World Class Athletes Promote Marijuana

World class athletes have been caught using recreational drugs for years but what makes the recent cases of Tim Lincecum, Michael Phelps, and Santonio Holmes remarkable is that they have been outed at the peak of their careers. In these three instances, law enforcement has helped obliterate the mainstream myth that marijuana smokers cannot be overachievers in amazing physical conditions.

They All Do It

Rob Dibble, an all-star pitcher who played in the late 1980s and early 1990s, estimated that teams he played for varied from 20-60% in marijuana usage rates. In the late 1990s a New York Times investigation estimated the marijuana usage rate of players in the NBA to be at 60-70%. (A figure Josh Howard reasserted in 2008, LINK.)

Of course, the New York Times piece portrayed this as a sign “the party life style associated with the game is spinning out of control.” It then interviewed NBA players like Derek Harper who said it was “scary” because you might be playing against a guy on drugs and not know it, and Karl Malone who thought fans had a right to know if the players used recreational drugs and that privacy concerns about testing were ridiculous because, “you have too many knuckleheads out there, too many guys doing crazy things without realizing the consequences.”

Those Consequences

There is a strong case that – just like with alcohol – the moderate use of marijuana and other recreational drugs in one’s free time has little or no effect on performance. Professional athletics is hyper-competitive. As soon as you lose a step to the countless competitors behind you, you are gone. If marijuana use impeded performance it is doubtful the usage rates would be so high with million dollar salaries at stake.

Mark Stepnoski (pictured) played 13 seasons in the NFL as a center winning two Super Bowls and going to five pro bowls. He smoked marijuana throughout his college and professional career saying, “To me it’s all about responsibility. There’s a time and a place for everything.”

Stepnoski, who is now a marijuana legalization activist, has also pointed out his Super Bowl coach, Jimmy Johnson, had a different theory than Karl Malone.

As long as you did your job for him and did it well, he wasn’t going to snoop into what you were doing the rest of the time. It wasn’t his responsibility to be your parent or your guardian or anything else.

Despite the New York Times dire warning in the late 1990s the NBA is still thriving.

Other Notable Outed Athletes

NFL

Randy Moss (WR) – In high school spent a week in solitary confinement for smoking marijuana. Was kicked out of Florida State for smoking marijuana. Caught with marijuana by law enforcement in 2001. Tested positive for marijuana in the NFL in 2002. Implied was still smoking marijuana in 2005. In 1998 broke rookie NFL record for touchdown catches in a season. In 2007 broke NFL record for touchdown catches in a season.

Others: Kevin Faulk (caught at a Lil Wayne concert with marijuana in 2008), Percy Harvin, Michael Irvin, Curtis Johnson, Marshawn Lynch, Mario Manningham, Amobi Okoye, Lawrence Taylor, Ricky Williams

Link to a dozen NFL players caught with possession since 2008.

NBA

Kareem Abdul Jabbar (C) – In his 20 year career he scored more points than anyone else in the history of the game. Won six MVP awards and six NBA championships. Has been caught with marijuana by law enforcement twice, in 1998 and 2000.

Others: Carmelo Anthony, Mookie Blaylock, Marcus Camby, Josh Howard, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Shawn Kemp, Vernon Maxwell, Lamar Odom, Robert Parish, Isaiah Rider, Damon Stoudamire, Rasheed Wallace, Chris Webber

MLB

Ferguson Jenkins (P) – Eighteen year veteran won the Cy Young Award in 1971. Was caught with cocaine and marijuana in 1980 and retired in 1983.

Joe Pepitone (OF) – Three time all-star and Gold Glove winner Pepitone wrote in his 1975 memoir that he once shared a joint with Mickey Mantle before a spring training game. Mantle had never had marijuana before. He struck out four times in that game and spent much of his time in the dugout giggling. He told Pepitone, “I don’t know what that shit is, but keep it away from me.”

Others: Dock Ellis, Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez (testified that in the early 1980s 40% of MLB players used cocaine), Steve Howe, Paul Molitor, Otis Nixon, Dave Parker, Tim Raines (confessed to sliding into bases head first to avoid breaking the vial of cocaine he kept in his back pocket), Darryl Strawberry, Willie Wilson

Note: Much of the baseball outing in the 1980s stemmed from the Pittsburgh drug trials in which the legendary Willie Stargell was accused of distributing amphetamines by two players on the stand.

