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Posted by CN Staff on August 09, 2004 at 08:00:26 PT By Bill O'Reilly, Creators Syndicate Source: Naples Daily News 
Star Miami Dolphin running back Ricky Williams has walked away from millions of dollars in part because of marijuana. Williams told the Miami Herald that he smoked weed constantly and masked his use by consuming a substance called "Extra Clean." Nevertheless, Williams failed three drug tests administered by the NFL and finally decided to retire at age 27, citing his desire to continue smoking pot as one of the reasons. According to the Health and Human Services Department, less than 2 percent of American youths had ever used marijuana back in the year 1962. Forty years later, that percentage had increased to an astounding 54 percent. The simple question is: What dynamic has changed in America to account for the drastic increase in the consumption of marijuana? The watershed event, of course, was the rise of the anti-war movement in the late 1960s. Smoking pot became the appetizer for the Vietnam protest entree. The rock world immediately got involved, and intoxication celebration was underway. Since that time, marijuana use, especially among young people, has steadily increased and now about 20 percent of high school seniors smoke pot on a regular basis. Interestingly, up until 1992, marijuana use was far more common among whites than minority Americans, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health. But in the nineties, pot consumption by African-American men and women between the ages of 18 and 29 increased 224 percent! The 10 years between '92 and 2002 coincided with the rise of the rap industry. Icons such as Snoop Dogg and Ludacris consistently glorified marijuana, and I believe their message fell on willing ears. A generation of Americans kids, of all colors, were (and continue to be) pounded by rhythms and lyrics encouraging a libertine lifestyle with a heavy emphasis on drug use and exploitative sex. How could this not take a toll? Anyway, Ricky Williams and millions of other young Americans love their pot and are willing to make great sacrifices to consume it. Think about all the good Williams could have done with the money he was earning. Life in the National Football League is no easy venture, but athletic ability is a gift that should not be discarded lightly. The bigger picture is that marijuana use is now largely accepted by American society, even in the case of young people. This is a disaster for kids. Awash in drugs and alcohol, we are now a culture where children are exposed to intoxicating agents practically from the time they reach the age of reason (7 years). And any child who becomes involved with mind-altering substances loses their childhood instantly. They are never the same. But how often do you hear the media speak out against substance consumption? It is winked at, excused, and even tacitly encouraged by many pundits and activists. That is the great change since 1962. Getting high is no longer even an issue in many quarters — it is standard procedure. Ricky Williams should be the poster boy for the marijuana debate. The man obviously is seeking emotional comfort, and the price of that comfort is somewhere around $15 million dollars. You can't get much higher than that. Veteran TV news anchor Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News show "The O'Reilly Factor" and author of the book "Who's Looking Out For You?" Source: Naples Daily News (FL) Related Articles: Ricky's Reefer Madness Evans: NFL Drug Tests Push Limits Williams Fails Third Drug Test Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #19 posted by John Tyler on August 10, 2004 at 20:14:31 PT |
| O'Reilly is so off base with this article. Why should Ricky have to play football to satisfy drunken fans. Football is an incrediblely brutal sport. Your body takes an awful pounding. It is a game of pain that keeps on hurting long after the game is over. I've know guys that played in high school and college and they have told me by the time they were thirty they ached all over all the time. So, Ricky, take the money and the weed and go your own way. We understand, even if jerks, like O'Reilly, don't. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #18 posted by elfman_420 on August 10, 2004 at 11:23:07 PT |
| "Cornwell acknowledged that NFL team owners use the drug-testing policy to reduce players' earning power. "There have been players that I represented who have had multiple violations of league-sponsored substance abuse policy and were facing some level of suspension. That certainly had a chilling effect on their marketability finding teams to sign them, and then once a team is willing to sign them, the structure of the contract." So does the same concept apply in the "real" world as well? Absolutely. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #17 posted by The GCW on August 10, 2004 at 04:27:39 PT |
| When I read this this morning, it reminded Me of Ricky Williams. Ricky Williams.
Ricky Williams.
Ricky Williams.
