Does Michael Phelps deserve a break?

[Dannyboy]

i too am anti war  but wouldn't voluntarily ride in the same elevator with the leadership i've seen and served.  highschool ends at 18 or so. and yes some of them did in fact in mommas basement.watching em fill their back packs with the lil 10 oz sodas and other munchies from the coffee breaks was pathetic.  and then holding your lil conference at the mayflower is an interesting application of funds.i shoulda taken pics for a high times expose. but then they are part of the same powerful powerless cabal

What? 

[Beagle]

Folks are cetainly entitled to their opinions.

Myself, he can THC his brains out, as far as I'm concerned.

Non-issue?  Depends who you ask.  Stoners and other substance abusers have no place in my life, and never will. 

Now, if our little Olympic prima-donna needs that kind of chemical stimulus to make his brain happy, more power to him.
 

Would you be this angry if Phelps had been photographed sipping a beer, and why or why not?

[Firethorn]

As far as I understand, the processes to grow industrial hemp are different from what is required to grow weed to get high on.  You could probably still get high on industrial hemp, it'd just be completely worthless as a drug as compared to purpose-grown cannabis.

Industrial hemp has been bred to have such low levels of THC that you'll die of smoke inhalation before you get high from it.  Now the high from oxygen deprivation/CO2 poisoning, that's a different matter.  Though a smoky wood fire would do just as good for that...

One of the crazy things about the ban on hemp is that it'll ruin any 'dank bud' within MILES of the field because the nasty low-THC will pollinate all the plants, and unfertilized buds are the best source of THC.

Things I've read...

[MicroBalrog]

One of the crazy things about the ban on hemp is that it'll ruin any 'dank bud' within MILES of the field because the nasty low-THC will pollinate all the plants, and unfertilized buds are the best source of THC.

This is exactly true. The Marijuana Grower's Bible says that separating male from female plants is abjectly necessary for any kind of quality weed. The same information can be gathered from reading George Washington's papers.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

thats why so much good stuff is indoor grown    like ryan fredericks

[MicroBalrog]

thats why so much good stuff is indoor grown    like ryan fredericks

That and the fact that with indoor work, you can control all the conditions involved. It's much harder work, too.

The rule seems to be - grow outdoor for volume, indoor for quality.

[GigaBuist]

Phelps gets stoned and suddenly C&SD and MicroBalrog agree on something.  Is there anything Phelps can't do?

It's a complete non issue for me.  The guy's been busting his balls since he was 10 years old to make do what he did in the last Olympics.  He's pretty much retired at the age of 23.

As far as what parents should tell their kids... "Son, if you manage to accomplish something that nobody's ever done before, and you're 23, and you wanna burn one.  Well, go for it."

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

That and the fact that with indoor work, you can control all the conditions involved. It's much harder work, too.

The rule seems to be - grow outdoor for volume, indoor for quality.

a proper indoor grow is much less trouble  offers advantages of year round harvest "fresher product" as well as allows total control of enviroment   especially allows you to watch for those pesky hemaphrodites.   every once in a while a plant will change sex on you or display both. or possibly just be misidentified during culling.  and it only takes one lousy male to louse it all up.   hydroponics in particular are low maintenance when set up right.and can generate huge quantity from a limited space

or so i heard or read somewhere   

[Boomhauer]

That and the fact that with indoor work, you can control all the conditions involved. It's much harder work, too.

The rule seems to be - grow outdoor for volume, indoor for quality.

Also, it's easier to hide it from the popo if you grow it inside...

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

they get you on power usage here  recently catch em when they bypass meter to hide the usage. i think the way to go now would be rent a warehouse and set up a dummy industrial op. get some 3 phase equip set up .

[Gewehr98]

Would you be this angry if Phelps had been photographed sipping a beer, and why or why not?

I dunno.

Is beer illegal, too?

[Boomhauer]

they get you on power usage here  recently catch em when they bypass meter to hide the usage. i think the way to go now would be rent a warehouse and set up a dummy industrial op. get some 3 phase equip set up .

I don't think our county mounties have figured that one out. Course, I'm not about to test it out...

