Marijuana Policy Project

Has there been a sadder sight on television this year than Michael Phelps apologizing to the world for being photographed taking a bong hit? He was asked by a Baltimore television station what he was thinking while at the party and Phelps said, "Obviously not much. It's a bad judgment. I can learn from it."

The lessons he learned are unclear, though it would be fair to assume that he will make sure there is security and privacy next time he decides to light up at a college house party with strangers.

The most disturbing part of this story is the fact that eight people have been arrested in South Carolina as a result of this picture. These people are being charged with misdemeanors and fined for possession of marijuana and other petty charges because some overzealous old man prosecutor wants the headlines associated with Michael Phelps's marijuana scandal.

Phelps has also lost money on this scandal, as Kellogg the cereal company decided that Phelps's 'behavior' was less than "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-eat!" and declined to renew his sponsorship. Sanity has prevailed with other large sponsors such as Visa and Speedo, but you have to be a little disappointed in Tony the Tiger for cutting Phelps off over this.

To tell you the truth, I despise Michael Phelps. He's a binge-eating buffoon who can barely string together seven words in a sentence. I don't think swimming is all that big a deal, either. Big whoop! You're the Olympic champion of swimming. I just can't believe that this man is being forced to get on his hands and knees and apologize to the world for smoking marijuana at a party.

Most people experiment with drugs or have a little too much to drink at some point in their lives, and it's inexcusable that instead of embracing it as 'boys will be boys,' the world is up in arms. Where's the outrage for Phelps's privacy? His privacy was certainly violated in this incident. Nobody cares about that because everybody wants to get on their high horse and condemn Phelps. I wish Phelps would just say, "You have no right to photograph me at parties and publish the photos. I have nothing to apologize for."