run the place. I'll bet Iron Lung Phelp's lung capacity gives him an unfair advantage among dope smokers. Sucking down half the doob in one fell puff. I'd make sure he brought his own shit. Good point. I'm sure he didn't even cough after that bong hit......bring on the 6-footer competition between Phelps and The Jesus and we'll see who the real Gold Medalist is.
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Post by twinegarden on Feb 3, 2009 15:50:49 GMT -6
Well that's not going to happen. Brother and sister fuckers run the place. I'll bet Iron Lung Phelp's lung capacity gives him an unfair advantage among dope smokers. Sucking down half the doob in one fell puff. I'd make sure he brought his own shit. Good point. I'm sure he didn't even cough after that bong hit......bring on the 6-footer competition between Phelps and The Jesus and we'll see who the real Gold Medalist is. I'd take him on, I can out cannonball The Jesus any day, he coughs like a little bitch!
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Post by lpcalihawk on Feb 3, 2009 16:53:18 GMT -6
Good point. I'm sure he didn't even cough after that bong hit......bring on the 6-footer competition between Phelps and The Jesus and we'll see who the real Gold Medalist is. I'd take him on, I can out cannonball The Jesus any day, he coughs like a little bitch! Sounds like a challenge.......a throw down tomorrow at 4:20?
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Post by ignatiusreilly on Feb 4, 2009 10:40:56 GMT -6
The only thing America should learn from photos of Phelps hitting a bong is that you can smoke pot and still win 6 olympic gold medals... the ultimate achievement. Phelps should be the poster boy for legalizing pot.
If we legalized this stuff, the recession would be over.. Think of all the jobs that would be created. Farmers, advertisers, factory workers, hemps, coffee shops, it would be a big boost to the economy and we would stop spending tax money on jailing pot dealers. America would actually produce something again.
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Post by roxxstar on Feb 4, 2009 12:15:12 GMT -6
Good point. I'm sure he didn't even cough after that bong hit......bring on the 6-footer competition between Phelps and The Jesus and we'll see who the real Gold Medalist is. I'd take him on, I can out cannonball The Jesus any day, he coughs like a little bitch! Any time and any place Twine. I do admit I don't have iron lungs anymore though. Although my recent purchase of a Volcano should do wonders to alleviate that problem.
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Post by Master Blaster on Feb 4, 2009 22:43:20 GMT -6
Hell yeah! And screw it, if the baseball players want to shoot up with steriods till there balls disappear, that is a- ok. Only a small percentage of people can get the stuff anyway. They aren't hurting anybody but themselves (well, most aren't, professional wrestlers excluded). And you know, while we are at the justification game, who cares about using prostitutes. I mean hey, they are all getting a paycheck at least, and not at all causing harm to anybody. No slave trade is attributed to that, not a bit of harm from any of it. Legalize it all! Rock on! And the Amsterdam model is the model we want to follow! They got the right, we should too. Legalize it all, we are justifying and testifying. Hallaluya!
Once again, I don't mind responsible use. In this case, if he gets dropped by the sponsors because they think he will tarnish their image, he is responsible for the results. He gets what is coming when he held that water pipe up and was stupid enough to let someone take his picture. If crawling around on his knees is what he gets, he made it happen himself. On a side note, given his DUI he had around the last Olympics, he better get his shit together before he runs across Mr. Hardass judge looking to make a name for himself.
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Post by ignatiusreilly on Feb 5, 2009 1:11:37 GMT -6
The problem with your reasoning here Master Chief is that the only negative thing pot, steriods, and prostitution have in common is that they're illegal activities. pot isn't a performance enhancing drug that shrinks your balls and it doesn't exploit women. Pot is just a harmless drug, even less harmful than legal drugs like alcohol and some prescription meds.
You're right, legalize it. Heck you can win 6 gold medals and be a pot smoker. That's completely the opposite of what the US Government and those anti-pot commercials will tell ya.
