How to Use Cannabis Responsibly and Safely The Experience of Getting High
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New York Daily News, 2003-05-06 (Tue) Smoking is NORML by Michael O'Keeffe
Mark Stepnoski was an All-American at Pitt for his performance on the
football field and an Academic All-American for his work in the
classroom.
He was a five-time Pro Bowl lineman who won two Super Bowl rings with
the Cowboys and punched open many of the holes Emmitt Smith ran
through on his way to the NFL's all-time rushing record. He also
smokes dope.
Cops and counselors say one reason to wage war on marijuana is that
it robs kids of their motivation. But Stepnoski was one of the NFL's
premier centers for 13 years (Cowboys and Oilers), even though he had
been smoking marijuana regularly since high school.
"You can't have amotivational syndrome if you're going to play in the
NFL," says Stepnoski, who retired after the 2001 season to become the
president of the Texas chapter of the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws. "That's one of the reasons why I decided to
get involved with NORML, to dispel some of the myths about the drug
and its users. Since I was a kid, I wanted to play in the NFL. Even
though I occasionally used marijuana, it never prevented me from
attaining my goals."
A handful of celebrities - including singer Willie Nelson, talk-show
host Bill Maher, gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson - are also
active in NORML, but Allen St. Pierre, the group's executive
director, says Stepnoski is the first pro athlete from a mainstream
sport to join the cause. Many have expressed support, he says, but
fear their careers will suffer or they'll be targeted by authorities.
"If there is one thing that is stopping people from speaking out,
it's the fear of greater scrutiny," he says. "It's not just the
police. It's the IRS. People don't want to give up everything they've
worked for just because they believe marijuana laws should be
changed."
Stepnoski hasn't been targeted for his work with NORML, but he has
become a hit with its members. A recent E-mail fund-raising appeal
that featured Stepnoski was the most successful in NORML's history,
St. Pierre says.
"Bigger than the ones that featured Maher or Willie," he says.
"People really wanted to congratulate him for his courage in speaking
out."
Stepnoski's new job is working to stop Americans from going to prison
for smoking a substance that has already been decriminalized in
Western Europe, Canada, Australia and some states (offenders get a
ticket rather than being arrested). He is even paying the bill for
NORML's lobbyist in Austin - he estimates the cost at about $15,000 -
and serves on its national advisory board.
Stepnoski spent much of this legislative session lobbying to lessen
the penalty for pot possession in the Lone Star State. Currently,
possession of two ounces or less is punishable by up to 180 days in
jail and a fine up to $2,000; the bill, which has been stuck in
committee, would make possession of one ounce or less punishable by a
$500 fine.
"We're trying to get marijuana reclassified so people can pay a
ticket instead of going to jail," says Stepnoski. "The punishment
doesn't fit the crime."
Marijuana is definitely not for everybody, says Stepnoski, who saw
the dark side of drugs as a mainstay of the rock 'n' roll Cowboys of
the '90s. Teammate Michael Irvin, a regular at the Cowboys' infamous
"White House" party scene, was convicted in 1996 on felony drug
charges. Another, Mark Tuinei, died from a heroin overdose in 1999.
Nate Newton, meanwhile, is in prison after convictions for
transporting large amounts of marijuana.
But Stepnoski believes laws that make pot a felony are more dangerous
than pot itself, and when used responsibly, marijuana is no more
problematic than alcohol.
"The vast majority of people who use it are responsible adults,"
Stepnoski says.
Stepnoski first tried marijuana during his high school days in Erie,
Pa., and he continued to smoke pot through his football career,
abstaining the day before games to keep his mental edge.
He says he also smoked pot to take the edge off a brutal sport.
"After a game you need something to relax," he says. "I'd rather
smoke than take painkillers."
Docs: Steroids are worse
Marijuana is bad for sports, but not as bad as steroids, according to
a group of doctors working on a standardized banned substance list
for the 2004 Olympics.
The panel of doctors affiliated with the World Anti-Doping Agency
that met in Lausanne, Switzerland, this weekend recommended that
marijuana be considered a "specified substance," which means less
severe penalties than performance-enhancers such as steroids or
amphetamines.
