Michael Phelps The Greatest Olympian Ever Smokes Pot And Drinks Booze

Michael Phelps The Greatest Olympian Ever Smokes Pot And Drinks Booze
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News outlets across the world are reporting about Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps' feat of breaking the record for the most medals ever won by an Olympian. On Saturday night, the 31-year-old won his record twenty-eight Olympic medal with 23 of them gold. But the road to being the world's greatest swimmer did not come easy and is full of weak moments that has led to his two driving under the influence charges (DUIs) and his famous bong incident.

As reported in February of 2009, 23-year-old Michael Phelps apologized for his youthful indiscretion when he was caught on camera at a party smoking a bong that allegedly contained marijuana. The party took place three months after the Olympics while he was taking a break from training after he had won eight gold medals. It was not clear how often Phelps indulged in the consumption of marijuana. But common sense tells us it was not the first time. At that time the Associated Press reported that Phelps said: "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."

It seems that his apology was accepted by most Americans and majority of his corporate sponsors stood by him. The damage to his career was minimal when he was slapped with a three-month suspension from USA Swimming and his face was removed from the Kellogg's cereal box.

As I said before, Phelps made a point then that reached well-beyond a box of Corn Flakes, when he revealed to the world that smoking marijuana did not affect his ability to excel. It proved that millions of Americans who are recreational drug users who use drugs responsibly can lead normal lives. Phelps is a testament to this, even though he might not admit it in fear of the repercussions that come along with telling the truth. Because of the war on drugs and its zero-tolerance policy, the truth sometimes becomes buried because of the stigma that is attached to being a drug user.

Despite Phelps telling the world he would not mess up again, he did in 2014 when he was arrested for his second DUI (the first occurred in 2004) which proves Phelps is just a normal human being.

There might be a question in defining if Phelps can be considered a recreational user if he only used during extended breaks from his training. We have no way of knowing his drug use beyond the one incident mentioned above, but for the sake of argument, if Phelps could be considered a recreational user, he would be a high-profile example of people who engage in recreational drug use and suffer no adverse effects -- other than exposing themselves to criminal penalties due to drug prohibition. It may be true that some people struggle with drug addiction and sadly for the most part they are treated like criminals instead of being treated like people with medical problems.

Recreational drug users, and people wrestling with addiction everywhere, are routinely demonized by the moral majority who refuse to recognize that the criminal sanctions for using illegal drugs is in itself totally immoral.

Michael Phelps is an American hero who proved to the world that people who smoke or have smoked marijuana can be functional and successful in their lives. He claims he will now retire. Maybe the record 28 medals he has won will lead the way to a change in the way people think about recreational drug use. Hopefully now his face will be put back on the Kellogg's cereal box and he will continue to be a true American hero.

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