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Post by NOTTHOR on Feb 5, 2009 9:33:36 GMT -6
The problem with your reasoning here Master Chief is that the only negative thing pot, steriods, and prostitution have in common is that they're illegal activities. pot isn't a performance enhancing drug that shrinks your balls and it doesn't exploit women. Pot is just a harmless drug, even less harmful than legal drugs like alcohol and some prescription meds. You're right, legalize it. Heck you can win 6 gold medals and be a pot smoker. That's completely the opposite of what the US Government and those anti-pot commercials will tell ya. No doubt. I would put the track record of weed up against 'roids any day in terms of negative impacts on society. I've never heard of some stoner getting "pot rage" and beating the hell out of his girlfriend, nor do I know of any instances of guys claiming that pot riddled their body with cancer like Lyle Alzado claimed steroids did to him. With respect to prostitutes, pimpin' ain't easy. The government's nanny state "we own your body" mentality is far more responsible for the slave trade and negative events suffered by prostitutes than legal prostitution would be. You really can't tell me the justification for outlawing the Stanford Law student who got busted for prostitution was that she was the victim of coercion or force. The lack of government protection of prostitutes is what creates the vacuum for pimps and organized crime rings to exploit women. Additionally, why can't a gal sell that which she can give away?
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Post by NotMyKid on Feb 5, 2009 11:24:45 GMT -6
South Carolina is looking into potentially prosecuting him criminally over this picture. Maybe they should concern themselves with prosecuting the brother and sister fuckers of their state. That DA is a total ass fuck. The funny thing is if that happened on the Iowa Campus I am sure the Johnson County DA would be saying the same thing, that of course if they could take the time to pull themselves away from all those PAULA tickets.
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Post by scotthawk on Feb 5, 2009 12:46:02 GMT -6
blah blah the stuff is illegal, if he is caught with it or smoking it, he should face the charges. Nobody makes that dude swim....he chooses to swim so don't use that as an excuse....he trains so hard and puts his body through hell so.....he deserves to smoke pot now and again? haha
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Post by Saggitariutt Jefferspin (ith) on Feb 5, 2009 13:10:57 GMT -6
blah blah the stuff is illegal, if he is caught with it or smoking it, he should face the charges. Nobody makes that dude swim....he chooses to swim so don't use that as an excuse....he trains so hard and puts his body through hell so.....he deserves to smoke pot now and again? haha You're kind missing the point. It's more of the hypocratic nature of the country, and questioning the reason why it's illegal in the first place. But if you want to stare forward, not ask questions and be content with all laws and regulations in life...be my guest. It's 'ok' to question things from time to time.
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Post by lpcalihawk on Feb 5, 2009 15:39:25 GMT -6
I'd take him on, I can out cannonball The Jesus any day, he coughs like a little bitch! Any time and any place Twine. I do admit I don't have iron lungs anymore though. Although my recent purchase of a Volcano should do wonders to alleviate that problem. Is the Volcano a vaporizer?
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Post by scotthawk on Feb 5, 2009 15:59:54 GMT -6
blah blah the stuff is illegal, if he is caught with it or smoking it, he should face the charges. Nobody makes that dude swim....he chooses to swim so don't use that as an excuse....he trains so hard and puts his body through hell so.....he deserves to smoke pot now and again? haha You're kind missing the point. It's more of the hypocratic nature of the country, and questioning the reason why it's illegal in the first place. But if you want to stare forward, not ask questions and be content with all laws and regulations in life...be my guest. It's 'ok' to question things from time to time. Dude, I question things all the time....I have no problem being on the "unpopular" side of an arguement, it happens all the time. So I am not missing any point. He wasn't "questioning things" if he got caught smoking weed. And he wasn't questioning the illegality/legality of weed in general. If he wanted to do that he would use his popularity to get face time with local/state/federal officials to try to drum up support to legalize it or publicly join a cause that is trying to do that. If he just happened to get caught using, he should be treated like any other Joe on Friday night that gets arrested with it. Pay your small fine and move on. I'm not just talking about Phelps, it goes for anyone. If you feel that strongly, join a cause and get laws changed but until you do, you are just a lawbreaker. BTW, I never stated if I was for or against marijuana being illegal.
