Kevin Faulk pleads no contest, given probation

[MoLewisrocks]

Well I'm not going to respond to--or read--all of what MoLewis posted above. I'm just going to say that it continues to be a shame that pot isn't legalized in this country, and I don't even smoke. Granted, as a league rule Faulk is in the wrong here no matter how you shake it and as a fan I wish he had a bit more restraint.

All that said, likening pot smoking to driving drunk seems a bit ridiculous to me...I'm not even going to go into why, but if you believe that to be true then you've watched too many of the scare-tactic commercials from the 90's.

See, that's the only REAL issue here. The decriminilize my pot people just can't ever let it be that. Their persecution complex radar goes off. And that is the reality based correlation to DUI - both are illegal.

As a product of generations of alcoholics I never developed a taste for the stuff. But as a youngster I was desperate to have the fun everyone reportedly associated with getting buzzed or high. For me drinking enough to experience that came at a price I determined was not very much fun... So naturally I tried the alternative. It made me foolish and stupid, which I determined was not all that much fun either...

My family now has additional generations of addictive personalities who think you can't be happy unless you can be buzzed. Most of the next generation has spent some time in expensive rebab as a result. Some even as guests of the state. And the sad reality is none of them - not to mention their now soda sipping parents - ever seem very happy to me, just alternately and collectively foolish and miserable.

If you can't enjoy life straight up your recreational $$$ is probably better spent on therapy. Particularly if you're risking jail time and loss of livlihood in the process seeking your illusive happy place. Rationalize all you want but that's the simple reality.

 

[VJCPatriot]

It's not about what you care about.

And make fun all you want but what someone who plays for your team does recreationally with their recreational time that impacts their ability to play (because of possible suspension...) is what fans give a **** about. It would be no different if he were abusing a legal substance say by driving while intoxicated. If this lands him in the pee in a cup program, and it likely will now that he has pled no contest (not to mention he may have already been in the program and we wouldn't know it), any further infractions risk possible suspension either under the substance abuse program or the commissioner's conduct policy. THAT is what is stupid about a player making millions playing a game they can only hope to participate in for a decade or so. He'll have plenty of recreational time to do what ever the F he cares to once his all too brief professional football career is over - which at his age will be in another 2-3 seasons during which this team is paying him to be a multi million dollar third down back because his presence on the field matters that much...

You summed it up for me pretty well. It's not so much going down on pot usage. It's the fact that using that pot will get Faulk into trouble, it's against the law, it's against league policy and he KNOWS this. When Faulk gets into trouble with the league, our dear team, the Patriots gets into trouble. And that is something I don't like one bit. It's just not a smart thing to do.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The issue is not whether doobies should be legal vis-a-vis-alcohol, the issue which many seem to miss is the blatant irresponsibility of someone not just risking their job but their entire career and family's economic well being over a recreational choice that is prohibited by the employer. I'm a big Faulk fan, on the field and off - he's a major positive force in his community, but that does not excuse his short sighted self-absorbed bad choice to risk everything in his career and his family's welfare to indulge a pleasure.

 

[godef]

Except that it is LEGAL to drink/possess alchohol. Gee, what an oversight!

And that is the only REAL difference between booze and pot: one is legal and the other isn't.

When I tell my son why he shouldn't smoke pot, that's exactly what I tell him: because it's illegal and thus will get him into more trouble than it's worth should he be caught.

He thanks me for my honesty, and I rest with perhaps a bit more assurance that, when the day comes that he is tempted to try REAL drugs, he won't think to himself, "Well, he lied to me about pot [being dangerous], so he's probably lied to me about cocaine and heroin, too."

 

[signbabybrady]

And that is the only REAL difference between booze and pot: one is legal and the other isn't.

When I tell my son why he shouldn't smoke pot, that's exactly what I tell him: because it's illegal and thus will get him into more trouble than it's worth should he be caught.

He thanks me for my honesty, and I rest with perhaps a bit more assurance that, when the day comes that he is tempted to try REAL drugs, he won't think to himself, "Well, he lied to me about pot [being dangerous], so he's probably lied to me about cocaine and heroin, too."

I was going to stay out of this argument all together because it usually goes nowhere but you bring up the scary truth about pot being illegall and the reeefer madness that follows it.

