Printable Version of Topic
Click here to view this topic in its original format
Celtic Radio Community > Politics & Current Events > Swimmer Michael Phelps Case.


Posted by: Patch 13-Feb-2009, 02:44 PM
Does it seem to others too that law enforcement is going overboard on this case of simple possession. Possession of a small amount of marijuana pales in comparison to armed robbery, assault, home invasion and etc.. The latter crimes are now increasing. It appears that the legal recourses could be better utilized in these trying times. I do not use drugs or advocate their use but to me this effort is for publicity, not the good of the citizens. Possibly Columbia S.C is not experiencing the same financial woes that are spreading across the rest of the nation.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: GaffneyGirl 13-Feb-2009, 02:49 PM
I agree, way overboard. It's only because it was Michael Phelps. After his accomplishments of this last summer he was raised to hero status and a role model for many of our country's youth. He should have just been reprimanded by his mother and it never should have made the news. Lord knows I made plenty of mistakes when I was growing up....

Posted by: Patch 13-Feb-2009, 03:05 PM
It is my understanding that the incident occurred inside the city and the city police declined to get involved. The county sheriff is pushing it and his jurisdiction could be questionable. A lot of money will be spent and Phelps has already lost his endorsement contracts. That to me is more than adequate punishment. I suspect it will eventually become public knowledge that the sheriff has greater political aspirations! If so he is using tax dollars to achieve them. In my estimation, that is not ethical but then most politicians are not ethical!

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Camac 13-Feb-2009, 03:12 PM
Patch;

When are these celebrities goiing to learn? In this day and age what with cellphone cameras you can't burp in public or for that matter in private without the media getting ahold of it. The thing is though if he indulged now could he have possibly indulged during the Olympics. You know somebody is going to ask that.


Camac.

Posted by: Patch 13-Feb-2009, 06:53 PM
I think they believe they have some entitlements when they gain celebrity status.

He was definitely stupid and he lost a million dollars or more in endorsements. If he did use drugs during the olympics, he should be stripped of his medals. MJ can not really be considered a performance enhancing drug and in fact it could be considered detrimental to athletic performance.

That has to be the most expensive education he will ever get.

My opinion is still that the sheriff is more interested in his own political gain than the safety and well being of his constituents.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: englishmix 13-Feb-2009, 08:37 PM
Perhaps it has gone overbaord against Phelps, but it will be good for him personally because he needs to get lifted out of the sewer hole he is apparently slipping into.

But on the other hand, when my kids and I do dope, we have should also have the right not to be punished for doin' it. thumbs_up.gif ...but, err, please don't post any pictures of me doin it on celtic radio - especially after I win the Highland Games this summer unsure.gif

Posted by: JayHenson 13-Feb-2009, 11:08 PM
I realize that the "legal issues" were different back in the olden days but George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew and smoked pot. The "father of our country" and the man who penned the Declaration of Independence (and was probably the most intelligent vice-prez we ever had) were both pot-heads.

I'm just sayin'......

Posted by: Harlot 13-Feb-2009, 11:27 PM
My father worked many years for the Branch County Road Commission. Part of his job was to go and cut down(MJ) what they found growing along side of the road. I can remember him always coming home and tell us where it was and that if the Government would just take it over that would take care of the deficient. I guess because he had too do it alot.

Posted by: Antwn 14-Feb-2009, 04:58 PM
QUOTE (JayHenson @ 14-Feb-2009, 12:08 AM)
I realize that the "legal issues" were different back in the olden days but George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew and smoked pot. The "father of our country" and the man who penned the Declaration of Independence (and was probably the most intelligent vice-prez we ever had) were both pot-heads.

I'm just sayin'......

Well, because they grew it doesn't make them potheads. It had enormous economic value then. The fiber was used to make clothes, halyards for sailing vessels and a host of other things. It could still be used this way. Having said that, there are letters from Washington where he mentions buring many acres of hemp. So maybe the whole of Mt Vernon got the munchies! To bad they hadn't invented Doritos yet.

Posted by: valpal59 15-Feb-2009, 10:14 AM
There is a difference between the two.



HISTORY FACTS

*Hemp has been grown for at least the last 12,000 years for fiber (textiles and paper) and food. It has been effectively prohibited in the United States since the 1950s.