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Post by Saggitariutt Jefferspin (ith) on Feb 5, 2009 16:13:20 GMT -6
You're kind missing the point. It's more of the hypocratic nature of the country, and questioning the reason why it's illegal in the first place. But if you want to stare forward, not ask questions and be content with all laws and regulations in life...be my guest. It's 'ok' to question things from time to time. Dude, I question things all the time....I have no problem being on the "unpopular" side of an arguement, it happens all the time. So I am not missing any point. He wasn't "questioning things" if he got caught smoking weed. And he wasn't questioning the illegality/legality of weed in general. If he wanted to do that he would use his popularity to get face time with local/state/federal officials to try to drum up support to legalize it or publicly join a cause that is trying to do that. If he just happened to get caught using, he should be treated like any other Joe on Friday night that gets arrested with it. Pay your small fine and move on. I'm not just talking about Phelps, it goes for anyone. If you feel that strongly, join a cause and get laws changed but until you do, you are just a lawbreaker. BTW, I never stated if I was for or against marijuana being illegal. That's fine, but when you make a statement of "he deserves to smoke pot now and again? haha " is NOT what the article is about, and why I think you would be missing the issue. Also make note that part of the 'article' mentions that in fact, people do NOT get treated the same for the 'crime'. The fact that it is a crime, is the problem here. Nothing else puts more non-violent criminals in jail. "He wasn't questioning things" Read the thesis statement. Smoking pot shouldn't be a crime. Or the public's business.
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Post by Iowafan1 on Feb 5, 2009 19:07:15 GMT -6
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,488904,00.html When I was a kid, I did this garbage too....and paid for it. It was only after I took my life and my future seriously that I got off that crap......and surprise....things worked out well. Whether those on this board choose to acknowledge it or not, marijuana is not only a wall for most users between success and lack thereof, it is also the gateway to far more serious drugs. Most drug users started with marijuana. This is the reality recognized by most. I'm glad Kellogg's is taking this stand and it looks as if more advertisers are getting ready to follow suit. I don't buy for a minute the correlation between alcohol and marijuana either, nor the "responsible" joint smoker concept.
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Post by scotthawk on Feb 5, 2009 19:45:31 GMT -6
Dude, I question things all the time....I have no problem being on the "unpopular" side of an arguement, it happens all the time. So I am not missing any point. He wasn't "questioning things" if he got caught smoking weed. And he wasn't questioning the illegality/legality of weed in general. If he wanted to do that he would use his popularity to get face time with local/state/federal officials to try to drum up support to legalize it or publicly join a cause that is trying to do that. If he just happened to get caught using, he should be treated like any other Joe on Friday night that gets arrested with it. Pay your small fine and move on. I'm not just talking about Phelps, it goes for anyone. If you feel that strongly, join a cause and get laws changed but until you do, you are just a lawbreaker. BTW, I never stated if I was for or against marijuana being illegal. That's fine, but when you make a statement of "he deserves to smoke pot now and again? haha " is NOT what the article is about, and why I think you would be missing the issue. Also make note that part of the 'article' mentions that in fact, people do NOT get treated the same for the 'crime'. The fact that it is a crime, is the problem here. Nothing else puts more non-violent criminals in jail. "He wasn't questioning things" Read the thesis statement. Smoking pot shouldn't be a crime. Or the public's business. Maybe I went a bit far with the "so he deserves to smoke pot now and again" but I was mostly pointing out the tone of the board. I also agree with you that people are NOT treated equally with respect to this CRIME. I stated that there should be equality as far as punishment goes. I also know he wasn't questioning things, he was just breaking the law if he was smoking pot. I already outlined a way for him or anyone to question things if they wanted to. I, for one, do think it should be a crime. You certainly have your opinion but that doesn't mean it is the final say. I have seen pot smoking lead to stronger drugs and ruin lives. I have no idea if this happens a lot or not very much but it does happen. If anyone doesn't want their pot smoking to be the public's business...make sure you smoke at home with the curtains closed and in the basement. Anywhere else it will be the public's business in this age of the media and the fact that almost everyone from age 11 and up carry a cell phone with a camera.
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Post by hawkeyedug on Feb 5, 2009 19:54:59 GMT -6
Most drug users started with marijuana. You could replace "marijuana" with "alcohol" and the statement would be just as valid.
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Post by Iowafan1 on Feb 5, 2009 19:56:20 GMT -6
Most drug users started with marijuana. You could replace "marijuana" with "alcohol" and the statement would be just as valid. You really think so? I honestly don't know....you may be right.
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