Free Republic

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Michael Phelps has been suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming, the latest fallout from a photo that showed the Olympic great inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

Marijuana has been in the news lately thanks to that infamous photo of Olympic swimming champ Michael Phelps puffing on a bong. But imagine Phelps had been smoking a joint instead. It turns out he would have been contributing to the national coffers. There is a small federal tax on rolling papers and it is about to get bigger. I came upon that bit of trivia while researching the children's health insurance bill that passed Congress yesterday and was promptly signed by President Obama. The new program will be partially funded by big increases in smoking taxes. That includes taxes...

Advertising Age magazine is reporting that Kellogg is becoming the first company to drop Michael Phelps as a spokesperson because of a picture showing him smoking marijuana out of a bong. The company also said it will not renew its sponsorship of the Olympic team, which expired in December.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says he will charge Michael Phelps with a crime if he determines the Olympics hero smoked marijuana in Richland County. Phelps, who set a record with eight gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics, was photographed smoking a marijuana pipe at a November party in Columbia. The picture was published in the British newspaper News of the World. Phelps apologized Sunday, calling his behavior “inappropriate.” “This case is no different than any other case,” Lott said Monday. “This one might be a lot easier since we have photographs of someone using drugs...