*George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp. Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper.

*When US sources of "Manila hemp" (not true hemp) was cut off by the Japanese in WWII, the US Army and US Department of Agriculture promoted the "Hemp for Victory" campaign to grow hemp in the US.

*Because of its importance for sails (the word "canvass" is rooted in "cannabis") and rope for ships, hemp was a required crop in the American colonies.


INDUSTRY FACTS

*Henry Ford experimented with hemp to build car bodies. He wanted to build and fuel cars from farm products.

*BMW is experimenting with hemp materials in automobiles as part of an effort to make cars more recyclable.

*Much of the bird seed sold in the US has hemp seed (it's sterilized before importation), the hulls of which contain about 25% protein.

*Hemp oil once greased machines. Most paints, resins, shellacs, and varnishes used to be made out of linseed (from flax) and hemp oils.

*Rudolph Diesel designed his engine to run on hemp oil.

*Kimberly Clark (on the Fortune 500) has a mill in France which produces hemp paper preferred for bibles because it lasts a very long time and doesn't yellow.

*Construction products such as medium density fiber board, oriented strand board, and even beams, studs and posts could be made out of hemp. Because of hemp's long fibers, the products will be stronger and/or lighter than those made from wood.

*The products that can be made from hemp number over 25,000.


SCIENTIFIC FACTS

*Industrial hemp and marijuana are both classified by taxonomists as Cannabis sativa, a species with hundreds of varieties. C. sativa is a member of the mulberry family. Industrial hemp is bred to maximize fiber, seed and/or oil, while marijuana varieties seek to maximize THC (delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana).

*While industrial hemp and marijuana may look somewhat alike to an untrained eye, an easily trained eye can easily distinguish the difference.

*Industrial hemp has a THC content of between 0.05 and 1%. Marijuana has a THC content of 3% to 20%. To receive a standard psychoactive dose would require a person to power-smoke 10-12 hemp cigarettes over an extremely short period of time. The large volume and high temperature of vapor, gas and smoke would be almost impossible for a person to withstand.

*If hemp does pollinate any nearby marijuana, genetically, the result will always be lower-THC marijuana, not higher-THC hemp. If hemp is grown outdoors, marijuana will not be grown close by to avoid producing lower-grade marijuana.

*Hemp fibers are longer, stronger, more absorbent and more mildew-resistant than cotton.

*Fabrics made of at least one-half hemp block the sun's UV rays more effectively than other fabrics.

*Many of the varieties of hemp that were grown in North America have been lost. Seed banks weren't maintained. New genetic breeding will be necessary using both foreign and domestic "ditchweed," strains of hemp that went feral after cultivation ended. Various state national guard units often spend their weekends trying to eradicate this hemp, in the mistaken belief they are helping stop drug use.

*A 1938 Popular Mechanics described hemp as a "New Billion Dollar Crop." That's back when a billion was real money.

*Hemp can be made in to a variety of fabrics, including linen quality.


LEGAL FACTS

*The US Drug Enforcement Agency classifies all C. sativa varieties as "marijuana." While it is theoretically possible to get permission from the government to grow hemp, DEA would require that the field be secured by fence, razor wire, dogs, guards, and lights, making it cost-prohibitive.

*The US State Department must certify each year that a foreign nation is cooperating in the war on drugs. The European Union subsidizes its farmers to grow industrial hemp. Those nations are not on this list, because the State Department can tell the difference between hemp and marijuana.

*Hemp was grown commercially (with increasing governmental interference) in the United States until the 1950s. It was doomed by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which placed an extremely high tax on marijuana and made it effectively impossible to grow industrial hemp. While Congress expressly expected the continued production of industrial hemp, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics lumped industrial hemp with marijuana, as it's successor the US Drug Enforcement Administration, does to this day.

*Over 30 industrialized democracies do distinguish hemp from marijuana. International treaties regarding marijuana make an exception for industrial hemp.

*Canada now again allows the growing of hemp.


ECOLOGY FACTS

* Hemp growers can not hide marijuana plants in their fields. Marijuana is grown widely spaced to maximize leaves. Hemp is grown in tightly-spaced rows to maximize stalk and is usually harvested before it goes to seed.

