Arrests Have Been Made in the Michael Phelps Pot Smoking Case

Police in Columbia, South Carolina are gathering evidence and arresting individuals who were at the party where Michael Phelps was famously photographed smoking marijuana from a bong, with the intent of making a case against the famous swimmer. Attorneys Joseph McCulloch and Dick Harpootlian told the Associated Press that the represent clients who were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and that their clients were specifically questioned about Phelps. From those comments, it seems clear that the police in Columbia have no real interest in dealing with the "lesser individuals" in the case, but will instead turn it into a witch hunt for Phelps.

Backing up that sentiment was Harpootlian, who noted that "After they arrested [my client], they didn’t ask him, ‘Where did you get the marijuana?’ or ‘Who sold it to you?’ Almost all the questions they asked him were about Michael Phelps." The clients represented by the aforementioned attorneys face up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $200 if convicted. Officials in Columbia would not comment on the case.

Getting right to the point – and, in all fairness, putting the local police in their place in the process – McCulloch noted, "Our clients answered questions but I don’t know that their information would be helpful to law enforcement. It seems to me that Richland County has a host of its own crime problems much more serious than a kid featured in a photograph with a bong in his hand." Though local police have been clear that Phelps will not receive special treatment because of his celebrity status, it’s already clear to everyone (except perhaps the local police) that he is, in fact, receiving special treatment…of the wrong kind. Said, McColloch, "I find it amazing the justification is they don’t want to treat him any differently just because he is a celebrity, and he is being treated far differently than any other Joe Blow who might have smoked marijuana four or five months ago." Enjoy the show South Carolinians – it’s your tax dollars at work.