Phelps could face criminal charge over pot flap

[sabra]

Source: NBC Sports/AP

South Carolina county officials are investigating alleged marijuana incident

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina authorities in the county where Michael Phelps was spotted smoking from a marijuana pipe say they are considering a criminal charge against the Olympic superstar.

Lt. Chris Cowan said Tuesday that Richland County sheriff’s investigators are gathering more information about the photo, which showed the swimmer inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

Cowan did not specify what charge was being considered and declined to discuss details of the investigation.

Read more: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28996704/

[tekisui]

1. Give me a fucking break.

[Abacus]

95. I was really hoping story was going to be about Fred

[MNDemNY]

2. They are just flapping their jaws, they have no evidence to support any charge.

[ooglymoogly]

36. Are you kidding; South Carolina, the land of Jim Crow, kangaroo courts,

fixed elections and is a state filled with speed traps. With big tobacco running the state, they do not need evidence. They are salivating over making and destroying a national treasure and making him an example and a warning against the use of maryjane and they are already succeeding in the court of public opinion with the help of out of touch corporate media whores and sanctimonious hypocrites like Forrest Tucker. I'm just surprised he was stupid enough to do this in this good ol' boy state.
And what kind of shitty backstabbing slut would take this picture and sell it to the corporate media. Oh I forgot; South Carolina is the reddest of snuff chawing and spittoon aiming, back room decider states.

[Wizard777]

51. I've lived in Richland County. This will bite the sheriff in butt in the next election.

[mitchum]

107. Amazing that Leon "Don Johnson" Lott thinks this would fly

obviously, I also once lived in Richland County

[krabigirl]

63. And that's just it. Big tobacco of course.

[reggie the dog]

76. there is no proof that they are even in South Carolina

[Jawja]

86. Ah, the crux of the matter.

Michael Phelps smoked pot in a situation where someone could get a photo. Not very smart when you are a National Hero.

Of course the vultures are going to use it. But he set himself up for it.

[ooglymoogly]

111. Correction; Not Forrest Tucker but the sanctimonious

Gary Tuchman. Memory getting old.

[aquamarina]

3. Enough of this with the pot already - just legalize it

[onehandle]

4. I was wondering about that. Celebrities should be subject to the same laws as us.

Anyway, he seems like a dick.

[Deja Q]

6. I agree.

He is what he claims to have.

Of course, I also agree that, as it's currently illegal, he should be given the same treatment as everyone who isn't famous. Or isn't what he claims to have.

[NashVegas]

8. I Guess It Depends on the Famous Person

Didn't Woody Harrelson once take part in a pro-legalization demonstration by lighting up on court house steps in Kentucky or some place like that?

[bitchkitty]

90. It was hemp seeds.

Harrelson is part-owner of a hemp-clothing company, and in June 1996, he planted four industrial hemp seeds in Kentucky, with video cameras rolling. His intent was to publicly challenge that state's law, which does not distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana. He lost his philosophical argument when the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that industrial hemp was as illegal as its reefer cousin, but he was spared a jail term when jurors refused to convict him of planting the seeds, despite the videotape.

http://www.nndb.com/people/666/000023597/

[NashVegas]

93. Thanks

I'd remembered he got busted, didn't know what came from it.

[no limit]

92. I've seen my fair share of people posting pictures smoking pot online

they weren't getting prosecuted.

They are trying to make a scapegoat out of him, this has nothing to do with treating celebrities the same as regular people.

[Connonym]

69. sure but how can they prove that it was pot in the bong?

a photo of him smoking doesn't prove that there were drugs. Clearly it was pot but there's really no way to prove that from a photo.

[INDIA]

101. He's not so much a dick...

as a total raging douchebag.

Remember that kid from high school who spiked his hair, balsted rap from his mom's Acura, and called you "bro"? Now make him an Olympic legend. Boom: Michael Phelps.

[Historic NY]

5. they must have a lots of time on their hands.

[Southpaw07]

7. My guess...........

is that someone found a way to get on TV for a few days.

[DCKit]

11. No, they want their 15 minutes in the spotlight.

Free publicity and all the other perks that come with being seen as tough on crime.

It's not as if they have anything better to do since SC went crime-free in 1987. :sarcasm:

[Still Sensible]

9. Must be another election year for

district attorneys and sheriffs. There is no way that photo is enough evidence for a charge.

