Michael Phelps, hypocrisy and American Drug Policy

reply to post by saint4God


How many of those drivers also had water in their system?


Did you know that if you were at a concert 30 days ago, it's still detectable although not effecting you?


All this stat shows is how many people are actually smoking pot these days

I wouldn't be surprised if Phelps has been smoking pot for long time. I also wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason he won all those medals. Ever wonder why Jamaicans ruled the Olympics? Ever wonder why it's really illegal? You know that what government tells you about the pot is all BS right? Open your eyes.

Originally posted by HunkaHunka
How many of those drivers also had water in their system?

Water isn't a psychoactive drug.

Originally posted by HunkaHunka
Did you know that if you were at a concert 30 days ago, it's still detectable although not effecting you?

And? This seems to make a case for THC having a long term effects rather than justify it has no lasting ones.

Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time.

- www.nida.nih.gov...


[edit on 5-2-2009 by saint4God]

This is much ado about nothing. It's obviously a politically motivated prosecutor trying to get as much publicity as possible. There's no physical evidence that Phelps was even smoking marijuana.

For the last few decades, the federal government has been trying, desparately, to find something wrong with pot. Researchers have consistently complained that if you're doing a study trying to find something wrong with pot, there no problem getting money from the feds. However, if your research is about the beneficial aspects of pot, they won't fund your study. And yet, after five decades of this policy they haven't found much wrong and still found beneficial aspects. That's why medical pot is becoming more widely available.

Thousands of people die every year from "alcohol poisining" (in other words, they drank too much, plain and simple), yet there is not one documented death from pot. Yet you can get thrown in jail for a small bag of pot. You can get alcohol at convenience stores. Go figure.

reply to post by saint4God


Notice I said "detectable" Not in the areas where it actually effects you.


The real question is this...


Why is it that the fastest man on earth underwater smokes pot?

What is in it to provide the performance enhancement?

There is a big reason they are down talking the Michael Phelps pot smoking case; I believe that the government is getting ready to legalize it and how better to dumb down the "badass" marijuana then to have America's prized olympian taking part in it. This isn't the first we've seen of sports players getting off with drug charges. Ricky Williams of the MIami dolphins was let off a few years back and is now playing back for the team. More recently this years NFL super bowl MVP, SANtonio Holmes, was caught about a year ago "riding dirty" with three blunts; the MSM didn't even report on this at all, other then Sportscenter. Marijuana will be the United State's greatest cash crop in years to come, the only crooks involved in this issue are the government officials that make billions off of an illegal drug trade because they want no paper trail and aren't willing to split the money with actual drug businesses; much like how pharmacuetical companies have the US by the balls. So in short this isn't being dumbed down this is just one event on the road toward disclosure; which is such a loved phrase here on ATS I'm surprised I haven't seen it yet.

Also one other point Massachusetts has already decriminalized marijuana for adults, making it no longer a court trial if found with MJ but simply just a fine. Many states will be following suit.

[edit on 5-2-2009 by TNT13]

If I got in an accident today and had a high level of sugar in my blood, is the donut I ate this morning to blame? Are you serious with that argument?

Originally posted by saint4God

Thanks, I think that's mighty fair of you to offer:

1.) Aspergillis
2.) Depression/Suicidal ideation
2.) Amotivational Syndrome
3.) Problems Learning
4.) Schizophrenia
5.) Distorted perceptions
6.) Impaired coordination
7.) Difficulty in thinking and problem solving
8.) Memory failure
9.) Increased Anxiety
10.) Increased mental illnesses risk
11.) Psychotic reactions
12.) Increased Heart attack risk
13.) Cancer (carcinogenic hydrocarbons)
14.) Greater missed days at work/school

More at www.nida.nih.gov...

These don't include my personal challenges with a family member having used it.

I don't think any of those have been proven to be anything but circumstantial. Some of them directly contradict mine and many others' experiences as far as learning, perception, coordination, and memory, etc go.

Some of those are just the effects of being "high," things that, if they do occur, will dissipate in a few hours, not harmful side effects. And some of them are only 'real' because there's taboo surrounding it's use.

Smoking is not the only method of ingestion, so cancer is out, and it's been proven to actually fight it. I could burn/inhale enough flowers or watermelon shavings to get cancer. It's a stupid argument that just sounds bad.
If there was aspergillus mold on anything I inhale, I'd end up with it inside me. It isn't on all cannabis just like it isn't in every blade of grass or tree you walk by, and generally smart/responsible people won't smoke something with mold growing on it.

