The Cosmic Tap - Latest Comments in Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Mr. Glass pipes — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:01:04 -0000

The guy is an amazing athlete, I don't know why people were on his case anyway - he is young, popular and should be allowed to have fun. I mean even Bill Clinton admitted to trying marijuana and so do a big part of the population. Phelps had to put up with so much abuse from the same people who were so proud of him during the Olympic games. The fact is weed is really not harmful to anyone and is just an easy target for the war on drugs program. Bottom line: we should be proud of him for his athletic abilities and support him.
http://www.basinpipes.com

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

milk — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:44:38 -0000

yeh right watever he smoked a bong. most of us have done it. smoking is a personal choice. y do other people care if u eat more and are happy? this is a f-ed up cuntry! smoke up miky!

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Ed — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:46:24 -0000

Here her

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

kurt — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:00:43 -0000

In a democratic nation one should have the decision to smoke reefer. :P

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

yeahp — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 12:44:06 -0000

Kellogg's didn't mind endorsing him when he had a drunk driving conviction, something that actually kills people.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Phil E. Drifter — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:03:11 -0000

It's not a war on (some) drugs (alcohol, tobacco, anyone? Those two LEGAL drugs kill almost 500,000 Americans *every year*), it's a war on minorities. I remember studying 'grandfather clauses' in grade school (google the term if you're unfamiliar with it). After the north won the civil war and outlawed slavery, corrupt politicians wrote 'grandfather clauses' to prevent the newly freed slaves from actually voting. After those were 'triumphantly' struck down as unconstitutional, Uncle Sam went and outlawed the *naturally growing substances* that minorities were using (instead of drinking the white man's alcohol).

Read tinyurl.com/1mn and tinyurl.com/potconviction for more info.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Janette Toral — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:51:03 -0000

Making it legal can have the product be done supporting some standards or process like what tobacco/cigarette has. Its medicinal properties can also be tapped and put into good use.

Until laws are changed, it seems Phelps can only play the sorry card to save whatever he has left.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Rick — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:15:36 -0000

It is the duty of a responsible citizen to disobey bad laws.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Luc — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:35:53 -0000

It is the hypocrisy that drives me crazy. Compared with the wrongdoings in Washington and elsewhere in our country, catching Michael Phelps smoking marijuana doesn't even rate up there in the top 10. Let's be serious. I'm all for boycotting Kelloggs.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Baka-Penguin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:03:32 -0000

"But then there all those bastard regular stoners who play the "ILL" card with their NORML tee shirts and become fodder for the anti pot legalisers to point at and say...look they just want to get high. Gotta agree with them if its true."
Who cares if stoners just want to 'get high?' I'd rather people just getting high then getting drunk, beating their wives and children, killing others in car accidents, etc.

"the people who are trying soooooo hard to sell sell the benefits of hemp rope, clothing, shampoo, seeds, tampons, paper, hats, blah blah blah are all smokers. Give up trying to get it legal by selling it on its secondary uses."
First, Industrial Hemp contains little-to-no THC, so it doesn't get you high. Secondly, so many countries grow industrial hemp for those and thousands of other uses. Why does America shun a beneficial harmless, drug-less crop?

"Keep it real. If fighting for smoking rights, don't disguise it as something else.
If you're not sick don't F it up for people in pain..."
Being sick or just smoking casually, it shouldn't matter. If Tobacco and Alcohol are perfectly legal and regulated why not Cannabis? It's virtually harmless, especially compared to the Tobacco and Alcohol, or other illegal drugs.

Anyways, what it really boils down to is human rights. Why does the government get to decide what I do with my body if I'm not harming others? I don't think drugs should be illegal at all, though some should be more regulated than others. Cannabis could be sold along side tobacco and alcohol for great tax benefits. While I would, personally, never dabble in other substances, that doesn't mean I get to tell others they can't.

No stoner is being dishonest when they quote other reasons Cannabis should be legal. It's merely that, more reasons why the government needs to stop wasting our tax dollars on failed policies that are archaic and draconian.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Jake — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:42:22 -0000

The reason you're wrong is that there wouldn't be any public rage over Phelps getting caught eating Froot Loops (Kellogg's irony unintended) or drinking a beer. The ire was over the illegality.