Fastest Man In the World

Usain Bolt – In 2009 admitted to smoking marijuana as a kid. LINK

Links of Note:

In 1970 Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter while on LSD. (Less than 300 have been thrown in Major League Baseball history since 1875.) Here is a great animated short set to him recounting the tale. (Thanks to Chip for tip.)

Hall of Fame baseball player Mike Schmidt discussing how amphetamines, “greenies,” were readily available in baseball clubhouses during his career (1972-1989) – LINK.

Sources:
1. “Outside the Lines: Marijuana in Sports,” ESPN, 24 Feb. 2003. LINK
2. Albert Theodore Powers, The Business of Baseball (2003).
3. Selena Roberts, “Marijuana and Pro Basketball,” New York Times, 26 Oct. 1997. LINK

How Freedom Dies: Salvia Divinorum

The above story of Salvia divinorum demonstrates how anecdotal evidence is bizarrely abused to create and foster the war on drugs. In modern America’s narcophobic climate one death out of millions of users can cause all adult users to be deemed criminals worthy of prosecution and incarceration.

Salvia is a particularly astonishing case because the “salvia death” of Brett Chidester that is paraded by the media and politicians is on such shaky ground:

1. His family admits he had some depression issues. His cousin, Danielle Chidester, wrote in a March 30, 2006 blog comment:

While it is true that he used to not be as happy as he was before he died, he completely changed his life around. He told me how he was so glad that he was finally happy. (swanksalot)

2. There is no evidence he was on salvia when he died. (DuLac) Because of the incapacitating effects of salvia it is unlikely he would have had the ability to take the actions he did. (He set up a tent in a garage and lit a grill inside of it to asphyxiate himself.)

3. The written passages which several media outlets, e.g. USA Today, have called a suicide note were not a suicide note at all. They are snippets from material written well before his death and read like this one:

Salvia allows us to give up our senses and wander in the interdimensional time and space. Also, and this is probably hard for most to accept, our existence in general is pointless. We earthly humans are nothing. (Doward)

4. The death certificate which the media refers to as listing salvia as a contributory cause of death initially did not mention salvia at all. It was three months after his death (and a day after the passage of Delaware’s “Brett’s Law”) that a Delaware medical examiner revised the death certificate. She refused to comment on the change. (Chalmers, 5/6/06) For more on the drug politics behind autopsies go to this post.

5. In an interview shortly after Brett’s death Kathleen admitted the basis of her salvia indictment was merely a “gut feeling.”

We just won’t have any answers, and we have to learn to accept that. But my gut feeling is it was the salvia. It’s the only thing that can explain it. (Chalmers, 2/26/06)

Due to Kathleen Chidester’s efforts, in places like Florida people like her son can now face up to five years in prison for possession of Salvia divinorum.

Oddly enough, despite believing Brett was put on earth to have salvia criminalized (Chidester), Kathleen doubts Brett would approve, “I don’t think Brett would want to be known for a law like that, but I think of it as an honor.” (Chalmers, 3/23/06)

Sidebar: Ingesting high amounts of caffeine, e.g. No-Doz, can lead to hallucinations and even death.

Rays of Sanity: California and Maine only criminalized salvia for minors.

Asinine Sensationalistic Headlines:

“Deadly Dangers of a Street Legal High” – Todd Quinones, CBS 3 Philadelphia, 30 Nov. 2006.

“New Legal Herb May Do More Damage Than LSD” – Devine, Josh, ABC12 (WJRT, MI) 19 Feb. 2007. (The only damage LSD has been found to cause is precipitating mental illness in those already predisposed to mental illness.)

“Salvia: Legal but Lethal” – Anderson Cooper, CNN, 13 Apr. 2006.

Quotes of Note:

If you’re that retarded to go ahead and try to defend the drug then you deserve whatever the hell happens to you. (swanksalot)

Danielle Chidester in one of her many comments on a blog entry written by a “dumbass” (her word) questioning salvia’s link to Brett’s death.

Three days after he died, some friend of his named Mike shared “fond memories” of Brett on MySpace; mentioning how Brett stole alcohol from his job on a regular basis. He also talked about Brett driving drunk and puking out of the window after they had gotten hammered on Absinthe. (swanksalot)

AssaultedReason responding to Danielle and comparing/contrasting alcohol/salvia treatment in his own comment. (This MySpace page is apparently no longer available.)