I understand you've known someone that apparently allowed themselves to overdo something, but do you have any personal experience, or are you just reading things and repeating them?

You sound like the encyclopedia from 1976 I have sitting in front of me that reads...

...may be associated with at least six types of potential hazard: (1)chromosome damage;... (3)disturbance of hormonal regulators, causing a variety of effects, such as impotence, temporary sterility, and development of female-like breasts in men;... (6)Potential irreversible brain damage.

Should we believe those things too?




[edit on 5-2-2009 by alaskan]

reply to post by alaskan


Most of those have been disproven. They were theories, but didn't turn out to hold water. Like the cancer thing. There's no such thing as a marijuana-induced psychotic reaction. There are psychotic people who smoke pot...just like psychotic people drink, smoke, drink coffee and eat fried chicken. But there's no evidence that I'm aware of the marijuana induces psychotic reactions in normal people.

By the way, all that stuff is DECADES old. Like the breast enlargement thing. They believed that back in the 1970s based on a single case of breast enlargement. A single case!! But it got pumped up in the media.

[edit on 5-2-2009 by ClintK]

Originally posted by saint4God

Originally posted by alaskan
By the way, do you think god put it here only for us to deem evil and destroy?

No more than I think God put it here to smoke.

[edit on 5-2-2009 by saint4God]

I couldn't let this pass by without noting:

God is perfect; man is not.
Man made whiskey; God made pot!

-Author Unknown

reply to post by saint4God


Ok here we go:

1.) Aspergillis

---Ok, not mentioned in your source but this is a mold, and as such would be prevented by proper care of the product if it was legal

Aspergillus

2.) Depression/Suicidal ideation

---These can be caused by lots of different situations involving the person in question. While your source does mention them it also makes a point to state this

However, at this time, it not clear whether marijuana use causes mental problems, exacerbates them, or is used in attempt to self-medicate symptoms already in existence.

So it would seem they are still up in the air about it.

2.) Amotivational Syndrome

---Not mentioned in your source that I could find (I am using Ctrl+F here), however the WHO has this to say:

The evidence for an "amotivational syndrome" among adults consists largely of case histories and observational reports (e.g. Kolansky and Moore, 1971; Millman and Sbriglio, 1986). The small number of controlled field and laboratory studies have not found compelling evidence for such a syndrome (Dornbush, 1974; Negrete, 1983; Hollister, 1986)... (I)t is doubtful that cannabis use produces a well defined amotivational syndrome. It may be more parsimonious to regard the symptoms of impaired motivation as symptoms of chronic cannabis intoxication rather than inventing a new psychiatric syndrome.

Amotivational Syndrome

So if this is real then it is more related to chronic use and not casual use... Still less dangerous than the current legal alternatives

3.) Problems Learning

---The study stated in your source, Neuropsychological Performance in Long-term Cannabis Users, lists this as its conclusion

CONCLUSIONS: Some cognitive deficits appear detectable at least 7 days after heavy cannabis use but appear reversible and related to recent cannabis exposure rather than irreversible and related to cumulative lifetime use.

Neuropsychological Study

So while problems learning MAY be an issue I dont personally believe it would cause more issues than the legal alternatives. Also the worst results came from chronic use.

4.) Schizophrenia

---See my response for Depression/Suicidal ideation

5.) Distorted perceptions

---This and #6 kinda come with the territory, its why people get inebriated, and the intensity is much less than that of the legal alternatives

6.) Impaired coordination

---See #5

7.) Difficulty in thinking and problem solving

---Goes with 5 & 6, if your trying to get inebriated then this isnt really a concern. And as per the study stated in #3, it will pass and is reversible

8.) Memory failure

---Source didnt specifically mention "memory failure" any references to memory in the source are related to #3

9.) Increased Anxiety

---Not mentioned in the source, and from experience, anxiety was no where to be found, lol

10.) Increased mental illnesses risk

---See #2

11.) Psychotic reactions

---This is actually an interesting study, though I'm not sure how to interpret it. It seems to be a study of 35 other studies from 4804 references...

Psychotic Episodes Study

Perhaps someone else can take a crack at this... I find it interesting that if this is the case then, with the rise in MJ use then there should be a rise is psychosis

12.) Increased Heart attack risk

---The study the source cites MJ as a RARE trigger of myocardial infarction... I find it interesting only 124 people out of the 3882 in the study had used MJ in the prior year. Not exactly a concrete study if you ask me, especially not concrete enough to say that MJ users are prone to Heart attacks..

