<p>He’s an amazing athlete and has the discipline and talent to have achieved the ultimate in his sport. I admire that. I just think you sacrifice a lot of balance to get there.</p>
<p>I love him. He is a great athlete and a great son. When he said he owed so much to his mom, I cried.</p>
<p>He’s a great athlete… but this does go to show that he’s not quite the knight in shining armor that many were making him out to be</p>
<p>The underage drinking /drunk driving arrest was, in my opinion, far worse but then again he gave his whole “I’m sorry, I’ve learned my lesson, it won’t happen again speech” then and then he went out and got caught doing this. Now he just issues the same old “I’m sorry, I’ve learned my lesson, it won’t happen again” statements again… </p>
<p>I don’t really hold it against him, he’s still a great athlete, but it does basically just show that he’s really no different than many other celebrities in terms of behavior. They may be good at what they do, but don’t exactly set a good example for others elsewhere.</p>
<p>MOWC - that is a good way of putting it. In many ways, he led a very sheltered life and has certainly not had the life of most 23 year olds. I’ll have to try to remind myself of that when I am quicker to condemn other athletes in different sports who have had similarly limited time for growing up. </p>
<p>kayf - No doubt he and his mom are very close. I’ll bet she’s ready to strangle him right now though.</p>
<p>Latest news is that the Richland County prosecutors will be charging Michael Phelps with some undetermined crime for this photo. Cannot wait for this trial. Phelps should seek out this case so he can find out who ratted him out. The fraternity would get kicked off campus. The prosecutors if they have this much time on their hands should get a facebook account and start reviewing every South Carolina high school and college and look for any references or photos of kids smoking pot and then bust them. They could also go after every high school kid with a red Solo cup in their hands and bust them for underage drinking. Could go after kids having sex and get the boy for statutory rape. Just a “Modest Proposal”.</p>
<p>It could just be a water pipe. Tobacco would actually probably be worse for his reputation at this point.</p>
<p>Cartera45, there was an article published in the Lancet in 2007 that reviewed 36 studies on the link between marijuana use and psychosis. The study author says:</p>
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</p>
<p>The study author also notes that their review indicates that there is not likely to be a reverse causation for the increased risk of psychosis (they said they could not make the same statement for depression, which is also linked to marijuana use). </p>
<p>The same evidence does not appear to link alcohol strongly with psychosis.</p>
<p>I can tell you from my admittedly small statistical sampling of one that my family member did not have symptoms of psychosis until reaching his mid-40s (and he lived in my house for a year not long before his death, so I was quite close to him, and would have known). He started smoking marijuana in his mid-teens, so was a steady user for about 30 years.</p>
<p>The Lancet study was very inconclusive. The methodology of the study had been criticized as well as many of its suggestions - it really doesn’t make a clear conclusion. Here is the interpretation of the analysis of studies from The Lancet. There is still no way to exclude the possibility that people prone to psychosis self medicate with marijuana. </p>
<p>Interpretation
The evidence is consistent with the view that cannabis increases risk of psychotic outcomes independently of confounding and transient intoxication effects, although evidence for affective outcomes is less strong. The uncertainty about whether cannabis causes psychosis is unlikely to be resolved by further longitudinal studies such as those reviewed here. However, we conclude that there is now sufficient evidence to warn young people that using cannabis could increase their risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life.</p>
<p>So “Reefer Madness” is a documentary of the psychotic effects of marijuana?</p>
<p>Cartera45, where did you find that intepretation? There are certainly people who have a vested interested in debunking this study. I don’t buy the “self medicating” line of thought with my family member. He was perfectly normal (at least no psychosis) for over 40 years before psychosis set in. He wasn’t medicating an existing psychosis with marijuana. There may be other causes of psychosis, of course, but it is notable that he had no family history of psychosis that would point to a genetic link. I have not seen any reputable medical journal debunking the Lancet study, so point me to one if you have.</p>
<p>It is on The Lancet site. </p>
<p>[Cannabis</a> use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: a systematic review : The Lancet](<a href=“http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(07)61162-3/abstract]Cannabis”>http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(07)61162-3/abstract)</p>
<p>he smoke dpot. what a dope</p>
<p>BA- DUM CHHHH! ( That was a rimshot…)</p>
<p>I see him for who he is, an immature young man who happens to be a great swimmer. I try to teach my teens - character first and foremost.</p>
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<p>Stupid beyond belief. </p>
<p>What a complete waste of public funds.</p>
<p>Someone wants to have their 15 minutes of fame.</p>
<p>Heard on the evening news that Kellog’s cereal dropped him.</p>
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<p>Or someone just really, really hates Michael Phelps.</p>
<p>And now he’s rethinking 2012.</p>
<p>Are we saying this because he is Phelps, and is a famous swimmer, and swimmers are supposed to have “class”?</p>
<p>What if some famous football player or basketball player got caught with smoking dope? Would anyone be surprised?</p>
<p>[USA</a> Swimming suspends Phelps for 3 months - Yahoo! Sports](<a href=“http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-phelpssuspended&prov=ap&type=lgns]USA”>http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-phelpssuspended&prov=ap&type=lgns)</p>