Ordering of importance

On August 17th, 2008, Michael Phelps lurched forward to become a "Greatest Olympian-" obtaining a whopping 8 Gold Medals (one for every event he competed in) at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. This brought his lifetime achievement to a 14 career Gold Medals.

And who can't say that he's deserved them. Rated to eat more than 12,000 calories a day, Phelps wakes up every day just to "Eat, sleep and swim."

So on January 2nd, when a British Tabloid (the 'News of the World') printed this article, the world fell into a stupor. There it was, the infallible Michael Phelps clearing a Roor Bong.
Disputed at first, all doubts were alleviated when Phelps himself confirmed the legitimacy of the picture.

In short, having just finished winning 8 golds, Phelps was visiting a friend at University of South Carolina. There he went to a party (like millions of other college kids- who HAVEN'T won 12 career golds), where the alleged picture was snapped.
The public went nuts; sponsors drew their breath; the press had a field day, and supposedly, the dreams and hopes of a million kids were suddenly crushed.

People were outraged- 'how can such a responsible man of his stature do something so terrible.'

Yet as more and more of the public come to the realization of the illegitimacy of the US' "war on drugs-" specifically marijuana, people quickly came to Phelps' aid. Public figures, such as Whoopi Goldberg came out to defend Phelps' harmless actions. Even more so, millions of individuals came out to speak for Michael, as can be seen in the comments posted to the original article.

There are good points to be considered everywhere. First off, is the seemingly ludicrous commentary in the article itself. What college kid or anyone in their right mind gives a cliche quote like: “He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool. He was the gold medal winner of bong hits," to a representative of the media? This just made me laugh.

Then there are other points: Personal choice, excessive legislative action, and detriment to the sport.

As a personal opinion, I believe that smoking pot and drinking is obviously a personal choice of Phelps, and should not be dictated by the public. He is not a basilisk, to be controlled and revered for guidance...and to those rebutting with concerns of Phelp's being a 'negative role model,' there was an excellent commentary by responder to the original article stating : "if your kids look up to someone else, more than they look up to you, then theres a problem right there."

Furthermore, with the wrath of the media, they started to go after those responsible for 'throwing the party' back in NOVEMBER, and supposedly have started making arrests. Everyone is looking for someone to blame. Sigh.

And finally, We can all agree that Marijuana is by far a performance-enhancing drug. Especially for a sport where lung power is key. Just like in 1998 Winter Olympics, where first time(as in the sport) Gold Winner Ross Rebagliati won Snowboard Superpipe- yet tested positive for marijuana, it should almost be the case that these individuals deserve an EXTRA medal for winning high. It's not any easier to do high.
Furthermore, shouldn't the pot-hating public be going after A-rod who was actually using a performance enhancing drug?-one that is far more harmful than marijuana ever would be (if at all).
That all being said, what a champ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx8JmivBQzo&eurl