[Endangered Specie]

52. Actually, it probably is... especially since he admited to it

[flakey_foont]

10. crikey!

that is ridiculous....what can they possibly charge him for? maybe it was tobacco or nutmeg or banana peels in the alleged bong........gimme a friggin' break

[MichaelHarris]

12. So

how many ounces was he caught with? That DA better bring more than a photo to court if he expects to win. Phelps didn't break any laws and a photo at a party proves nothing. What was in the pipe if anything? Did he just pose for buddies? Is it even him? See where I'm going? Absolutely no evidence. So he admitted it to the press, was that admissible? was it under oath? Good luck with that charge and trial.

[reggie the dog]

77. he can claim damage control

and say he apologized even though it was not him smoking pot because it would be better for his endorsements than fighting it in the press.

[xchrom]

13. breaking -- sc authorities get famous hanging off

phelp's bong.

[Kolesar]

14. Sheriff wants some free publicity for when he runs for Governor

or some other stupid dream of his.

[Democrats_win]

15. Karma. Don't forget Phelps did many ads for VISA.

VISA is the new tobacco. No person should stand behind these death cards. It's like Al Capone: he's a crook and what got him was some minor IRS nonsense. Phelps should apologize for his VISA commercials. I don't care about his pot use. But he'll get it in the end.

Bankers, bush and Fraud Street next? Hope so.

[reggie the dog]

78. I have a visa card with a 15 000 dollar limit

it comes in handy in case of emergency, I use it perhaps one or two times a year and have never paid any interest on it.

[jberryhill]

91. Well, you know what they say....

It's everywhere you want to go!

[montanto]

16. A photo? A marijuana pipe?

what is a marijuana pipe? what does a photo prove? what a bunch of b.s.

edit spelling. must be the pot. sorry.

[ShortnFiery]

17. This is ridiculous!

:crazy:

[Juan_de_la_Dem]

18. This country has it's head up its ass

[marshall]

19. Don't they have any standards for evidence?

Chain of custody? How do they even know the photo is real? That it's Phelps? That it was taken within their jurisdiction?
And I realize the photo is real, that Phelps basically admitted to what it show, but that doesn't seem to be valid enough to stand up in court. How could one even tell from the photo where in the world it was taken?

[JayMusgrove]

22. Evidently NOT in that part of the USA!

They have their own standards there, which they got from the Bush administration.... just charge them and throw them in jail for years without benefit of counsel. It's easier that way to charge Phelps.

[Trajan]

65. Yeah ... They do ....

Phelp's might have screwed up by publicly admitting it, but perhaps he left some wiggle room in those comments .... The court can use public statements against defendants ...

His first mistake was smoking around strangers (or really bad friends) ....

His second mistake was doing it in South Carolina ...

You like to smoke-ah the Ganja ? .... MOVE TO CALIFORNIA ! ....

There, his 'transgression' would barely warrant a ticket ...

[marshall]

94. I guess he can always say "I didn't inhale"

Or that he was just blowing pretty bubbles in the water.

[reggie the dog]

79. he should have said he was in Alaska, that way it would have been

COMPLETELY LEGAL ACCORDING TO STATE LAW!!!

[Whoa_Nelly]

20. Yeah! and charge all those who were at the party but NOT photographed, too!

:sarcasm:

[Ian David]

21. He wasn't smoking pot. He was trying to teach himself to breathe under water. n/t

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. Wouldn't they have to prove there was marijuana actually in the bong?

It could have been tobacco. It could've been salvia. It might be foolish to believe it was anything else; but if there's no proof that the substance he was smoking was illegal, I don't see how any charge could hold up in court.

[Ticonderoga]

26. It probably could not be ascertained

beyond a reasonable doubt, given that picture, that it was even a bong at all. I certainly saw no bowl attached to it.

[IADEMO2004]

24. Jail for the piss-ant that took and sold the picture to a tabriod

Why did you want to screw someone for a little lucre

[merh]

25. Oh bullshit

you cannot charge someone with no evidence.

They have to prove that was marijuana, that ain't gonna happen.

christ on a crutch, folks are desperate for their 15 minutes, aren't they.