Links of Note:

Kathleen Chidester’s blog, “Brett Chidester – Stolen Angel.”
Kathleen Chidester interviewed on ABC’s Nightline.
Legal Status of Salvia by Country and State on Wikipedia.

Sources:
1. Mike Chalmers, “Legal High New Worry for Parents,” News Journal (DE), 26 Feb. 2006. LINK
2. Mike Chalmers, “Proposal Would Outlaw Hallucinogenic Salvia,” News Journal (DE), 23 Mar. 2006. LINK
3. Mike Chalmers, “Salvia’s Banned, But Now the Tough Part,” News Journal (DE), 6 Mar. 2006. LINK
4. Kathleen Chidester, “Brett’s Mom Forever,” Brett Chidester – Stolen Angel (blog), ret. 5 Oct. 2009. LINK
5. Jamie Doward & Oliver Shah, “Legal Highs,” Guardian, 26 Apr. 2009. LINK
6. J. Freedom DuLac, “Hallucinogenic Herb Under Legislative Eye,” Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2009. LINK
7. “Suicide: Facts at a Glance,” CDC, Summer 2009. LINK
8. swanksalot, “Mindless Drug Propaganda,” B12 Solipsism (blog), 26 Feb 2006. LINK

Drug War Myth #726,002: Marijuana Is More Addictive Than Caffeine

In covering the marijuana legalization debate the mainstream media is prone to comparing marijuana addictiveness to alcohol, cocaine, and heroin. A much more appropriate comparison would be to caffeine. This would provide a better perspective to the media’s dramatic portrayals of marijuana “addicts.” (See New York Times portrayal of “Joyce” here.)

The health professional survey mentioned above that ranked the inherent addictive potential of numerous drugs on a 100-point scale (nicotine 99, alcohol 81, caffeine 70, and marijuana 22) was taken from Perrine. (p. 7)

The statement that marijuana withdrawal symptoms are as mild as caffeine’s and their occurrence is rarer is taken from Gahlinger. (pp. 180, 333)

Most marijuana users – even those with long-term, heavy use – experience no withdrawal when they stop. Some people have reported generally mild symptoms …. (Gahlinger, p. 333)

Thanks to Pete Guither at Drug WarRant for the following posts which alerted me to this issue: “Times Article Buys into Marijuana Addiction Based on Anecdotal Evidence from Idiots” and “ABC News Goes Reefer Madness.”

Sources:

1. Paul Gahlinger, Illegal Drugs (2001).
2. Daniel Perrine, Chemistry of Mind-Altering Drugs (1996).

Billy Mays’ Corpse Gets Trampled by Cocaine Hype

Billy Mays is not alone. This scapegoating of cocaine goes on all the time. One review of 935 cocaine related deaths in New York City found that less than 12% were even possibly related to the pharmacological effects of cocaine. (Morgan, p. 140)

Billy Mays’ family was “extremely disappointed” with the autopsy report of the Hillsborough County medical examiner’s office (Florida). The family’s statement said that the report contained, “speculative conclusions that are frankly unnecessary and tend to obscure the conclusion that Billy suffered from chronic, untreated hypertension, which only demonstrates how important it is to regularly monitor one’s health.”

To see how cocaine was similarly blamed for Ike Turner’s death go to “Cocaine Did Not Kill Ike Turner,” and for a post on the actual deadliness of cocaine go to “Drug War Myth #726,001: Cocaine Is Deadlier Than Aspirin.”

Addendum (October 18, 2009) – An independent medical examiner’s review of the autopsy results made public on October 15, 2009 found they, “do not support the conclusion that cocaine was a contributory cause of Billy`s death.” (Mays)

Sources:

1. Robert Arthur, You Will Die: The Burden of Modern Taboos (2008).
2. Deborah Mays, “Independent Evaluation Finds that Billy Mays’ Death Was not Attributable to Cocaine Usage,” Reuters, 15 Oct. 2009. LINK
3. John Morgan & Lynn Zimmer, Crack in America (1997).
4. Mitch Stacy, “Billy Mays’ Family: Never Saw Signs of Cocaine Use,” San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Aug. 2009. LINK