Matt Schiavenza From the Dragon to the Apple- A Sinophile in New York

Michael Phelps and the Misery of the Drug War

So American Olympic swimming hero Michael Phelps was photographed taking a bong rip at a party somewhere in South Carolina. Despite his immediate and apparently sincere apology, Phelps has been suspended by the US Swimming Federation for three months and has lost endorsement contracts, including one by the cereal company Kellogg, whose income, Gawker irreverently points out, derives in no small part from late-night consumption by habitual marijuana smokers.

Two points to make about this.

Of course, it's ridiculous that anyone finds Phelps' conduct objectionable. 23-year-old guys often go to parties and consume alcohol and pot. It wasn't like he was dealing crack in the inner city, or defrauded people in a giant ponzi scheme. Actually, it's kinda cool that a mega-star like Phelps is able to go to a normal party and hang out with his non-amphibious peers.

However, now that the story is out in the open, it puts the prosector in a difficult position. Smoking marijuana is a crime, and while most reasonable people agree that it shouldn't be, letting Phelps off easy because he's a celebrity sends an even worse message than busting him in the first place.

Most of the victims of the War on Drugs aren't Olympic stars but rather anonymous minorities living in the grimmer parts of America's inner cities. If smoking marijuana is a serious enough offense to merit fines and imprisonment, it should be so for everyone regardless of race, wealth, or fame.

I write this, of course, as a person for whom going to a party and taking bong rips was not at all an unusual activity at that age. But if any good can come of it, I hope more people finally digest the lunacy of the War on Drugs. I'm not holding my breath, though, as the present Vice President burnishes his drug warrior credentials at every opportunity.