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Is This Really Phelps?


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ok, ok, ok, Rotel lets break this down. When pot made you mellow, when e made you horny or dance jiggy and coke made you energetic and bouncy, at any time during the effects of these drugs could you Stop yourself from feeling mello, horny, energetic, bouncy etc? If your answer is "no", what do you think that says about drug use and about making excuses for drug use?

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I have no problems with Phelps smoking up and there is nothing to apologize for, marijuana was not illegal until after WWI and only got political traction because of cotton growers lobby, marijuana plants produce far better fabrics and are more useful than cotton plants. Smoking weed is not a mental issue, its about relaxing and enjoying yourself its about experiencing something in a new way. Smoking marijuana also has considerably fewer health risks than smoking tobacco but just like with cotton, the tobacco industry didn't want the competition. Marijuana is also the least addictive of the recreational drugs and in fact caffeine is more addictive.

Recreational drug use is not a problem, chronic drug use is. Phelps has clearly shown recreational use and not chronic.

THC is not a performance enhancing drug and the September/October time line and the no positive tests since the Olympics for THC have shown that there has been no WADA problems. WADA does also have a president for not responding too harshly to athletes popping THC positives.

As for Jamaica, marijuana smoking is far more common amongst all people, and more generally accepted in society than in many other countries. Its everywhere as many people that have traveled to Jamaica can a test to.

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ok, ok, ok, Rotel lets break this down. When pot made you mellow, when e made you horny or dance jiggy and coke made you energetic and bouncy, at any time during the effects of these drugs could you Stop yourself from feeling mello, horny, energetic, bouncy etc? If your answer is "no", what do you think that says about drug use and about making excuses for drug use?

Can you stop yourself being more alert if you are on caffeine or more energetic if you have ingested large amounts of processed sugar?

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ok, ok, ok, Rotel lets break this down. When pot made you mellow, when e made you horny or dance jiggy and coke made you energetic and bouncy, at any time during the effects of these drugs could you Stop yourself from feeling mello, horny, energetic, bouncy etc? If your answer is "no", what do you think that says about drug use and about making excuses for drug use?

The thing is, in none of those cases with the illegal substances, did I ever get to the point that my actions were a danger to myself or to others. I never lost control of my judgement in those cases.

Again, alchohol, however, has made me lose control of my better judgement. And probably acted in ways contrary to the best interests of myself and others.

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when you become an addict.................can i come to australia and help you get back on your feet?

Well, considering I've used recreational substances for more than 30 years - never have I got to the point where I've felt reliant on them or had to use them regularly to "handle" life. Well, apart from tobacco, that is. Probably only coke is the one thing I feel I could have become addicted to if I kept using. So for the most part I've steered clear of it in later years. Of the rest, In my younger years I used more. More recently, pot I might do once or twice a month, E maybe once every year or two. I feel no urge or need to use in between. Neither do I feel a need to deny myself on those irregular ocasions, either.

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That is by far one of the dumbest things I have every read on this forum.

Its like saying to someone who drinks, when you become an alcoholic can I come help you. Use does not equal a problem with a substance.

Exactly.

Czar - have you ever had a glass of wine? A beer? Should I come and support you when you need to join AA then? Because obviously, by your logic, that is the inevitable end-result of your use of your drugs of choice.

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Link to article in context: www.baltimoresun.com/sports/olympics/bal-michael-phelps-talks-204,0,7428864.story

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Sun exclusive

Phelps speaks out about tabloid photo

Swimmer says he's embarrassed by incident, which has him weighing whether to compete in 2012 Olympics

By Kevin Van Valkenburg | kevin.vanvalkenburg@baltsun.com

8:40 PM EST, February 4, 2009

In his first interview since a photo surfaced showing him smoking from a marijuana pipe, Michael Phelps said today that the intense public scrutiny has him contemplating whether he will swim in the 2012 Olympics.

Phelps, who said he "clearly made a mistake," and that the past week has been both embarrassing and uncomfortable for him, spoke with The Baltimore Sun inside Meadowbrook Athletic Club after finishing his daily workout. While he still has goals he wants to achieve in the sport, he said he's going to discuss it over with his family and his coach, Bob Bowman.

