When I found out Michael Phelps was caught smoking from a bong my reaction was simple and to the point: "So what. A 22 year old smoked pot."
Well, he is a role model for kids
Michael Phelps is no normal 22 year old. He is an olympic god and a role model to many young kids. When a picture of Phelps smoking from a bong became public he quickly made an apology. Of course he did, why wouldn't he? His bank account would undoubtedly suffer if he lost all of his endorsement deals and the millions of dollars that go along with them.
Let's put this in perspective. Michael Phelps should have to apologize for trying marijuana, a drug 42% of Americans have tried according to a report by PLoS medicine. He has to apologize because he is a "role model". However, many of the candidates in the last few elections have publicly admitted to trying marijuana. The changing times are made even clearer when you listen to how it was done in 1992 by Bill Clinton and recently by Barack Obama.
Clinton - "I tried marijuana once. I did not inhale."
Obama - "I inhaled frequently, that was the point."
Now we can have honesty from "role models"? No way! The point here is role models are held to ridiculous standards. Every one experiments, including the future leaders of our country and including a 22 year old olympic star like Michael Phelps.
Well, it is about the legality
If Michael Phelps was holding a bottle of whiskey it would look bad, but not this bad. Marijuana is illegal. So why are most people only talking about whether or not Michael Phelps should loose his endorsement deals? He should go to jail! Well, he should if we want to hold him to the same ridiculous standards other Americans are held to.
In 2007, nearly 800,000 Americans were arrested for simple possession of marijuana according to FBI statistics. 95 million Americans over the age of 21 have smoked pot and 11 million use the drug regularly. Should we put all of them in jail? The truth is more and more people are realizing how much time and money is wasted on marijuana. Is it bad for your heath? Yes, but so is smoking cigarettes and those are legal.
Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a former special assistant to President Reagan put it best when he said "The health arguments remain disputed, but the basic question is whether we live in a free society in which people can choose to engage in risky behavior. Cigarette smokers, hang gliders and rock climbers all take risks that many other view as unacceptable. That's no reason for arresting them."
In the end, I hope the Michael Phelps incident opens up even more discussion about the marijuana laws in America and the so called "war on drugs."
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