[bdamomma]

27. oh how stupid and we have murderers in the Bush administration

walking around freely. only in America :sarcasm:

[trungpa ricochet]

28. They have no case.

Nowhere in the US is it illegal to be photographed with a pipe. Possession requires apprehension and confiscation of a substance. There is no case. This is a waste of everyone's time. :eyes: :dunce:

[superconnected]

29. He deserves it. 1. It's against the law, all of us would get arrested for it, 2. He's a famous

sports hero. Dumb thing to do. If his pic gets all over internet for doing something illegal he deserves the law to be right there.

[Juneboarder]

31. He wasn't caught committing the crime,

and a photo is not sufficient proof.

It just goes to show that you CAN do whatever you put your mind to while being a toker... legalize the weed already!!

[superconnected]

38. Putting it that way, I agree then, he shouldn't be in trouble.

Still, I think he made a dumb move. He's a media target so he should be more careful.

[Tempest]

39. He admitted it and issued an apology

Both can be used against him in court.

[IGotAName]

55. Right- he was caught admitting it.

That's a great precedent to set.

[cannabis_flower]

87. This is exactly what he said...

"I engaged in behaviour which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgement," Phelps said in the statement. "I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."



Show me where he admitted smoking marijuana.

[Tempest]

96. So what was he confessing to?

While holding a bong in his hand and taking a hit from it?

[Juneboarder]

97. At least here in California...

you have to be caught in the act... it is not illegal to be high. South Carolina is just full of a bunch of right wing nuts that want to throw the book at you for smoking a spliff, but think it's okay to screw the poor folk and give to the rich via tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts. UGH!!

[sendero]

106. Not too familiar..

... with the rudiments of the law, are you.

[cannabis_flower]

98. dupe

dupe

[cannabis_flower]

99. dupe

dupe

[cannabis_flower]

100. I don't know...

but he didn't exactly confess. And what proof do they have that that pipe had any illegal substance in it. They are sold for smoking "tobacco". I know, just about everyone smokes weed in them but it's not paraphernalia unless you do. He could say he was just posing for a picture, that the pipe had no weed in it and it was brand new and had never been used. If he's lucky everyone will keep their mouth shut and agree with him.

[cannabis_flower]

88. dupe

dupe

[Regret My New Name]

49. In this case, if he wasn't famous then he wouldn't be in this mess...

Because of his fame, his photo was put out there and it got publicity and attention. If he was any other 20-something guy, then this photo would have stayed locked up on someones myspace page or something.

[Sequoia]

53. Arnold, the horrid Gov of California has plenty of pics with him

smoking a joint. Plus he did steriods. Haul his butt to federal prison.

And NO, Phelps does NOT deserve to go to freaking jail over this. Who the hell posted the photo anyway. Low life.

[krabigirl]

60. Whatever. And no, not all of us would. Why would we be photographed like he is??

[reggie the dog]

81. if some asshole took a photo of you on their phone while

you were smoking at a party.

[Trajan]

66. 1. It should NOT be illegal .....

2. There are quite a few states that would NOT arrest him for this ....

SUPER fail ...

[Zhade]

68. So you're saying anyone who smokes it should be arrested?

That's insane. This is a proven-beneficial herb. I'm currently NOT BLIND because of it, and you want people like me in jail?

That's outrageous.

[reggie the dog]

82. they would need at least 50,000,000 places in jail if not 100,000,000

places in jail if they put all of us smokers in prison.

[readmoreoften]

109. Don't give them any ideas. They'd love to have 100 million slave laborers.

[jberryhill]

70. Can you specify what law he violated?

Ummm... smoking marijuana is not illegal.

Possession of marijuana is illegal.

The photograph, and his admission to having smoked it, are not evidence that he ever possessed marijuana.

[reggie the dog]

83. sse somone else

held the pipe when it was full of weed, lit the weed, filled up the chamber with smoke (which is legal) then took out the bowl piece and handed the smoke to Phelps, so you see judge, there was no possession.

[superconnected]

108. Holding it kind of looks like posession to me.

Either way, it depends on what state he's in, and their laws on whether it is legal or not.