"This is a decision of mine that I'm not going to make today and I'm not going to make tomorrow," Phelps said. "It's going to require a lot of time and energy and a lot of thinking for myself. But also talking to Bob and talking to my family and just deciding what I want to do.

"Yeah, there are still goals that I have in the pool, 100 percent. But I'm not going to let anything stand in my way. If I decide to walk away, I'll decide to walk away on my own terms. If it's now, if it's four years, who knows. But it is something I need to think about and decide what I want to do."

Bowman said he doesn't foresee Phelps retiring until after the 2012 Olympic Games, but that he understands how difficult it is for Phelps to live up to the public's high expectations.

The 23-year-old Rodgers Forge native said he realizes that his actions seem that much more foolish considering this is his second public slip up, following a DUI in 2004. Phelps said it "definitely wasn't easy" to tell his mother, Debbie, a principal at Windsor Mill Middle School, about the picture.

"Seeing my mom reminded me of how it was the day after I got my DUI, and I swore to myself I'd never do that again," Phelps said. "This is just a stupid thing of mine that I did, and I have to live with it."

Phelps said he's spent the past few days with his mom and his two sisters, Hilary and Whitney, after the photo was published in a British tabloid over the weekend.

"We've been talking a lot," Phelps said. "I've been able to get back to my family. It's part of my life I need back."

When asked if he is a regular marijuana smoker, Phelps said he was not.

"This was stupid, and I know this won't happen again," he said. "It's obviously bad judgment and it's something I'm not proud of at all. I will say that with the mistakes that I've made in my life, I've learned from them. Every one of them. And I've become a better person. That's what I plan to do from here. It's definitely not what I wanted, and it's clearly not what my mom wanted."

It's been an intense week for Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. A majority of his sponsors have vowed to stick with him despite the controversy, and today FINA, swimming's governing body, praised his apology. But the scrutiny of Phelps' already public life has become that much more prominent.

South Carolina Sheriff Leon Lott told reporters he will press charges against Phelps if he can prove the swimmer actually smoked marijuana in Richland County, where the party allegedly occurred. The pursuit of Phelps' first public comments has been fierce.

"I've been waking up to guys yelling into megaphones outside my window at 7 o'clock in the morning," Phelps said. "I've been through just about everything you can go through. I've had paparazzi people following me from my house to my mom's house. People knocking on the door. It's crazy."

Returning to the pool, and training every day, has brought a certain calm back to his life, Phelps said. He spent this afternoon swimming laps with a kickboard, working on his butterfly, doing dry-land training with a medicine ball, and joking around with Bowman and fellow Olympian Katie Hoff.

"It makes me happy," Phelps said. "It's a part of me I've always had, and I always been happy doing it. I like getting up in the morning and having something to do. On Monday we get back to two-a-day [practices] and I'm looking forward to that. I feel more comfortable here. This is my home."

Phelps, who started a foundation to help teach kids how to swim after the Olympics, acknowledged that he does feel like he's let some people down, especially younger fans who look up to him.

"I think this is like the DUI, in that it's something I can talk more about and make sure that nobody makes the same mistakes I made," Phelps said. "What I've gone through in the last week, no one wants to go through."

While he doesn't condone Phelps' actions, Bowman said everyone makes mistakes.

"Nobody's perfect," Bowman said. "It's not acceptable, and this is not to excuse it. He definitely, from this point forward, has to decide what he wants to do. But for Michael to go through our trials, our training camp, and then the Olympics, which is unbelievably stressful, without any down time, that's hard. Still, it's not an excuse."

Phelps said, if anything, this has reminded him that he's going to be watched, photographed, talked about, and whispered about every time he walks into a room. He said he does employ drivers and he does have bodyguards that travel with him to places. That is part of the trade-off his life requires.

"There are always people you can't trust," he said. "During the whole thing, I've really been able to see who my friends are, who my family are, and who really loves and supports me. They've stood by my side, from the countless text messages, phone messages, e-mails, those are your friends. All those people who are around during the good times? Those aren't your friends."

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I wouldn't say he isn't coping properly - he's just a normal young kid

Hold on a second. Kid? He is 23 years old, not 15.

