REAL MORAL TO PHELPS' BONG STORY

All Drugs Are Not Equal; Laws Should Be Changed to Reflect That, Says
Kathleen Parker

It's hell being a celebrity, especially if you're young and find
yourself at a party, where marijuana and cameras should never mix.

And it's not exactly heaven being sheriff of a county with escalating
drug crimes and pressure to treat all offenders equally.

Thus it is that Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps and Sheriff Leon Lott
of South Carolina's Richland County are being forced to treat
seriously a crime that shouldn't be one. As everyone knows by now,
Phelps was photographed smoking from an Olympic-sized bong during a
University of South Carolina party last November. As all fallen heroes
must - by writ of the Pitchforks & Contrition Act - Phelps has
apologized for behavior that was "regrettable and demonstrated bad
judgment," and he has promised never to be a lesser role model again.

Check.

Lott, meanwhile, is threatening action against Phelps because ... he
has to. Widely respected and admired as a "good guy" who came up
through the ranks, Lott is in a jam. Not one to sweat the small stuff,
he nevertheless has said that he'll charge Phelps with a crime if he
determines that the 14-time gold-medal winner did, in fact, smoke pot
in his county.

What's tough is that Lott probably doesn't want to press charges
because it's a waste of time and resources. He's got much bigger fish
to fry, but several recent drug-related crimes - including at least
two high-profile murders - have captured community attention.

And the law is the law. Therein lies the problem.

Our marijuana laws have been ludicrous for as long as we've been
alive. Almost half of us (42 percent) have tried marijuana at least
once, according to a report published last year in PLoS Medicine, a
journal of the Public Library of Science.

The U.S., in fact, boasts the highest percentage of pot smokers among
17 nations surveyed, including The Netherlands, where cannabis clouds
waft from coffeehouse windows.

This we know: Were Phelps to run for public office someday and admit
to having smoked pot in his youth, he would be forgiven. Yet, in the
present, we impose monstrous expectations on our heroes. Several
hand-wringing commentaries have surfaced the past few days, lamenting
the tragic loss for disappointed moms, dads and, yes, The Children.

Understandably, parents worry that their kids will emulate their idol,
but the problem isn't Phelps, who is, in fact, an adult. The problem
is our laws - and our lies.

Obviously, children shouldn't smoke anything, legal or otherwise. Nor
should they drink alcoholic beverages, even though their parents
might. There are good reasons for substance restrictions for children
that need not apply to adults.

That's the real drug message that should inform our children and our
laws, rather than the nonsense that currently passes for drug
information. Today's anti-drug campaigns are slightly wonkier than
yesterday's Reefer Madness, but equally likely to become party hits
rather than drug deterrents. One recent ad produced by the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy says: "Hey, not trying to be
your mom, but there aren't many jobs out there for potheads." Whoa,
dude, except maybe, like, president of the United States.

Once a kid realizes that pot doesn't make him insane - or likely to
become a burrito taster, as the ad further asserts - he might figure
other drug information is equally false. That's how marijuana becomes
a gateway drug. Phelps may be an involuntary hero to this charge, but
his name and face bring necessary attention to a farce in which nearly
half the nation are actors. It's time to recognize that all drugs are
not equal - and change the laws accordingly.