[reggie the dog]

80. he deserves nothing

cannabis prohibition is an unjust discrimination. I have had idiots take pictures of me smoking without my knowing it but I dont think the cops will do much because they cant prove where I was or what was inside the rolling papers. He did nothing "dumb". His activity is LEGAL for adults in one state, Alaska, and only warrants a ticket or small fine in a dozen others. Had he been in North Carolina he would have been in a decrim state.

[uncle ray]

30. what's most appaling,

are the so called progressives on this thread who are just fine with him being tried based on that photo.

absolutely sickening.

[Juneboarder]

32. NO KIDDING!!

I think you lose more of your self control under the influence of alcohol than you do with weed; just legalize it already!!

[Tempest]

40. It's not just the photograph

His admission and apology also have to be taken into consideration.

And can be used in court.

He should have kept his mouth shut.

[jberryhill]

71. What did he admit?

He admitted smoking marijuana.

Did he admit possessing it? In what quantity did he possess it?

Specify what law you believe the photograph and his apology amount to an admission of violation.

[reggie the dog]

84. did he admit WHERE he smoked the grass?

Perhaps it was in Belguim, or Berlin, or Spain, or Alaska, or the Netherlands where adults have the right to smoke at home.

[Oak2004]

41. Yeah -- it's like they haven't noticed where the drug war led us:

I am not a dope smoker, and aside from some brief unsuccessful experimentation as a teen (unsuccessful in that my asthmatic lungs rebel at the slightest whiff of the smoke), I have no dope smoking history. I don't drink, either. Aside for the occasional appreciation of good (and legal) traditional kava, prepared well (all these caveats because most people who "try" kava have crappy stuff, poorly prepared (or worse yet, kava extract), consume it on something other than the required completely empty stomach, and then insist it doesn't "do" anything), I don't mess with mind altering substances of any kind.

You'd think the drug war then, wouldn't affect me, wouldn't be of any interest to me. And you'd be wrong.

The drug war is the wedge that opened a giant gash in the Constitution. Courts permitted atrocious violations of basic rights in the name of the drug war, accepting as reasonable the government arguments that what people do in the privacy of their own homes is so awful as to warrant suspending and abolishing traditional liberties. Once the gaping hole was torn in the Constitution in the name of drugs, all sorts of other abuses were permitted. We're now at the stage where passers-by film cops staging executions on the sidewalk, where anyone can, under color of law, be picked up and thrown into a secret prison where they may languish in isolation for life (save for their daily torture sessions), where we arrest, charge, and convict even schoolchildren for crimes which once rated a brief detention, where cities criminalize poverty, where one quarter of all prisoners on earth are American prisoners. We live in a nation where the only mercy shown to citizens is shown to those citizens who've committed war crimes.

In short, we live in a rogue state, a police state, a nation whose policies I'd compare to Latin America except that Latin America, nation by nation, is rejecting that mode of governance even as we sink deeper and deeper into the police state of our own making (and until Obama actually ends the police state, the mere possibility that he might do so or has begun to do a few things that barely scratch the surface is not enough reason to celebrate).

And we got there by buying into the "war on drugs".

If the law should apply to rich and poor alike, famous and obscure alike, then so too should civil liberties and human rights. Phelps should not be arrested for a bong hit. And neither should anyone else.

[appal_jack]

47. excellent points, oak. (n/t)

[krabigirl]

61. Exactly! I thought I was on FR for a minute there.

[wroberts189]

33. economic meltdown, forget it ..lets waste some more taxpayer money !

and what will this accomplish again?

[ooglymoogly]

34. This is getting tiresome....more fake outrage from our (not our) sanctimonious corporate media;

Whose owners fear Maryjane more than just about anything else. Think big pharma, big tobacco and big alcohol and big corporate America period; They are so intermarried at this stage of the game, their offspring are raving lunatics.

[trusty elf]

35. Look everyone! Doobeya is gettin' high!

Arrest the MFer!

[handmade34]

37. time...

for a serious nationwide movement to legalize marijuana!!!!!!!!!!! I am almost 60 and I am absolutely can't understand how this has continued for so long.... we are insane as a people... maybe Michael Phelps smoking will push this along

[Swede Atlanta]

42. The world gone mad...

I recognize that his act, if real, is illegal. But don't the authorities have better things to do with their time and the taxpayers of the state's money than to work up this case? It would be different if he was suspected of possession with intent to distribute or something but he isn't. Give us a break.