Myocardial Infarction and MJ Study

13.) Cancer (carcinogenic hydrocarbons)

---I'll give you that, smoking can cause cancer... But so can the exhaust you breath during rush hour traffic...

14.) Greater missed days at work/school

---The source states a study of 450 people, which, at least to me, is hardly conclusive. But I'll give this one to you to. I will note that the days missed were due to sickness, not intoxication.

I like seeing peoples' own sources biting them in the butt.

reply to post by conspiracy nut


I suppose I did come off sounding like a moron of sorts. Actually, I only intended to dixcuss that this seemed a "double standard" to me. I realize he wasn't actually caught with pot, and I certainly don't have anything against a person's rights to partake of it.

My issue simply was that I know personally of people who were only "suspected" of having pot or smoking pot who were pulled over and questioned and arrested because they kept saying "No, we don't have pot" they were accused of resisting arrest and arguing with an officer.

All I wanted to say is that we need to either legalize it and quit all this unnecessary and unjustified punishment, or punish everyone the same regardless of who they are...

reply to post by ClintK


Thank you CllintK. You helped to better define my thoughts on this. Compared to the dangers of alcohol, pot is only minimally dangerous, yet alcohol is allowed to be consumed heavily simply because the government makes so much money off of it.

Originally posted by alaskan
If you knew how to read beyond the walls of your own brain you'd see that there are tons more reasons than smoking being brought up on here, phelps is just being put in the spotlight.

No insults allowed. Don't like what was said, then debate the issue. This is how threads get deleted and any progress with them.

Stop it!

Originally posted by hotpinkurinalmint
These drug are of course perfectly safe, unlike marijuanna which has all sorts ghoulish effects. (See the Movie Reefer Madness for conclusive proof!)

I'm going to presume this was said with tongue in cheek... The fact that Reefer Madness suggests that using the drug turns one into a homicidal maniac should be proof enough that BS was the fare of the film.

If this were so, our society would be filled with millions of homicidal maniacs. In fact, it is not.

Marijuana was demonized for a variety of reasons, none of which have anything to do with actual dangers. The list includes such things as:

It threatened paper forest investments.

It threatened pharmaceutical investments. (It is very effective in treating stress, as one of many examples...)

It threatened petro-oil investments. (Its oil can run cars, make plastics and a host of other functions petro-oil fills.)

Anslinger lost his job enforcing alcohol prohibition and he needed another substance to enforce the prohibition of so as not to lose his government job.

The black market created by prohibition is a source of income for black ops.

And more and more...

[edit on 2/5/2009 by Amaterasu]

reply to post by alaskan


What irritates me is when you go to a site like that, which is a government site and i makes statements, provides a source study, then you check the source study and it shows the original site to be, at least, misleading.

Really irritating

reply to post by Bombeni


Perhaps a better choice of words should have been used in my statement. I should have said being famous "should" not excuse you....

reply to post by MichJJC


Why bring it to light then? Also leave the moderating to the moderator. Just like you dislike insults, I dislike people who but it; not your problem leave it to the professionals.

Originally posted by saint4God

Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time.

- www.nida.nih.gov...

Surely you're not taking NIDA's word???

They are in the buisness of promoting the prohibition to keep corporations from the threat of marijuana. If you look into tests from more honest sources, you find that the above statement is pure BS.

If this claim was true, people like Carl Sagen (who used the drug extensively) would not swear by (have sworn by) it in creating and thinking.

Don't be duped by things partial government agencies publish.

If there were any valid experiements found any issues, they wouldn't be resorting to fear-mongering nebulous commercials with things like dogs saying they don't like it when their owners use the drug. They would be citing the studies.

[edit on 2/5/2009 by Amaterasu]

reply to post by ClintK


Entirely true!
The history and coverup of Marijuana in the U.S is a great story in itself-I'm surprised I don't see more threads on criminalization of substances on ATS.
Michael Phelps has obviously done some amazing feats- and he happens to smoke pot. This messes with peoples minds.
When it comes to using the pictures for some sort of prosecution-from my understanding that is entirely impossible-he said he was sorry but not exactly what for. I don't think any other citizen could be convicted with that as evidence aloe considering bongs are sold in head shops as "water pipes for tobacco consumption only". And when it comes to recent DUI's or teenage pregnancies of so called "role models" (again, like they ever chose that at all)- all they can do is say they're sorry-regardless of whether they mean it or not.