[Ryan in Maine]

So Phelps takes a bong hit (out of a killer bong too from what I've been told) and suddenly he's not one of the world's best athletes?

I don't care if he's high when he's representing this country in the Olympics.

Your body is your temple, right? Not the government's temple. Some laws are stupid and logically disagreeable. Outlawing marijuana is one of those logically disagreeable laws. *Mutter mutter* - war on drugs - *mutter mutter*.

Disclaimer: I don't smoke weed. Asthma/anxiety issues. My opinion is worth what you paid for it.

[Balog]

I dunno.

Is beer illegal, too?

It used to be.

[Gewehr98]

My point is lost, I see. 

Bummer.   

[Firethorn]

they get you on power usage here  recently catch em when they bypass meter to hide the usage. i think the way to go now would be rent a warehouse and set up a dummy industrial op. get some 3 phase equip set up .

Or maybe keep the house clean until the police have raided your hydroponic local organic strawberry grow operation three times and you've gotten the restraining order against them?   

Of course, I value good strawberries as more valuable than their weight in cocaine...

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

when i first moved down here to the country i looked like a poster child for dope smoker/grower. first thing i built was a green house. after i got it going i invited the sheriff out for a look see and gave him written carte blanche to peep.  i hate being awakened by the door coming off the hinges. he thought it was a lil strange till i explained that.  then he laughed and admitted some folks had already called him about me.
i had a certain imagethat i had cultivated for years and i recognized it had consequences.  now i know consequences is a dirty word but mr phelps is about to learn about that i think.  me i'd cut him a break. everyone else doesn't have to though. thats an expensive bong hit in many ways.

[Balog]

Have any of his sponsors actually done any of the things people keep predicting? I see a lot of speculation about how horrible this is, but no evidence anything has happened.

[makattak]

Have any of his sponsors actually done any of the things people keep predicting? I see a lot of speculation about how horrible this is, but no evidence anything has happened.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/02/05/news/news-us-kellogg-phelps.html?_r=1

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Kellogg Co became the first major consumer firm to terminate an endorsement relationship with Michael Phelps, as a media storm over a picture of the Olympic champion apparently smoking marijuana begins to eat into his lucrative endorsement deals.

The world's largest cereal maker said on Thursday it would not extend a contract with Phelps, who charmed audiences in Beijing last year with a record-breaking, eight-gold medal haul, saying the photo of the swimmer was inconsistent with its public image.

Phelps, estimated to make millions of dollars annually from marketing deals, issued an apology this week after a British newspaper published a photograph purportedly showing him smoking marijuana during a student party at the University of South Carolina in November.

Advertising experts said the news had tarnished Phelps' image and would cost him marketing dollars.

"Michael's most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg. His contract expires at the end of February and we have made a decision not to extend his contract," spokeswoman Susanne Norwitz said in a statement.

Norwitz said the deal with Phelps was originally intended to "support our association with the US Olympic team. We did not renew our relationship with the US Olympic Team, which expired in December 2008."

Phelps, winner of 14 Olympic medals, became the nation's darling after he won eight gold medals at the Summer Games in China's capital, edging out previous record-holder Mark Spitz for most golds garnered at a single Olympics.

STAND BY ME

The photograph at the center of the media frenzy was published by Britain's News of the World last week. It showed the 23-year-old Phelps inhaling from a glass pipe.

The smiling face of the popular U.S. athlete has appeared on Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal boxes. Kellogg's, which markets its food to families, is the first major brand to drop Phelps, citing the incident.

Phelps has signed several endorsement deals worth millions of dollars with brands including Speedo swimwear, Omega watches, Visa Inc, Subway sandwiches and Hilton Hotels Corp.

Last August, Phelps reportedly was earning about $5 million a year from endorsements, but his agency has not commented on that figure.

After the photograph surfaced, sponsors Speedo and Omega stood by the athlete, saying they had no plans to pull Phelps from campaigns.

Endorsement deals often include clauses that allow sponsors to terminate deals early if they feel an athlete has behaved poorly in public, hurting the sponsor's brand image.