[girl gone mad]

43. If they do it..

I hope there is a huge backlash.

[NM Independent]

44. I'm not generally hateful to the police, but

this sherriff...

"The Richland County sheriff has long sought to fight drug crimes. He rose from patrol officer to captain of the narcotics division in the early 1990s, after the television series “Miami Vice” made its splash.

Lott played the part well. He wore stylish suits and had long hair then. He drove a Porsche seized from a drug dealer and even worked undercover with federal agents in Florida."

Is a slimy fucking asshole. The prick just wants to get in the spotlight and make a bigger deal out of this than it actually is.

Besides, I'm pretty damn sure they can't do that (Convict on the basis of a picture and public admission). Can they?






Also, why so few rec's on a juicy story like this? I don't get it.

[aikoaiko]

45. This is why I don't smoke pot anymore

As a teen, I loved to get fried. When I went to college I mostly stopped because I was broke all the time and switched to beer/booze.

Now I don't smoke pot because getting caught means losing my job which would be a terrible hardship for my family (wife and child).

I welcome the day when we are free to smoke joint.

[bowens43]

46. How is the photo evidence that he smoked pot?

stores here sell those pipes (bongs) with warnings that they should be used for tobacco only.......

:hippie:

[Regret My New Name]

48. jeeezus...

[tiddlywinks]

50. there is no flame... and no smoke....

they ..have..nothing!

[provis99]

54. they'll get him on drug paraphernalia charge

drug paraphernalia means essentially anything a prosecutor thinks can be used to smoke pot. Look what they got Tommy Chong on: a beer can as "drug parphernalia".

[krabigirl]

62. That will probably change. Happened under Ashcroft....scary how many things they changed.

[jberryhill]

72. Is that his bong?

Whose bong is it?

Handling someone else's paraphernalia is not a crime.

[SOS]

56. This is twisted

Phelps should take his cash, move to Amsterdam and swim for Holland in the 2012 Olympics.

[reggie the dog]

85. bingo

he is wealthy enough to move there and have an instant visa. English is the second official language of the Netherlands too so he will be right at home.

[slay]

57. Can we please just legalize marijuana already - didn't seem to bother olympian Phelps

There is no "war on drugs". There is however a "war on people who use drugs the pharmacutical, alcohol, and tobacco industries can't make money off of." :mad: :grr:

[ellaydubya]

58. That marijuana must be one bad drug...

How many Olympic medals did Phelps win? This truly shows the devastation this drug can do to a human body. Give me a break- no better than that, give me a joint!!!:sarcasm: :patriot:

[krabigirl]

59. Wow. In many states, it's just a ticket. Anyway, I can't wait until this version of Prohibition dies

[pinniped]

64. They can't prove he's inhaling anything.

He's just playing with some custom glassware from the chemistry lab.

[jberryhill]

73. He admitted that, duh - but did not admit possession /nt

[Zhade]

67. Fucking ridiculous. The war on this proven-beneficial herb must end!

NT!

[BrightKnight]

74. Going after a kid because might have smoked a little pot is

not a very good use of limited law enforcement resources. How many other "investigations" like that have they opened? The grandstanding sheriff is just looking for his 15 minutes.

[reggie the dog]

75. there is no proof that he was smoking anything illegal

you cannot see what plant material is in the pipe therefore you cannot know if it is a legal or an illegal pipe. Phelps is a millionaire worth several dozen million now thanks to endorsements from what I have read so I think he can get a lawyer.

[wildeyed]

89. South Carolina county officials need to get a life.

I guess they don't have any real criminals, so they spend their time and money harassing a famous person for doing something that is analogous to jay walking for most of us so the can get on teevee.

[6000eliot]

102. Is having your picture taken against the law in SC?

[jzodda]

103. A sheriff trying to make a name for himself

If the guy was an ordinary person nobody would be doing anything. I have seen photos like that on myspace all the time-are they all being investigated? I think not....

And being investigated for taking a bong hit? What a moronic sheriff

[BrightKnight]

105. Barney Fife - I bet they have never opened an "investigation" for anything like that. - n/t

[olddad56]

104. If he was high on alcohol, it woudn't have even made the news.

If he is old enough to drink, he is old enough to toke.

[Political Heretic]

110. I was hoping they meant Fred Phelps