Phelps caught smoking pot
- Thread starter Roger Wilco
- Start date
How many people have skyrocketed to fame only to end up on the coroner's table too soon.Save his life? It's not like he was smoking a cigarette.
Yes, history is full of rock stars and athletes who died of smoking marijuana.
As long as he followed proper bong protocol, I have no problem with it. Don't Bogart it. Puff. Puff. Pass.
I've never seen him be smug or arrogant in any fashion.
He seems like a decent guy if a bit goofbally.
Cannabis a banned substance. Regardless of how stupid it is that it's on that list, smoking cannabis is doping.
And the main question for me since Phelps was never caught on a doping test after having consumed cannabis, is, how effective are those tests and is Phelps really being tested at all?
I would imagine he would have to get caught within a few days of smoking it and racing for it to show up on a doping test. It can be detected for 5 days in the blood IIRC. Longer in the hair, but I guess they blood test.
If it's not in his bloodstream when he is tested or racing there's no problem with it and it's not doping for a race.
You and I both know it could only detract from his performance anyway.
If it's not in his bloodstream when he is tested or racing there's no problem with it and it's not doping for a race.
You and I both know it could only detract from his performance anyway.
It's about six weeks (I think), it's why many prisoners do smack because it leaves the body quicker.
It takes more time to leave the more you smoke, but if he is an occasional smoker it would only be there a few days apparently.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_does_marijuana_stay_in_your_system
However, I wouldn't say that looks like the most reliable link ever. The article says he is on a long training break though and 3 months after the olympics. It says it won't affect his medals, so as far as I can see there's nothing wrong with it.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_does_marijuana_stay_in_your_system
However, I wouldn't say that looks like the most reliable link ever. The article says he is on a long training break though and 3 months after the olympics. It says it won't affect his medals, so as far as I can see there's nothing wrong with it.
No, they usually test urine.
Blood is tested too occasionally, but I think for most sports thats not the standard because its more intrusive.
Of course, but that's not the point. If he's smoking pot, what other substances does he put into his body?
I see, well I have no idea how long it is detectable for, but I see no reason to assume that he must have been doping during races just because he was caught pulling a flipping bong 3 months after the olympics. He's human. The article you quoted says his medals are not in danger.
Why do you assume he must be doing something else? I smoke a bit of pot, do you assume I must take other drugs?
I don't and there's no reason to assume or suspect I do, anymore than the fact I drink alcohol does not suggest that I must be a pot smoker.
How many Olympic gold medals have you won? 
Not the point, he wasn't doping for a race. There's a list as long as your arm of drugs you can't take before a race, many available in over the counter medicines like cough medicine. You take as many of them as you want when you are not competing.
All that matters is his doping tests, which were clean, so there's absolutely no reason to crucify the guy.
All that matters is his doping tests, which were clean, so there's absolutely no reason to crucify the guy.
No, you're missing the point. The fact that he smoked pot shows that he's not the least bit worried about getting tested - and obviously not because he's clean.
Doping tests are 100 times more effective during off-season, because athletes who are juicing do so during training, and not during competition. Only the most stupid/desperate athletes use doping so close to a competition that it could show up at tests during that time. There are plenty of drugs that don't stay in your system very long but stay effective for months (EPO for example).
Doping tests are 100 times more effective during off-season, because athletes who are juicing do so during training, and not during competition. Only the most stupid/desperate athletes use doping so close to a competition that it could show up at tests during that time. There are plenty of drugs that don't stay in your system very long but stay effective for months (EPO for example).
Maybe he knew getting dope tested off season was extremely unlikely. Maybe he'd been dope tested the day before. Maybe he knew that because he hardly smokes it would be undetectable within days. You just don't know.
Getting from that photo to assuming the guy is a cheat is a big stretch.
Getting from that photo to assuming the guy is a cheat is a big stretch.
THC stores in the hair and in the fat cells (if Phelps indeed has any body fat) so depending on the test, it could be detected for some time.
I don't see how it would qualify as "doping" in the sports sense since it'd have no performance-enhancing effects... in fact a few bonghits'd reduce his effective lung capacity and ability to process oxygen effectively for a time, serving to undermine his performance. It would be evidence of illegal drug use, but it's not like it's steroids or something that'd give him an edge.
Marijuana prohibition is foolish and, in the face of the known effects of legal drugs like caffine, nicotine and alcohol, pretty hypocritical.
I don't see how it would qualify as "doping" in the sports sense since it'd have no performance-enhancing effects... in fact a few bonghits'd reduce his effective lung capacity and ability to process oxygen effectively for a time, serving to undermine his performance. It would be evidence of illegal drug use, but it's not like it's steroids or something that'd give him an edge.
Marijuana prohibition is foolish and, in the face of the known effects of legal drugs like caffine, nicotine and alcohol, pretty hypocritical.
Wow, that's a quantum leap to a conclusion with no basis whatsoever.
Phelps volunteered for extra testing at the Olympics. Smoking pot on vacation at a party does not in any way imply that he uses any performance enhancing drugs.
Oh, and I've passed piss tests within a few days of smoking pot. Drink a lot of water, take some B12 and you're good. Of course, the probably test for B12 at that level, just not for a crappy office job...
It's very unlikely that the test you had to make was as thorough as the ones athletes have to pass - they cost hundreds of dollars a pop.
And like I said, testing at the events is mostly useless - it's somewhat effective as a deterrent during that time I guess, but you catch only the most stupid offenders, or those who don't have access or the money to get their hands on the high-end stuff.
A good example is this year's Tour de France, they busted a whole bunch of guys months after the event for having used a new generation of EPO that was supposedly undectable. Had they known that the sporting authorities are already working on developing a testing method for that new drug they probably would have taken something else, or stopped using it in time for the Tour de France.
It's no leap at all to assume that an athlete who obviously isn't scared of testing - like Phelps smoking a bong shows - would be willing to use other stuff too. Especially considering his (literally) super-human achievements in an extremely competitive sport that is very likely not clean to begin with.
Of course that's just circumstancial, but to bring up bicycle racing again - if the 2nd to 10th place finishers in a race all either get tested positive for doping or admit having doped, and the winner easily dominated all of them in a spectacular fashion, isn't it logical to suspect him of being juiced too?
And like I said, testing at the events is mostly useless - it's somewhat effective as a deterrent during that time I guess, but you catch only the most stupid offenders, or those who don't have access or the money to get their hands on the high-end stuff.
A good example is this year's Tour de France, they busted a whole bunch of guys months after the event for having used a new generation of EPO that was supposedly undectable. Had they known that the sporting authorities are already working on developing a testing method for that new drug they probably would have taken something else, or stopped using it in time for the Tour de France.
It's no leap at all to assume that an athlete who obviously isn't scared of testing - like Phelps smoking a bong shows - would be willing to use other stuff too. Especially considering his (literally) super-human achievements in an extremely competitive sport that is very likely not clean to begin with.
Of course that's just circumstancial, but to bring up bicycle racing again - if the 2nd to 10th place finishers in a race all either get tested positive for doping or admit having doped, and the winner easily dominated all of them in a spectacular fashion, isn't it logical to suspect him of being juiced too?
