Michael Phelps got caught smoking pot. He was obliged to make a public mea culpa and rationalized his behavior as immature:
"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment, ... I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."
Michael Phelps is arguably the best swimmer ever. Other people who have acknowledged smoking marijuana also have risen to the highest levels of accomplishment (eg. Barack Obama). Is it time to re-evaluate what it means to be a pot smoker?
It is well accepted that the result of the prohibition on Alcohol was not less drinking of alcohol, but rather the development of an active and lucrative black market in alcohol. The media image of a drinker from the prohibition years is of a suave couple, he in spats and black tie, she in a stylish flapper dress. They tap discretely on a back alley doorway and are quickly ushered in to a world of music, style, and alcohol. Contrast that with the modern reality of drinking where binge drinking overwhelms college campuses, drunk driving is a leading killer on our roads and alcoholics are free to ruin their lives, their careers, and their families. Drinking one-self to death is a largely accepted form of suicide.
How does this compare with the media image of marijuana smokers? Pot smokers are imagined to be basement-dwelling neer-do wells who cannot find a job and do not care. They are cheeto-munching, immature party animals who contribute nothing to society. They are dirty, tie-die wearing hippies, too stoned to do anything other than string beads, listen to jam-bands and procreate. Worse yet, they are victims of 'reefer madness' driven to rape and murder.
Clearly, as Michael Phelps demonstrates, marijuana can be used recreationally without condemning the user to a lifetime of basement-dwelling and non-accomplishment.
Michael Phelps smokes a little pot. How is that worse than ruining your life with alcohol, tobacco, food, and sloth?
In March 1933, president Franklin Roosevelt signed the Cullen-Harrison Act which effectively lifted prohibition. It took an amendment to the US Constitution to completely lift the Federal ban on alcohol production (the 21st amendment). This leaves the regulation of alcohol to individual states. The time has come to repeal the Federal prohibition on the recreational use of marijuana.
The time has come to re-cast pot smoking as a recreational activity comparable to having a drink before dinner. The current image of marijuana users is disrespectful of all the successful users who have a balance between accomplishment and recreation. No-one tolerates racial, religious, or behavioral stereotypes in media. Why should it be acceptable to slander marijuana smokers?