Michael Phelps not to be charged with Marijuana crime

[kpete]

Source: Daily Kos

Michael Phelps not to be charged with Marijuana crime
by randy80302
Mon Feb 16, 2009 at 12:17:37 PM PST

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announces at a press conference today that Michael Phelps nor anyone else will be charged with a crime at the party where the infamous photo of Michael Phelps apparently smoking a bong was taken. Several people will be charged based on the drugs that were found when their houses were searched to investigate the incidents surrounding the photo.




Read more: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/16/15539/6867/450/698223

[liberalmuse]

1. Hmmm, "Pot Crime".

It's like "Thought Crime" but with really deep and creative thoughts. Glad to hear those ridiculous charges were dropped.

[wordpix]

42. exactly. Why is smoking a bong a crime, anyhow?

[onehandle]

2. It pays to be rich and famous. nt

[endarkenment]

7. um, uh, hold on there

had Phelps not been famous and potentially rich his internet bong hit would never even have happened. Phelps is not being charged with a crime because the dick of a sheriff has no crime to charge him with, not because he is too rich and famous to be charged. The poor fools who are getting nailed for this are the victims of the dick of a sheriff and the idiots who think it is just the balls to post shit on the internet, and they are getting nailed not because they aren't rich, but because that dick of a sheriff has the evidence to nail them.

[Catch22Dem]

18. dumb response

A photograph doesn't prove anything. It has nothing to do with being rich and famous. No court would convict based on that.

[endarkenment]

24. Uh I think that is what I meant.

[Catch22Dem]

41. You're right!

Sorry, I'm a dunce. My reply was meant for the same post to which you were replying. I beg forgiveness. :blush:

[Cha]

30. Thanks endarkment for enlightening

the poster and us.

[Zhade]

11. Bullshit response. He's not being charged because the charges would never stick.

NT!

[onehandle]

33. If it had been you or me, our asses would have sitting in jail until that was determined.

IT PAYS TO BE RICH AND FAMOUS.

How rich and famous are you?

[Bjorn Against]

34. I don't know of any state that will prosecute someone based on a photo.

If they have a photo of you smoking pot they may use it as probable cause to search your place, but I don't know of any state that would prosecute on a photo of a person smoking pot. In many cases the rich and famous do get off easy, but in this case Phelps is actually faring worse because he is rich and famous. How many people would invoke a huge national "outrage" over a photo of them smoking pot? It is really ridiculous to see people get so worked up over a picture, you would think he must have killed someone the way people have been reacting. He smoked some pot, it is no big deal at all and I feel sorry for the guy to see what he has had to go through because of a sleazy tabloid and a prick with a cell phone camera.

[Zhade]

36. Says you. Your anti-marijuana bias is well-known.

You're just making shit up to support your argument.

Dismissed.

[onehandle]

39. I'm not anti-marijuana. I'm pro-reality.

It will never be legal in the U.S.

The laws concerning it are way too stern and the resulting sentences are ridiculous.

That's a problem and must be resolved. But working to make it legal is a waste of time.

I do think that working to make it available for prescription is a worthy goal.

But, it will never, ever be legal in the U.S. for common consumption.

[Sultana]

15. It sure does

[Bluzmann57]

3. That sherriff made an ass out of himself

I bet he's a republican. To tell you the truth, the taxpayers down in that county should look into getting rid of that guy because the "investigation" surely was a waste of taxpayers money.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. you are being too kind, sir.

That sheriff saw his PR campaign for a future senate, congress or governor's seat disappear faster than a wall street million dollar bonus before an audit.

Yeah, Mike learned something alright. Stay out of that part of South Carolina. A lesson for all of us, I suspect.

[OpEd]

29. Bong

I think he learned that next time he wants to get high, he needs to have someone search everyone for cell phones.

[marshall]

19. Maybe he got a call from Mike Nifong?

"You might not want to go down this path."

[marshall]

20. He's actually had a pretty good record up to this point

Elected four times as a Democrat, and winner of many awards. Things just went to his head.

[Merlot]

40. Didn't he also buy a tank and name it the "peacemaker?"

Dem or not, doesn't matter.

[destinationunknown]

4. Oh no! Another criminal is back on the streets. Somebody, please hold me!

:scared:

(For those who need it: :sarcasm: )

[MineralMan]

6. Heck, Leon Lott's really missing a bet here.

He should start hunting down adulterers in his county. The fines alone could make the county the richest in the land. Adultery is still a crime in South Carolina, with some serious penalties. I'm sure he could start searching homes for evidence of adultery while the occupants are sitting in their FUNdamentalist churches on Sunday.

He could also do searches of the many, many roadside motels and motor courts in the county, conducting suprise raids and demanding marriage licenses from those found engaged in sexual acts.

This could solve the whole problem with the economy of South Carolina, I'm sure.

Here's the law:
===============================
"SECTION 16-15-60. Adultery or fornication.

Any man or woman who shall be guilty of the crime of adultery or fornication shall be liable to indictment and, on conviction, shall be severally punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not less than six months nor more than one year or by both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.

"

[L. Coyote]

25. Adulterers don't post the evidence online LOL

Someone did not get the memo that Nixon's War on War Dissidents is still ongoing!!

