The King of Irony

I'd award the King of Irony to the way not so long ago Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps was catching all kinds of BS for being photographed smoking America's favorite smoke.

By contrast, Lance Armstrong, champion bicycle racer and cancer survivor, is now shilling for beer. Ironic how one gets roasted for imbibing while the other gets rewarded.

Of course, there is no evidence that either beer or marijuana will enhace athletic abilities. Which would be funnier, stoner Olympics or drunk Olympics? Probably stoner, although you have to wonder what influence someone was under when they created some of these reality shows on TV. Did someone sober actually come up with the idea for Survivor?

I know that some people will point out that one is legal and one is illegal, but this of course, is only a temporary state. In our parents lifetime, for a number of years, beer was illegal while smoke was legal. I predict that one day within our lifetimes, we will again see smoke totally legal.

The irony is strong in this case too, since there is ample evidence that marijuana has beneficial medicinal uses, while none has been established for beer, although both can make a person happy for a while.

Although I have heard of people drinking themselves to death, I have never heard of anyone smoking themselves to death.

But don't get me wrong. I am all in favor of both being legal and letting the customer decide what they would like to enjoy. Some people have also speculated that making smoke legal and taxing it could help boost the economy and contribute to the tax base, rather than wasting taxpayer money trying to stop production and distribution of smoke.

Can you imagine when the tables turn again, and some champion athlete will be featured in ad campaigns for their favorite brand of weed?

One of these days we will look back on the silliness of all this. Some of us already do.