Youth view on Phelps' pot use: Why apologize?

Ten years ago, a photo that showed an athlete such as Michael Phelps apparently getting high at a party probably would have resulted in considerable fallout.

That might still happen to the athlete who has won the most gold medals in Olympic history, who has millions of dollars in endorsements riding on the outcome. But his admission that he used "bad judgment" has been greeted mostly with forgiveness, humor or a shrug of the shoulders.

No sponsor has tried to drop him, and four reiterated their support. Even Phelps' Facebook page was bombarded with messages of support — with many of his younger fans expressing frustration that he even felt compelled to apologize.

That's frustrating to Dr. Gary Wadler, a professor of medicine at New York University and a key adviser to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He said he was disappointed because he regards any use of illegal drugs as antithetical to the spirit of sports.

"For probably the most accomplished athlete in the history of the Olympics to be doing that, I found it very disheartening," Wadler said. "Any sanctioning aside, the message it sent is very sad to me."

But for the most part, Wadler is swimming against public opinion.

"It's something that seems to happen almost every day to a professional athlete," said Bob Dorfman, a sports-marketing consultant for San Francisco-based Baker Street Partners. "For a 23-year-old kid who has been in heavy training for most of his life to want to blow off some steam, people are going to be pretty forgiving of that."

In part, that's a reflection of the way marijuana use is viewed by mainstream society today compared with the way it was viewed in the past. It's still illegal, yes, but it's not exactly high on the country's list of potential sins.

A 2006 report by the United Nations found that more than 160 million people use marijuana annually, and a U.S. government survey found that 83 million Americans have tried the drug at least once. Since 1996, 13 states have legalized it for medicinal use.

Two of the last three presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, have admitted experimenting with it, and George W. Bush simply declined to answer questions about past drug use. Clinton received more derision for claiming he had not inhaled than for saying he had tried pot. Barack Obama later played off the line, saying: "When I was a kid, I inhaled. That was the point."

Some of this generation's most successful entertainers — from film director Judd Apatow to Phelps' musical favorite, Lil Wayne — have laced their art with references to marijuana and the culture around it.

And then there are the hundreds of athletes who have either admitted marijuana use or been caught in possession of the drug. From Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Randy Moss, you could build a Hall of Fame of superstars who have been associated with pot. Santonio Holmes caught the game-winning pass in Sunday's Super Bowl, three months after he was charged with pot possession.

Dorfman, the sports marketer, said most people will regard Phelps' actions as harmless or at worst harmful only to him.

"There are so many worse things you can do in public, things that affect other people," he said. "I think his DUI was much worse. That could've killed someone."

Phelps' citation for driving under the influence in 2004 also came in the months following an intense Olympics. With two incidents now on his résumé, Phelps could seriously hurt his marketability with a third offense, Dorfman said.

"If you look at the numbers in studies, about 60 percent of kids in the ninth grade have experimented with drinking and drug use," said Dr. James Mulligan, executive director of Seabrook House, a nationally recognized inpatient drug- and alcohol-treatment facility in New Jersey.

"When those kids turn 30 years old, between 12 and 22 percent have problems with addiction. ... It looks like (Phelps) handled it reasonably well, but only he and his family members are going to know if they should be worried about this guy.

"If someone continues doing it when they know it's wrong, then that's when they might have to ask themselves if there is a problem."

But if Phelps doesn't have a problem, is this much ado about nothing?

Allen St. Pierre, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said he was thrilled to see images of high achievers smoking marijuana.

"It mainstreams the issue and highlights the fact that incredibly successful people, whether athletically or intellectually, are cannabis consumers," he said.