You wrote:
“His life isn’t disrupted because of the marijuana itself, it is disrupted because of the stigma in this country about marijuana use. That isn’t the same thing. For two months his life was perfectly fine after that photo was taken, it wasn’t until it was leaked that his life was disrupted.”
Sorry, but I don’t buy that one bit. That’s like saying a drunk’s life wasn’t disrupted by alcohol, but by the fact that his wife was tired of him coming home drunk.
“So how much wine was Jesus limiting people to when he turned water into wine after they ran out?”
Less than intoxification - that’s how much.
“Also, Phelps didn’t admit to smoking pot, he admitted to regrettable behavior. Presumably about smoking pot, but regrettable behavior covers a lot of ground.”
He was smoking pot. That was the claim. He could have denied it.
In which case the alcoholics life would have been disrupted by the alcohol. The intoxicating nature of alcohol caused problems for him. What proof do you have that Phelps had problems after being stoned? According to the claims of the people there it didn’t look like the first time he had done it. So there is at least a small chance that he managed to win 14 gold medals after smoking marijuana. Doesn’t sound like it was causing him any problems. Camera phones on the other hand...
Alcohol's effects start with the first drop consumed. The first two drinks bring mild relaxation, enhanced sense of well-being, and a feeling of conviviality, and that is why people drink alcohol. They hopefully stop drinking before they reach impairment, but they aren't drinking alcohol just for the taste, as is evidenced by the relatively poor sales of non-alcoholic beer and wine.
Your dichotomy is false.