*Hemp can be made into fine quality paper. The long fibers in hemp allow such paper to be recycled several times more than wood-based paper.

*Because of its low lignin content, hemp can be pulped using less chemicals than with wood. Its natural brightness can obviate the need to use chlorine bleach, which means no extremely toxic dioxin being dumped into streams. A kinder and gentler chemistry using hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine dixoide is possible with hemp fibers.

*Hemp grows well in a variety of climates and soil types. It is naturally resistant to most pests, precluding the need for pesticides. It grows tightly spaced, out-competing any weeds, so herbicides are not necessary. It also leaves a weed-free field for a following crop.

*Hemp can displace cotton which is usually grown with massive amounts of chemicals harmful to people and the environment. 50% of all the world's pesticides are sprayed on cotton.

*Hemp can displace wood fiber and save forests for watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation and oxygen production, carbon sequestration (reduces global warming), and other values.

*Hemp can yield 3-8 dry tons of fiber per acre. This is four times what an average forest can yield.


HEALTH FACTS

*If one tried to ingest enough industrial hemp to get 'a buzz', it would be the equivalent of taking 2-3 doses of a high-fiber laxative.

*At a volume level of 81%, hemp oil is the richest known source of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (the "good" fats). It's quite high in some essential amino acids, including gamma linoleic acid (GLA), a very rare nutrient also found in mother's milk.

*While the original "gruel" was made of hemp seed meal, hemp oil and seed can be made into tasty and nutritional products.

Posted by: Antwn 15-Feb-2009, 04:04 PM
thanks for the education Valpal - good info.

Posted by: Patch 15-Feb-2009, 06:13 PM
As a kid in the late 40's and the 50's I walked endless rows of corn and beans on the family farm with a hoe eliminating weeds including hemp. I had no idea what it was. It had been grown there during the war and the seeds that fell on the ground lasted well into the 60's.

Slàinte,    

Patch    


Posted by: Patch 16-Feb-2009, 04:10 PM
Phelps will not be charged. Sheriff defends his investigation. Link below explains why.

http://netscape.compuserve.com/news/story.jsp?floc=MM-news2&sc=2080&idq=/ff/story/0001/20090216/1626567301.htm

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: stoirmeil 16-Feb-2009, 05:11 PM
For jeebus sake . . .

Me, I wish I had a dollar for everyone I've heard in the past 10 days saying: "The dude won eight gold medals. I want some of what he's smoking."

partytime.gif

Posted by: Patch 16-Feb-2009, 09:27 PM
I doubt that MJ gave him tremendous burst's of energy to win the medals.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: englishmix 22-Feb-2009, 02:46 PM
Yeah, I suppose if we were all doing that mary-jane stuff, we wouldn't even have cared enough to post anything about the wonder-boy Phelps.

Slainte,
Englishmix

Posted by: Antwn 22-Feb-2009, 03:30 PM
QUOTE (Patch @ 16-Feb-2009, 10:27 PM)
I doubt that MJ gave him tremendous burst's of energy to win the medals.


I think what Stoirmeil was implying was that no matter how much the boogeyman bong was puffed it didn't prevent our young Mr. Phelps from winning an unprecedented number of medals. Hence any propaganda about the negative effects of wayward weed wheezing on achievement are, at least in his case, exaggerated. Of course we don't know how often he indulged. Anyway, its water under the bridge now, and the boy will have to go a'grovelling for endorsements when initially all he had to do was answer the phone. If he wins another impressive series of medals in four years, and his popularity soars again, perhaps everyone will forget about his little tryst with THC and once again he'll exemplify the all American boy-next-door heroic sportsman parents wish their budding young swimmerlings to emulate. The only ones who will remind us of his famed moment of youthfull foolishness will be the media, who prefer everyone's dirty laundry to remain perpetually sullied and ratings worthy - burning on the line under the blazing sun of their relentless exploit-o-vision. There's no better balm to ones self esteem than to point out the flaws in others.

Posted by: Antwn 22-Feb-2009, 03:32 PM
Oops, ....balm to one's lack of self esteem. rolleyes.gif

Powered by Invision Power Board (https://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (https://www.invisionpower.com)