Just so it's not a drive by... Does this answer your question?

[GigaBuist]

I dunno.

Is beer illegal, too?

No, but drunk driving is.  He got popped for that one after the last Olympics.

Nobody will remember this in a few months just as they forgot the last incident. He'll keep most of his endorsement contracts. Kellogg just gets to use the pot smoking as an excuse.  I doubt they would have renewed anyway.

[Beagle]

I dunno.

Is beer illegal, too?

Pot is about as illegal as jaywalking, in most places anyway.

It did not appear to me, though, that your anger was in regards to his law breaking -- do you also hold jaywalkers in such low regard? -- but that he is a "stoner".

I guess what I am getting at is that I do not understand the disdain for users of certain intoxicants but not others.

[Beagle]

I sent a note off to Kellogg's letting them know that I think the feigned outrage is obnoxious and that I intend to avoid their products in the future.

Phelps has also been banned from competing for three months. The organization says they "want to send a strong message". 

[Gewehr98]

I'd wager Kellogg's will simply place that particular protest message in the circular file.

It's been quite plainly stated by Kellogg's that his is an image they don't want associated with their product.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/kellogg.phelps/index.html

There it is, in black and white. Deal with it. They don't want potheads representing them. Maybe you could sue them?

I wouldn't want him representing me if I were a business owner, either.

Also, is there a particular reason why are you taking a decidedly pointed jab at me?

Do you have a vested interest that perhaps we should know about?

Let's go for the full disclosure angle, shall we?

I lost my older brother to a drunken driver.

As a result, I'm not particularly keen on any substance abusers - I harbor no favorites when it comes to methodology, and have a somewhat vested interest in the matter, you could say.

I've also held a TS/SCI security clearance for over 20 years.  That means you get to pee in a cup when they tell you, very often at times.

IOW, you're barking up the wrong tree. 

The little pothead had a DUI prior, and didn't learn his lesson then.

I doubt he will, even now.

He reaps what he sows, and him coming out and saying, "I can learn from it and try to make my life better than it has been in the past," is so much lip service and damage control. Crocodile tears, as it were...

So now he can shave his body and fondle his gold medals for as long as he wants to, and think about what could've been. 

Either way, there's no skin off my nose, he's just a swimmer.  A good swimmer, as far as humans go, but so was Mark Spitz.  I've met Mark Spitz, and the poor bastard is still trying to re-live his Olympic days from 1972.  Trying.  It was sad, we hosted him as a keynote speaker at a military dining-out. That was an absolute mistake.  The audience was actually depressed after hearing him. Tommy LaSorda was considerably better. 

[MicroBalrog]

So now he can shave his body and fondle his gold medals for as long as he wants to, and think about what could've been. 

Could've been? The man has achieved what no man has achieved before him in his sport, and quite likely will not for a long time after. If he breaks both his legs and spends the rest of his life snorting coke in a back alley, he can still be proud of his achievement.

He has been paid 5 million dollars per year in endorsements. The 'financial freedom limit' – the limit of wealth above which you no longer have to work any more, ever – is estimated to be approximately two and a half million. This means that he can lose all his endorsements and still live happily ever after.

Finally, he still maintains contracts with four other companies that already said they won't be withdrawing. Contracts that are supposedly worth millions of dollars.

I understand the personal anger you feel about this – and for full disclosure's sake, I lost an older sister to drug overdose/faulty drugs.

But the truth is that not every drug user is a drug abuser. Millions of people use all sorts of drugs and remain members of responsible society. To say that all these people are equally 'potheads' or 'junkies' is an absurdity of the first rank.

Michael Phelps is completely entitled to sit on his butt for the next 50 years, doing perfectly nothing at all, not even getting endorsement, because he has already achieved things that most men don't even dare to try because they're afraid they'll fail and lose their shot at stuff like becoming a lawyer or electrician or whatever. Or because they'll know they'll fail because they're not strong enough or healthy enough, like me.

[Manedwolf]

Pot is about as illegal as jaywalking, in most places anyway.

Jail time here. And I'm fine with that.