# Ooh, ooh, Michael Phelps smoked pot, ooh ooh ooh, the demon weed **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 2, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135 "2009-02-02T17:06:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/1 "2009-02-02T17:06:43Z")
Honestly, has any non-story ever elicited such an unnecessary apology? Phelps was caught doing a hit off a bong. He has released an abject apology calling his behaviour “regrettable.” Oh, and the sports pages say his sponsors might bail. Is there anyone left on earth who is not either 87 years old or a fundamentalist nut of one religion or another who cares if some kid smokes some weed? Is it really likely that the consumers of some flashy product are going to avoid it because the spokesman was once seen getting a little high? Really? Hell, some sponsors should probabl;y sign on big time with someone known to enjoy a little of the wacky tabacky. I am thinking specifically of the Frito-Lay folks, not to mention Burger King and Hostess. I see a creative endeavour with Phish going over very well. Now, if Phelps was caught shooting up some Barry Bonds Special, that’d be something else entirely, but what does marijuana have to do with swimming? If Jerry Garcia’s career record of zero Olympic medals is any indication, not much. When are we going to grow up about this issue? ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/2 "2009-02-02T17:17:40Z")
I was really sad to see his apology. In my fantasy world, he would have said: “Yeah, so?” And I say this as someone who does not and has never had any interest at all in smoking up. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/3 "2009-02-02T17:21:54Z")
I suppose the fear of weed lives on as: “I don’t care, but other people might, and those people might give me a hard time if I don’t pooh-pooh about it.” That’s how the Moral Minority keeps everybody else hostage. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/4 "2009-02-02T17:44:34Z")
I heard a commentator on NPR saying that sponsors might not want him anymore because he will have lost his image as the “all-American boy.” I’m sorry, but if anything, he’s MORE of an all-American boy now. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/5 "2009-02-02T17:49:31Z")
I got a kick out of how all the announcers bent themselves double avoiding the word “bong.” “A glassine pipe used by some to smoke marijuana.” I had no idea what they were talking about until I saw a picture. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/6 "2009-02-02T17:51:09Z")
At first I thought the OP said **Fred** Phelps, which made me think how sucking on a long, narrow tube said a lot about his repressed sexuality… ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/7 "2009-02-02T18:12:45Z")
In response to this, I saw this great letter entitled “A Letter I’d Like To See [from Michael Phelps] (But Won’t)” here: [The Agitator](http://www.theagitator.com/2009/02/01/a-letter-id-like-to-see-but-wont/) Absolutely brilliant. Please read it! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/8 "2009-02-02T18:16:22Z")
I like John Feinstein’s take in the Washington Post. > **[John Feinstein - Phelps Made a Mistake, But His Handlers Made It Worse](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/02/AR2009020201453.html)** > > Michael Phelps screwed up. Of that, there is no doubt. He went to a party in Columbia, S.C. in November and got caught on camera taking a hit on a marijuana bong. Someone sold the photo to a London tabloid and it ran in the newspaper this past... ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/9 "2009-02-02T18:18:20Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > I was really sad to see his apology. In my fantasy world, he would have said: “Yeah, so?” > > And I say this as someone who does not and has never had any interest at all in smoking up. I don’t suppose I should drop politics in an unrelated thread like this, but I was pleased when Obama responded to questions about his own youthful drug use by saying, “Of course I inhaled. That was the _point_.” When someone with that attitude can get elected President of the U.S., I think it indicates a step the country is taking towards getting past its uptight beliefs about drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/10 "2009-02-02T18:20:55Z")
Well, as the father of a daughter who is at an impressionable age, and who is keen to impress upon her the correct values, I must say…dude, don’t bogart that shit–pass it on over! ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/11 "2009-02-02T19:04:23Z")
I disagree. Someone who’s been given the vital task of swimming from one end of a pool to another has no business being involved in performance debilitating drugs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/12 "2009-02-02T19:09:52Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > I suppose the fear of weed lives on as: “I don’t care, but other people might, and those people might give me a hard time if I don’t pooh-pooh about it.” > > That’s how the Moral Minority keeps everybody else hostage. You don’t have to be in the moral majority to be a little disappointed with Phelps. I’ve got two daughters and I’m happy that they don’t indulge. Phelps is a major role model for kids and we don’t need anyone encouraging the use of weed. Who knows, one day your kid might want to run for the oval office of the United States. What if Obama was caught smoking a joint in the White House? You have no problem with that ? ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/13 "2009-02-02T19:11:57Z")
I don’t smoke pot, but I could care less if anyone does. How about we organize a boycott of the boycotters? How about we send the message to his sponsors that if they bail from him, we bail from them? Fucking morons, it’s pot. He wasn’t driving drunk, or smoking crack, he had a hit off a bong. So fucking what. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/14 "2009-02-02T19:20:55Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > I disagree. Someone who’s been given the vital task of swimming from one end of a pool to another has no business being involved in performance debilitating drugs. Pot is a performance-debilitating drug? News to me. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/15 "2009-02-02T19:29:35Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > You don’t have to be in the moral majority to be a little disappointed with Phelps. > > I’ve got two daughters and I’m happy that they don’t indulge. > > Phelps is a major role model for kids and we don’t need anyone encouraging the use of weed. Who knows, one day your kid might want to run for the oval office of the United States. > > What if Obama was caught smoking a joint in the White House? You have no problem with that ? None whatsoever. I’d actually love to have a President who openly smokes weed. My only disappointment with Phelps is that he apologized for it. I assume he did it because he was afraid of losing sponsors. I say we should boycott any sponsors who _do_ drop Michael Phelps over this. The dude lives like a monk for most of the year and has more personal discipline in his pinky toe than I’ve ever had in my life. If he doesn’t have a right to party a little in his downtime after winning 8 Gold Medals, then nobody does. No one would think a thing about him haveing a couple of beers, and alcohol is _more_ harmful than pot, so I can’t see any reason to care about this. I have a feeling that among people under 30, this is going to do nothing but make him more sympathetic. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/16 "2009-02-02T20:38:00Z")
I can swim? Cool! Oh, wait, no, guess that isn’t quite the message, here… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/17 "2009-02-02T20:41:57Z")
> [@FarmerChick](#): > > Fucking morons, it’s pot. He wasn’t driving drunk, … He has been busted for that already. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/18 "2009-02-02T20:42:00Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Pot is a performance-debilitating drug? News to me. That stuff can’t be good for your lungs. Although obviously, it’s not as bad as tobacco. If Phelps was caught smoking a cigarette, I’d be \*really \*worried. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/19 "2009-02-02T20:43:13Z")
I bet he could clear a 4 foot pipe with no problem. Seriously, this is not a big deal. Weed is not bad. Michael Phelps is not a bad guy for smoking it. He’s human. What’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135/20 "2009-02-02T20:48:59Z")
It undermines the spectacular success of the Bush administrations war on drugs! Under his leadership, emergency room admissions for marijuana overdoses have been cut practically to zero! Hell, it may even be zero, not that he’ll get any credit for that, oh, no! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ooh-ooh-michael-phelps-smoked-pot-ooh-ooh-ooh-the-demon-weed/484135.md?page=2)