stop wasting our money on this insanity...

If only politicians would finally admit to the reality of the "War on Drugs" we might be able to get somewhere. The following is a column by Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star.

Quit crying double-standard over Phelps

By Jason Whitlock - Kansas City Star

There is no bigger fan of racial double-standards than yours truly. But those of you looking for one inside Michael Phelps' bong are misguided, stuck in the 1960s and worship at the Church of Al Sharp-tongue.

Don't send me any more e-mails complaining that if Phelps were black, he'd be dropped by his sponsors, locked in a cell next to O.J. Simpson and banned from all international competition.

If Phelps had dark skin and answered to "Jerome Washington," he'd be headed to Disney World, toting the Super Bowl MVP trophy he stole from James Harrison and Big Ben Roethlisberger.

Yeah, America gives its marketable, talented and wealthy weed-smokers the Santonio Holmes treatment. We forgive and quickly forget. Oh, I know there's a pattern of misbehavior with Michael Phelps. The cops busted him driving under the influence four years ago.

Well,the cops pinched Holmes twice in 2006, busting him for disorderly conduct and domestic violence — the charges were eventually dropped after smooth lawyering — and nabbed him ridin' dirty (three blunts) last October.Mickey Mouse doesn't care, and neither do you.

America's war on drugs is a scam to lock up poor people, a prop to advance political careers and an easy way for corrupt police and politicians to funnel millions of untraceable dollars into their own pockets. And you really want to play the if-so-and-so-was-black game over a dorky white swimmer pulling on a bong? Are you really that simple-minded?

The black president smoked weed. Rush Limbaugh was a junkie. Brett Favre had a fling with prescriptions. In college, I was Saddam Hussein and Crown and Chronic were my weapons of mass destruction.

I'm not going to be a hypocrite and blast this kid for blowing trees. And I'm not going to rip his sponsors for remaining loyal. Michael Phelps knows how to play the game. He's quick with the contrite, toke(n) apology and he maintains a boy-next-door image. Someone e-mailed me saying the media would be tougher on an NBA player captured on Kodak with his lips locked on a three-foot bong. Depends on the player. Shane Battier? We'd forget before tipoff, and we'd forgive without an apology. Now, if it's one of Human Tattoo Billboards or Lil Wayne Wannabes, we'd demand a Senate investigation and expect David Stern to punish him to the full extent of the law.Image is everything whether you're black or white. I got away with so much (spit) in high school simply because I spoke proper English, dressed appropriately, smiled at teachers, captained the football team and attended class. Everyone loved me, gave me the benefit of the doubt when I made a mistake and looked the other way when I spent the last semester of high school celebrating my full-ride scholarship to Ball State. It's not that difficult to play the game. You don't have to sell out. If you want to be a rebel and carry yourself like a recent parolee, then accept the consequences and quit whining. There are decisions I've made with my appearance that limit my chances of hooking up with Beyonce. I could cry about it, talk about how unfair life is for a man three to five pounds above his ideal weight, but no one wants to hear it. The truth is it is Beyonce's loss. I'm sorry. I digress. Rather than bellyaching about a racial double-standard, the Phelps case provides a wonderful platform to call for the legalization of marijuana (and all drugs). Check your 401k. We're broke. Obama's cabinet nominees are cheating on their taxes. We're wasting billions of dollars locking up and providing "free" health care to drug offenders. The government needs to take control of the mega-billion-dollar drug industry and use a portion of the money for rehabilitation facilities and the rest to help get us out of debt. If Michael Phelps just can't say no, why would we expect kids with far more depressing circumstances to avoid getting high? I'm sure many of you are reading this right now after having a legal drink and popping a legal prescription drug and you just don't understand why poor people don't go to the doctor and get a script for Xanax, Lexapro or Prozac. The beauty is, if things keep going the way they are, these middle-class and wealthy hypocrites will soon be poor and they'll have intimate knowledge of why many poor people self-medicate with marijuana and other drugs. I'm not an advocate of drugs. In the near 20 years since I graduated from college, I can count on two fingers how many times I've seen marijuana. I'm not even a regular drinker. I'm high on my life. I love it. Years ago I read a Los Angeles Times story detailing who uses drugs and who gets arrested for buying and selling drugs. The stats were damning, shocking and disturbing along racial and economic lines. My affinity for Crown and Chronic was cured. At the time, I was black, poor and living in a major city — the can't-miss recipe for an American drug arrest. Now, I'm black, relatively wealthy, an admitted former toker and living in the suburbs — a recipe for being elected president. Whitlock in 2012: I'll call for an end to the drug war, and Michael Phelps can be my vice president.