[Happyhippychick]

8. Breaking: Smoking weed is a non-issue, story at 11.

[prostock69]

9. Thank goodness. n/t

[NM Independent]

10. Who didn't see this coming?

It was only a matter of time until they caved to the pressure. I've seen a couple reports about calls and emails flooding Lott's department.

I'll bet Mikey is breathing easier :smoke:

[Still Sensible]

12. Gee, imagine that

somebody finally informed the sheriff that getting a conviction based on a person in a photograph (even if said person admits it is in fact he in the photo) is not a likely proposition.

[BlooInBloo]

13. mmm... I love the smell of Selective Prosecution in the morning...

I'm sure our brown skinned brothers love it, too.

[ejpoeta]

14. I think it's a waste of taxpayer money to go after people who smoke pot.

Sure, would I rather people didn't smoke pot? Of course. but how many people are sitting in jail for possession of drugs. not the dealers. i mean people who have small amounts of drugs. they should be getting help not sitting in jail! Michael Phelps was an idiot to let himself get caught on camera smoking a bong. It does send the wrong message to kids. But I think everyone would be better served with a PSA and a swift kick in the arse.

[Zhade]

27. I like your attitude, except that not everyone who smokes "needs help".

It's not an addictive drug, and medical science proves it HELPS many, many people. Like myself -- I'd be going blind from glaucoma otherwise.

[ejpoeta]

35. i didn't mean it in that way. in the case of medical marijuana,

it should definitely be legal. I mean, if pharmaceutical companies can peddle their drugs on national tv, we should have medical marijuana. Why is is illegal federally? hmm... think about it. anyone could GROW marijuana. you don't need a big fancy expensive pharma company to produce it for profit. so of course they don't want that floating around.

but overall, i meant in general. the vast majority of people who use drugs do so as a means of self medicating. those who become addicted, like with cocaine and other highly addictive drugs won't benefit from jail. they need help. I tend to not really lump marijuana in that category. I don't think marijuana is the big bad drug no matter how much I've been told it's a 'gateway drug'.

[Zhade]

37. Cool. : )

NT!

[wordpix]

43. not to mention the entire war on drugs being a complete waste of tax dollars --- and lives

[pattmarty]

16. What about the other 8? guys that WERE charged?????

I am not a lawyer but I would think this would throw a huge wrench into the their prosecution, and rightly so.

[rocktivity]

17. The cops didn't catch him in the act of possessing, buying, or selling

I knew this would go nowhere--legally speaking, that is.

:headbang:
rocknation

[mentalslavery]

21. The news media at its finest!

thanks guys, for keeping us informed, uhh-starting a witch hunt-and leaving us uninformed. Here is a completely unpopular crazy idea. If you advertise yourself as news, you have to present news. Wow, no way, I mean in the post=modernistic world we live in, who can really determine what news really is anyways? Right? I mean it doesn't have a definition that is easily referenced or anything- sooo000 start your fire's, get your religious moralistic charm up, and report away. Tell me everything. Please!!

And as far as phelps and all these other celebrities that we just have to know everything about. How dare them for ever thinking that they get to live a normal life. I mean, you have all that money and fame, now enjoy your life under the microscope. Phelps-our a famous swimmer, you can move thru water really fast and that is really, really important! Anything you do is free game to be used against you just before you cash in on all that hard work doing that really important water stuff.

I wasn't news win he won a bunch of gold metals, its not news when he smokes pot, its not news when the fucked up sheriff realizes his mouth wrote a check his ass can't cash. But it is a nice little distraction from, you know, reality. But who's to say what is real and what is not real, anyway!

God- I swear, sometimes I think we deserve every fucking think we are getting. But, hey, Im one of those "blame America first" people. Every morning, I wake up, role out of bed, realize I'm surrounded and blame american. Which include me, because Im still here, working on an escape plan.

[thincaboutit]

22. MICHAEL PHELPS IS IN HOT WATER…

Stop the presses -- an athlete has been caught smoking pot!! This is news?!? I say, he’s just a kid!! We’ve all made mistakes. Leave Michael Phelps alone!!! (After you listen to this parody and pass it around like a bong to everyone you know!!) See “Because Michael Phelps Got High” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK09SS0zYHg
See more parodies at http://parodyandson.blogspot.com

[Zhade]

28. I, for one, don't see it as a "mistake".

NT!

[Dappleganger]

23. They have NO case and wasted time & resources

[jmowreader]

26. Separated at birth: Sheriff Lott and Sheriff Justice?

Sheriff Buford T. Justice, the lovable buffoon that made Smokey and the Bandit so much fun.


Sheriff Leon Lott, the unlovable buffoon who's eliminated crime in Richland County, SC, to such an extent he can investigate weed-huffing swimmers.

[and-justice-for-all]

31. well duh...dumb ass sheriff.

Non violent drug offensives should only be fine anyway, with no jail time.

War on Drugs is bogus and a waste of money.

[sendero]

32. The person who turned over that photo..

.... to the press better stay out of dark alleys.

[Supply Side Jesus]

38. smoking weed...petty offense

lets not waste our time and resources. I'd hate to count how many joints I've thrown away because prosecuting marijuana consumption is idiotic and stupid even if it is against the law. It's a waste of time and slows down the courts from more pressing cases.

[bernardette blue]

44. They treat him like a criminal

Even though marihuana is harmless and no study has linked it to grave diseases. Give me a break.