Some sports, including skiing and snowboarding, gymnastics and
diving, currently impose the stiffer performance-enhancing penalties
on their athletes, saying they use pot to help focus and calm nerves.
The proposed penalties for athletes who test positive for marijuana
range from a warning to a one-year suspension for the first offense.
A second violation under the new rules brings a two-year suspension.
The first-time penalty for testing positive for performance-enhancing
drugs is a two-year suspension.
"Some people will say we went easy on marijuana, but we did not,"
says Long Island physician Gary Wadler, a member of the WADA panel
and an NYU professor. "We have spent two years off and on discussing
this issue. This was not capricious or willy-nilly."
The proposed rules won't do much for snowboarder Tara Zwink, who
tested positive for pot in January and got the harsher two-year
suspension currently in place for her sport. Wadler says the new
rules won't be retroactive.
WADA is instituting a global anti-doping policy that includes uniform
testing procedures and punishments. If the panel's recommendations
are approved by the WADA executive board in September, they will go
into effect in January.
Police blotter
Sgt. Rob Huss of the Washington State Patrol is stationed on I-5
between Seattle and Portland when he pulls over the bright yellow
Hummer 2 for speeding late on the evening of Nov. 21, 2002 (84 mph in
a 70 mph zone).
As he approaches the SUV, Huss catches a whiff of something other
than cigarette smoke. The passenger in the front is none other than
Damon Stoudamire of the Portland Trail Blazers, and his teammate
Rasheed Wallace is in the back. Edward Smith is the driver.
After a thorough search of the military-style SUV (owned by
Stoudamire), weed is discovered in the glove compartment in a "tin
box with a Bob Marley picture on it." All three men are immediately
placed under arrest for marijuana possession (less than 40 grams, a
misdemeanor under Washington law).
"I had to ask Stoudamire what he did," Huss says later. "I don't
follow basketball or sports very much. But both were very
cooperative."
Here is a look at some of the athletes who were arrested in 2000 for
marijuana possession:
JANUARY Denshio L. Cook, former Oklahoma State DT; Greg Yeldell, Ohio
State football and track star; B.J. Tiger, backup Oklahoma State QB;
Jermaine Hinkson, former Virginia Tech DL
FEBRUARY
Troy Lee West, former Oklahoma State football player; Fred Lane,
Carolina Panthers (wife later accused of his murder); Rodney Artmore,
Green Bay DB; Isaac Hawkins, Pitt basketball player
MARCH
Desmond Allison, Kentucky forward; Rolan Roberts, Va. Tech forward
APRIL
Bruce Davis, South Dakota football player; Bam Morris, former Chiefs
RB; Sherman Williams, former Cowboy RB Kenyatta Burris, DeCarlos
Anderson, Leonard Peel, former Iowa State football players; Rodney
Buford, Miami Heat guard; De'Mond Parker, Green Bay RB Ty Douthard,
former Illinois football player
MAY
Michael Southall, former Kentucky basketball recruit; Justin Huish,
'96 Olympic gold medalist in archery
JUNE
Jeffrey Newton, Indiana forward; Rick Jones, Eastern Kentucky and
former Vanderbilt basketball player
JULY
Boo Williams and Kevin Johnson, former Univ. South Carolina football
players; Sam Mack, former NBA guard; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, former Laker
AUGUST
DeShaun Foster, UCLA RB; Michael Irvin, former Cowboy; Keith
Henderson, former 49er; RB Horace Willis, Rodney Edwards, Darrell
Daughtrey, Anton Cochran, Georgia Military College football players;
Mitch Ohnstad, Minnesota basketball player
SEPTEMBER
Charlie Jackson, South Florida football player; Chris Antley, jockey
(later found dead in his home)
NOVEMBER
Richard Alston, East Carolina backup QB; Brandon Ford, Missouri TE
DECEMBER
Jasper Sanks, Georgia RB
Source: New York Daily News © 2002 Daily News, L.P. |
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