I read somewhere, that he was blaming his youth, for this "bad judgement"... that would hold water, if he wasn't a mature adult.

I'm not condemning him, but citing his age as a reason, in this case, is daft.

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Hold on a second. Kid? He is 23 years old, not 15.

I read somewhere, that he was blaming his youth, for this "bad judgement"... that would hold water, if he wasn't a mature adult.

I'm not condemning him, but citing his age as a reason, in this case, is daft.

If you think a 23 year-old North American is a mature adult you have another thing coming.

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Hold on a second. Kid? He is 23 years old, not 15.

I read somewhere, that he was blaming his youth, for this "bad judgement"... that would hold water, if he wasn't a mature adult.

I'm not condemning him, but citing his age as a reason, in this case, is daft.

Anyone below 30 is "kiddo" to me.

Ah, youth!

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If you think a 23 year-old North American is a mature adult you have another thing coming.

I feel that way too in some ways. And I'm under that barrier.

By the way, Kellogg's just dropped Phelps as a sponsor, announced by Advertising Age, letting his contract with them expire at the end of this month. He's on the cover of both Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes. FF is the more kiddie of the two, so they, in part to its investment towards Little League Baseball, don't want to send the message and value of encouraging kids (and to their parents with at least a middle class background) to be a marijuana-smoking swimmer and feel like it's a waste of ad money. No surprise with them since it's a broadly appealing company.

In this economy, I would rather see that money used to help out laid-off workers to get through the downtime that will be saved by ditching Phelps. Our society's attitude about the situation is ridiculous. Financially, Phelps is still OK.

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Kellogg to drop Phelps over pot smoking photo

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. says it will not renew its sponsorhip contract with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps because he has acknowledged smoking marijuana last fall.

The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said Thursday that Phelps's behavior — caught on camera and published Sunday — is "not consistent with the image of Kellogg."

The company put Phelps on boxes of its Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes.

Phelps has kept the backing of many sponsors since the photos surfaced that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

Phelps's agent was not immediately available to comment.

Kellogg says its contract with Phelps expires at the end of the month.

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Breaking News ...

USA Swimming acting where FINA did not.

USA Swimming bans Michael Phelps after bong photos

Staff writers | February 06, 2009 12:40pm

MICHAEL Phelps has been suspended by US swim authorities, the latest fallout from a photo showing the Olympic great with bong.

USA Swimming has banned Phelps for three months, and has also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same period, effective from yesterday, the Associated Press reports.

"This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero,'' the federation said in a statement.

"Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust.''

The bad news for Phelps comes as the star swimmer was dropped by major sponsor and cereal manufacturer Kelloggs.

Kelloggs said it would not be renewing its sponsorship contract with Phelps, telling the Associated Press that Phelps' behaviour - he was caught on camera smoking marijuana - was "not consistent with the image of Kellogg(s).''

The company put Phelps on boxes of its Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes but its contract with the swimmer expires at the end of the month.

Other sponsors are still backing Phelps, since the photos surfaced in Britain's News of the World, showing him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

Phelps's agent has not made a comment.

Phelps won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

Herald Sun

Threee months? Slap on the wrist, really.

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It should be mentioned, that Kellog declined to renew it's sponsorship with TeamUSA at the end of December also.

Regarding USA Swimming, Phelps was getting a $1,750 dolllars a month as his stipend, according to the New York Times. Should athletes in his position even be getting a stipend at all? With his millions in endorsement deals, is this money well spent by USA Swimming? There are other U.S. Olympic swimmers that do not have the deals Michael has and who could use the money much more than he.

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It is going to get interesting, in terms of what kind of reaction he will get, if he goes to Rome later this year for the World Aquatics Championships.

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let's get down to the nitty gritty of the arument. Would you, the reader of this post, say that Michael Phelps was wrong to use cannibis?

Personally speaking and I make this comment as someone who, like yourself, has never used it myself, no. I don't believe it was 'wrong' for Phelps to do what he may or may not have done. I understand that it may send out a message that some find distasteful, and I accept that viewpoint. But I have long held the view that, speaking for my country alone, they should legalise the lot.

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