So while yes, you may have an intellectual point that unhealthy behavior damages one's credibility in the area of health, you're putting on blinders and allowing a disproportionate social bias to color your thinking.

Perhaps you would claim to be just as judgmental if someone snapped a photo of Phelps eating a Snickers bar, but I doubt it.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

mik — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:27:02 -0000

I'm all for legalising every single drug on the planet - but do you know who the biggest financial supporters (by a LONG way) of the drug war are? Tobacco and alcohol companies. The distinction between 'allowed' and 'not allowed' drugs ensures their profits keep coming, which in turn ensures more propaganda and prisons to continue the fight against drugs, etc.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

bc bud — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:10:01 -0000

the united states is a cesspool of ignorance and stupidity when it comes to drug laws and foreign wars...the sooner you folks realize that the better

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

sh2master — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:49:06 -0000

Ya? Well SO WHAT?? What if he LIKES it? Like millions of Americans do? It IS ok to smoke. It kills NO ONE, and the chances of getting cancer from it are the smallest you've ever seen. It CAN help people, and not just people in pain. For some, indeed many, it provides peace of mind, and an exploration of new perspectives.
-------------
For those of you who've never smoked, you've probably heard of "mind exploration" a lot. You've probably never thought much of it; that it's just what "those stoners" talk about. You should give more thought to this.

http://www.miqel.com/entheo...

"Mind Exploration." Don't assume that it has zero value to society just because it seems to not help one physically. That would be narrow-minded; and, deep inside, you think you might know it. But you're just going to ignore this. Am I right?

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

sh2master — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:13:14 -0000

Yes!! That's the fucking spirit!

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

sh2master — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:08:39 -0000

Woa! Seriously? Awesome.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

gah — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:12:15 -0000

omfg i am so tired of this. KELLOGS WAS ALREADY GOING TO DROP PHELPS WHEN HIS CONTRACT RAN OUT

now their just using this as an excuse which still isnt right but jeez get your effing facts straight

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

victor — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:58:00 -0000

go phelps! he should be throwing he own parties instead of going into envious crowds of under achieving college students

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

a guy — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:31:20 -0000

the argument that lawmakers can do whatever they want and be justified is at least in part true, in so far as the people that make up the constituency have allowed that lawmaker, judicial system or, repressive regime to exist. the will of the majority of the power will always be expressed by the justice system in any society. if you dont like it then change it, but if no one else wants to change it with you then you are wrong, sorry, game over, enjoy the repression.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Michael Phelps — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:03:42 -0000

I don't think people who are selling and making hemp products are necessarily all stoners. In fact, I had a hemp wallet and made hemp bracelets when I was "straight edge"; it wasn't for years til I actually smoked. Maybe you would've thought I was strange. Hemp is used as an alternative not because it's related to the smokable bud, but because it's an incredibly versatile and renewable resource. Henry Ford even used hemp to make plastic parts and fuel for the first model T's. It doesn't degrade the soil like cotton and doesn't require a huge lots of land to be cleared like paper forests. The truth is, there really are a lot of uses for the plant other than feeling better. This article is about how silly and unjust our laws regarding it are. The fact that they also prevent the plant's other amazing uses to achieve much more widespread cultivation further adds to the point(maybe even exceeds it(in practical purposes(not like we're practical anyway))).

Besides, society doesn't just "change". That's also a point of this article. We have to make it change by standing up and disagreeing.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

thepete — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:04:18 -0000

You're right, I don't drink, or drive (I live in NYC) and I generally stay away from "foods" that are processed or refined. You're also right in that I do have an anti-smoke bias--which I choose to call a pro-health bias.

And I disagree with the kind of debate you think this is--your headline refers to whether Phelps should be sorry or not--that sounds like you're setting up a personal health debate. Regardless, my criticism of Phelps is entirely based on his personal choices in public. Him smoking a bong (in public or not) harms his credibility as someone trustworthy when it comes to health issues. Sure, cars, alcohol and sugar are bad for you, too, but smoking is, also. When an athlete does something that is bad for his or her body, your natural instinct is to assume that the bad thing isn't so bad. However, science (not to mention logic) does back up the idea that smoking anything is bad for you.

