Dana Larsen would have liked to see Michael Phelps defend his marijuana use, thinks smoking before games could help athletes

Olympic champion Michael Phelps is in good company as a world-class athlete who uses marijuana. It’s a pity that he couldn’t have been brave enough to stand up for his relationship with the world’s most wonderful plant, instead of half-heartedly apologizing in an effort to salvage his sponsorship contracts.

Like a stoned jazz musician adding more complexity and beats to a song, time slowdown might allow an athlete to more rapidly evaluate different options, more quickly consider moves and maneuvers against competing players. Most marijuana research is done to show some sort of harm from the use of this plant, but not enough is being done to understand how cannabis can actually enhance and improve human abilities. Discovering how toking up possibly helps the world’s greatest athletes to better their performance could also teach us how this plant can better serve us all.