(a household name) "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again..." -John 10:18. & The cannabis prohibitionist is like the "theif." "The theif comes only to steal and kill and destroy;..." -John 10:10. From the light of 420 The war on cannabis is akin to fixing a race horse track; not just a horse but the whole track. The war on cannabis is illegal for the same reasons. They both negatively effect the outcome for all involved, except for the few that do the deceiving. Darkness walkers. Propell spiritual mechanisms in order to progress to the next realities that are sitting on the edge of reality waiting to be noticed. It is 2004 and some of those realities are unavailable till things occur that are just ahead. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #16 posted by Virgil on August 09, 2004 at 17:45:30 PT |
| at http://www.counterpunch.org/gardner08072004.html - This Fred Garner had another drugwarfarce article last week at CounterPunch. He wrote a long piece about this and tells of Ricky Williams diary at his website- http://run-ricky-run.com/ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #15 posted by darlingnikkie on August 09, 2004 at 17:39:20 PT |
| O'Reilly should be more angry that children are stuffed full of behavioral drugs and antidepressants ... I bet there are more seven-year-olds using prescription drugs at the suggestion of their teachers than marijuana. Guys like Bill will also never understand that more children will simply choose to experiment with drugs earlier if they see adult careers can be destroyed by drug laws. **** "Ricky Williams should be the poster boy for the marijuana debate." *** O'Reilly is almost correct on this point. Ricky Williams needs to team up with NORML. He needs to speak out on this issue so that future athletes aren't hindered by these insane laws and regulations that meddle with everyone's right to privacy. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #14 posted by mayan on August 09, 2004 at 14:47:58 PT |
| Life in the National Football League is no easy venture, but athletic ability is a gift that should not be discarded lightly. Freedom should not be discarded, period. Ricky Williams should be the poster boy for the marijuana debate. The man obviously is seeking emotional comfort, and the price of that comfort is somewhere around $15 million dollars. You can't get much higher than that.Ricky Williams is seeking freedom. A fascist like Bill "O'Really" can't grasp the concept. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #13 posted by Hope on August 09, 2004 at 12:45:19 PT |
| Great observation, Observer. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #12 posted by potpal on August 09, 2004 at 12:28:19 PT |
| Think about all the good Williams could have done with the money... Now use the same logic with the billions wasted each year on the war on some drugs... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by observer on August 09, 2004 at 12:02:52 PT |
| And any child who becomes involved with mind-altering substances loses their childhood instantly. They are never the same. Magical thinking. As if marijuana was some magical totem or fetish that could magically cause loss of "their childhood instantly" when they become "involved" (whatever that means) with it. It is bull, but it is very common thinking. "Drugs," (drugs declared illegal by politicians) you see, have these Mysterious Magical Powers. Oh yeah. They have magical powers to rob kids of "their childhood instantly." Hoo boy. Lemme guess: realists like O'Reilly will now turn around and accuse pot smokers of escaping from reality? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by Jose Melendez on August 09, 2004 at 11:55:02 PT |
| from: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12704.shtml "My philosophy is if you want to smoke marijuana in your basement, I don't care." Bill O'Reilly
[ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by RasAric on August 09, 2004 at 11:33:59 PT |
| Will cannabis become accepted by the NFL(Nazi Fascist League), or will the "N(azi).F.L. put a new clause in their contracts allowing them to fire and seize a players assets for using cannabis. Hmmmmm what will these control freaks do to keep America's athletes from becoming "too American"? Funny how other countries are more American then.....well, Americans [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by FoM on August 09, 2004 at 11:17:04 PT |
| My husband has been drug testing since 93. He was just called in for another random. I think this makes 6 randoms in about a year. I've lost track but I resent it. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by E_Johnson on August 09, 2004 at 11:12:39 PT |
| Williams won't bow down to the bullies so it's his fault for being weak. Urine testing is sexual abuse. Is it any coincidence that urine testing and prison rape have both risen in this society together? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by schmeff on August 09, 2004 at 10:07:07 PT |
| ...money vs freedom? A corporate shill like O'Reilly can't even fathom the concept. Williams opted for freedom, and basically told the NFL to take their money and CONTROL and shove it. I'm with BigDawg: "Nuttin but respect here for that man." [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on August 09, 2004 at 10:02:28 PT |
| Ah, I see now...the reason everyone in the US smokes MJ is because of black sports stars and music entertainers. Where have I heard this before.....??? Oh yeah, Anslinger 80 years ago. O'Reilly would be SO much happier and relaxed if he just admitted to himself that he's gay and started to enjoy life. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 09, 2004 at 09:51:48 PT |
| The Prozac in the drinking water is in the UK not here but it could be in our water too. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 09, 2004 at 09:18:27 PT |
| BigDawg I agree with you. Money versus peace of mind. They should worry about Prozac in the drinking water. I took that drug years ago for a few months and it made me more depressed then I already was. Cannabis doesn't do that to people. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by BigDawg on August 09, 2004 at 09:07:29 PT |
| Ricky WIlliams HAS money now and no longer has to adhere to the rediculous demands of the powers that be. It irks them to no end that he is willing to trade 15 million bucks for peace of mind. Nuttin but respect here for that man. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by The GCW on August 09, 2004 at 08:54:48 PT |
| "But in the nineties, pot consumption by African-American men and women between the ages of 18 and 29 increased 224 percent!" The African-American men and women... are just like everyone else; given a choice and an education they will choose cannabis over many other options... like crack and meth... See here... US CO: PUB LTE: PEOPLE ARE SMART ABOUT DRUGS LIKE METH; POT BUSTS WON'T HELP RE-ELECT MINOR http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1128/a03.html?397 (by the way, that LTE is currently part of many others and could always use some additional educational input...) And now in Canada since they are spending extra time confronting humans that choose to use and grow the safe cannabis plant, We see an increase in meth... And Ricky Williams has the money and the plant. Oh La La The combo. Oh La La La La [ Post Comment ] |
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