In case you don’t follow Portland Sports, you may not know, but our point guard, Damon Stoudamire, got busted in the Phoenix airport at the metal detector with 42 grams (1 1/2 oz) of marijuana wrapped in aluminum foil. Now he’s going to trial over this, his third marijuana-related incident while in the NBA. On October 1st, The Oregonian’s John Conzano wrote a column about the incident, part of which I’ve included here:

Damon Stoudamire will speak today, but there will be no questions about his ongoing court case.

…[snip]…

So, since he’s talking, what exactly is it we want Stoudamire to say? What words would make us believe in him again? How candid will he have to be to make us understand what it means to be young, addicted and foolish?

When he speaks, we certainly would love to hear Stoudamire say he’s sorry. And that he’s embarrassed. And that he understands he let down his teammates, coaches and everyone who lives in this state or follows the Blazers.

When he does it, he also could look the entire room in the eyes. And then, offer up this pledge: “I promise I won’t ever let you down again.”

Stoudamire could talk about how addictive marijuana is. And, also, how it slows reaction time. And then Stoudamire could give a brief history lesson on drugs and the professional athlete.

Stoudamire could explain how Olympian and NFL receiver Bob Hayes, once called “the world’s fastest human,” died as a result of prolonged alcohol and drug abuse. And also how the invincible Darryl Strawberry explained to a judge the only way he could stop using drugs is to be in jail.

He could tell us how the NBA environment, where team and league image is more important than an athlete’s health, can enable an athlete to keep using. He also could tell the truth about the NBA’s substance-abuse program: that it’s laughable and needs an overhaul.

Then Stoudamire could talk about Dwight Gooden, John Daly and Roy Tarpley, if only to prove that he understands how close he is to someday becoming one of them.

…[snip]…

You have to wonder whether Stoudamire realizes how fortunate he is. How lucky he is to be an NBA player with a guaranteed contract, and not a, say, an electrician or bus driver, who would have been fired for his three drug-related arrests.

Which, of course, I couldn’t just let that bit of drug demonizing lay unchallenged! So I wrote back to the Oregonian’s Sports Editor:

Mr. Canzano, I had to write because I have some issues with your editorial stance regarding the Stoudamire Airport Marijuana incident. Now, far be it from me to try to defend Damon Stoudamire’s past actions. The NBA has rules against the use of marijuana, and he knew that. The country has laws against marijuana, and he knew that too. Finally, the airports have metal detectors, and anyone with a functioning brain stem knows that aluminum foil is a metal. I cannot condone Stoudamire’s arrogance, stupidity, or misconduct.

However, in your denouncement of Stoudamire, you fall into the trap of demonizing marijuana with untrue statements and questionable logic. It’s not entirely your fault, as our government’s War On (Some Americans With Certain) Drugs has been hammering these talking points for sixty-plus years now. You’ve probably believed lies like “smoking a joint now is a gateway that will lead you to becoming a heroin junkie.” If you believe Charles Oakley, a former player who says “you got 60% of your league on marijuana,” then we should have back alleys filled with really tall heroin junkies by now.

You ask Stoudamire to talk about how addictive marijuana is and how it slows reaction time. But if Oakley’s statement of marijuana use in the NBA is to be believed, just how much could it be affecting performance? Bill Walton helped win a championship for this city and he wasn’t exactly Nancy Reagan in the Seventies. As for addictiveness, doctors from the National Institutes on Drug Abuse have rated marijuana less-addictive than caffeine. As for slow reaction times, those stats only hold up when the user is stoned. Sober, there is no difference in reaction times between a pot-smoker and a non-pot-smoker.

You bring up the specters of Bob Hayes and Darryl Strawberry, but conveniently fail to mention that their demons were cocaine and alcohol, not marijuana. You bring up Dwight Gooden (cocaine), John Daley (alcohol), and Roy Tarpley (alcohol) as examples of Stoudamire’s possible future. And if we are on the subject of drug-using athletes, did you consider Ross Rebagliati, whose use of marijuana didn’t seem to impair him from winning a gold medal? Or how about Dock Ellis pitching a no-hitter while on LSD?

Anyone with experience or knowledge of pot smokers knows that there’s a huge difference between marijuana and cocaine, heroin, or even alcohol. By lumping marijuana in with these truly destructive drugs, you purposefully confuse the issue. Yes, drugs are a scourge to society in general and sports in particular. But if we are to have a cogent debate of the issue, we should be clear about the truth of the issue. And the truth is that an NBA player — or any adult — smoking marijuana in their off-time is harming nobody.

Now, the fun part is that the Sports Editor replied and asked for my permission to print my letter, which I gave. But also, John Canzano sent me this terse reply:

Russ:

Thanks for the note.

Smoking marijuana is illegal.

Write anytime,

JC

Which was nice to receive and incredibly accurate and to the point. Not my point, but I’m sure someone’s point somewhere. But I suppose he gets lots of email, and he’s got lots of deadlines to meet. But, being the pain-in-the-ass that I am, I couldn’t help but reply to his reply:

John:

Thanks for the reply. I appreciated the article, and I think Stoudamire is an idiot who should be booted out of the league. Even the most whacked-out stoner knows aluminum foil is a metal and that might cause a problem at an airport. And if you’ve been in trouble for marijuana in the past, you might think you’d be under a bit of extra scrutiny, especially when you play for a team derisively known as the “Jail Blazers.”

But maybe you missed the point. I’m calling you out on your use of drug war hyperbole. To prophesy a drug-related death, end-of-career, or hopeless addiction for Stoudamire by calling up the pasts of Bob Hayes, Dwight Gooden, or Darryl Strawberry is to indict Stoudamire for conduct he’s never displayed — he’s never (as far as we know) used cocaine.

As far as marijuana is concerned, it is impossible to die from a marijuana overdose. Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and many other All-Stars who’ve admitted to smoking pot have had fabulous careers. The addictive qualities of marijuana are as negligble as caffeine, and far lower than alcohol or tobacco.

By replying with “smoking marijuana is illegal”, you point out the only destructive quality of the plant. It’s the same ol’ drug warrior message: “marijuana is bad because it’s illegal because it’s bad because it’s illegal…” And to prevent any reasonable debate on the merits of marijuana, opponents like you lump them in with truly destructive drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetimine. They’re all “illegal drugs.” Would you make an argument in favor of life sentences for rape, murder, and a slap in the face? After all, they’re all “illegal conduct.”

It should be enough to just stick to the facts: that marijuana is illegal, that it is bad P.R. for a professional sports team to have its players running afoul of the law, and that Stoudamire should be out of second chances and may have permanently derailed his career by now.

See kids, letter writing can be fun!

    ____________________________________________________________________

   |                                                                    

_  | "RADICAL" RUSS BELVILLE | Read More at http://radicalruss.net/blog/  

  | Portland, Oregon U.S.A. | Permission is granted for reprint of this      

  | © 2003 by Russ Belville | post, as long as this footer is included.