I agree, the government shouldn't be telling us what to do with our bodies--without a doubt. But that doesn't mean doing stupid things with our bodies should be viewed as OK. And since Phelps signed an endorsement deal and is a role model for kids, I'd say doing any kind of drugs is something he should be sorry for. As I think even Phelps said, he is sorry and he admits he made a 23-year-old mistake. I just hope he doesn't keep making that mistake when he's older.

But I think I've made my point, and I understand where you're coming from.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

cosmictap — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:15:00 -0000

Pete - one study does not a truth make. You have an anti-SMOKE bias; fine. Setting aside that there are many ways to use cannabis without smoke (which drastically dilutes the relevance of your comments to this POLICY discussion)... I'll speak of facts and risks for a moment: sugar intake DRAMATICALLY increases your odds of premature death (diabetes, heart disease, etc.). Driving a car dramatically increases your odds of accidental death. More than a drink or two a week increases your odds for any number of serious accidents and illnesses. I'll assume you do none of these things because I know you're intellectually consistent. Look, this is a policy debate not a personal-health-decision debate. My point is that government ought not be telling people what they can and cannot ingest. I do not want to turn this into a debate of the various risks and rewards. That's not a role for society nor of a government of free people.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

thepete — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:31:31 -0000

Haha, I could make a joke about your memory, but instead I'll direct you to this article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/s...

In short, "Young men who smoke marijuana are more likely to develop an aggressive form of testicular cancer than those who have never tried the drug, a study has found."

So, thanks but no thanks! Plus inhaling smoke of any kind is bad for your lungs, period--I don't need a study to tell me that. Sure, once a month or something isn't going to kill you, but logically, inhaling any kind of smoke will limit the amount of oxygen that reaches your blood stream. That's bad. And now it raises young men's odds of getting cancer. More than 'nuff said in my mind.

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Jevon_MJ — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:54:46 -0000

Ben youre spot on m8...

Re: Michael Phelps Should Not Be Sorry

Kevin — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:33:20 -0000

OK....

Geez...

Phelps screwed up.
He's new to being a public figure and unfortunately he hasn't learned to hide stuff yet. Ya gotta do that shit when you're a public figure. Kellogs....can't blame them. they are trying to perpetuate role models for kids and their main boy just broke the law and crossed the "drug barrier". OK...so its political and financial. Can't blame em even though I'm sure nobody at Kellogs gives a rats ass beyond the "damage contol" measure they had to take.

As far as legalising etc, this needs to be looked at and discussed. I think it should be legalised and taxed. 21 or over, maybe 18...set some limits like booze...but lets get real here. The sad thing is the poor people who suffer from pain and can get freakin morphine but not the analgesic effects of THC. But then there all those bastard regular stoners who play the "ILL" card with their NORML tee shirts and become fodder for the anti pot legalisers to point at and say...look they just want to get high. Gotta agree with them if its true. Put it this way....the people who are trying soooooo hard to sell sell the benefits of hemp rope, clothing, shampoo, seeds, tampons, paper, hats, blah blah blah are all smokers. Give up trying to get it legal by selling it on its secondary uses. (OK so I made up tampons)

Point is, I've never met a person who loves hemp that wasn't a smoker. If I did I'd think they we're pretty damn strange. A fetish perhaps? What do they think about rayon?

Keep it real. If fighting for smoking rights, don't disguise it as something else.
If you're not sick don't F it up for people in pain...

Be honest and eventually society will change and the "crime rate" will drop and blacks who are incarcareted for MJ offenses where whites aren't will be given a pass and suddenly crime is down, blacks aren't a threat and the war on drugs becomes a tax on drugs where we all benefit. I think its important to note for what its worth that I don't even smoke dope. But I can clearly see how it needs t be addressed responsibly and with an open mind.

Ciao! Kevin

But really, until that nhappens