When compared to other drugs and to Alchoal pot is pretty tame and harmless but by making it Illegal and saying it is awful you scare kids into believing this and when they do try it they feel as though they were lied to and may inturn try to find out what else they were lied to about and may get into big trouble that way.


I will finish by saying that I have friends with alchoal problems and friends with hard drug problems and I don't drink much, I don't drink often, and I certainly don't do hard drugs. I do smoke pot and pretty heavy to, but I have no issues (other than avoiding the legality). I have a full time job and I am saving money, I don't jones, I don't beg and plead for every last dime so I can get one more fix, I haven't abused anyone because of what I do. To lump something so harmless in with things so dangerous for yuo is in turn dangerous.

 

[rusH1023]

If you can't enjoy life straight up your recreational $$$ is probably better spent on therapy. Particularly if you're risking jail time and loss of livlihood in the process seeking your illusive happy place. Rationalize all you want but that's the simple reality.

Mo, you're sounding a bit self-righteous. I generally enjoy reading your comments, but please. Your logic in the last paragraph is fine for you and your family to live by, but self-preservation through living straight-edge is a little unrealistic for EVERYONE to practice -- or have to. And therapy as a result of recreational drug or alcohol use? I'm not sure what you do for a living, but as the editor of a magazine in Las Vegas, its part of my job to be out having drinks with people and enjoying that culture. I think I'll be ok in the long run.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

And that is the only REAL difference between booze and pot: one is legal and the other isn't.

When I tell my son why he shouldn't smoke pot, that's exactly what I tell him: because it's illegal and thus will get him into more trouble than it's worth should he be caught.

He thanks me for my honesty, and I rest with perhaps a bit more assurance that, when the day comes that he is tempted to try REAL drugs, he won't think to himself, "Well, he lied to me about pot [being dangerous], so he's probably lied to me about cocaine and heroin, too."

you sound like a great dad. that's very good advice for all of us.

 

[Sivy]

Its always easy to tell who does and doesn't smoke pot on messageboards

I dont smoke weed, but I know a thing or two about plea deals, and I know he shouldnt have taken the deal.

 

[Deus Irae]

1.) Marijuana use is illegal

2.) Marijuana does have harmful effects

3.) The Players' Union was foolish enough to allow the NFL to include drugs that aren't deemed performance enhancing in the banned substances list

 

[Patjew]

Breaking a stupid law is stupid, especially for a public figure.

But I still love you, KFF.

 

[hambone1818]

I will finish by saying that I have friends with alchoal problems and friends with hard drug problems and I don't drink much, I don't drink often, and I certainly don't do hard drugs. I do smoke pot and pretty heavy to, but I have no issues (other than avoiding the legality).

Other than the ability to spell alcohol (sorry, it was just too easy and you had it in there twice, I had to jump all over that).

1.) Marijuana use is illegal

2.) Marijuana does have harmful effects

3.) The Players' Union was foolish enough to allow the NFL to include drugs that aren't deemed performance enhancing in the banned substances list

1) Obviously true

2)What if I argued that food has harmful effects (look at the obesity issues plaguing the country, leading to heart failure, diabetes, etc, etc)? How about certain over-the-counter drugs, which if taken in high enough doses can be lethal? Should we start banning all 'harmful' substances? Now that I think about it, I knew a kid who drowned, and another one who fell off his bike and broke his back. Let's get rid of the water and all forms of transportation, too, we wouldn't want people to lead anything but a Puritanical, clean, healthy life and live to 110 years old, because that's what everyone wants.

3) Agreed, but I'm guessing that's something that helps keep Congress off their back re: anti-trust exemptions. If they don't ban substances that are illegal within the country they're performing Congress is bound to pounce all over them.
(Sorry to continue so OT, but this is an issue that really gets me...marijuana and steroids, I just don't understand the countries stance on either of them...I'll finish by saying what I said in my first post: I don't agree with the law or the NFL's policy, but dem's da rules. As someone else pointed out, the lifespan of an NFL running back is so short it's amazing that people continue to hurt their stock when they only have 5-7 years--if that--in the league.

 

[signbabybrady]

Other than the ability to spell alcohol (sorry, it was just too easy and you had it in there twice, I had to jump all over that).

Wow, that was dumb of me, go smoke another one huh.

Nice zing.

 

[Deus Irae]

2)What if I argued that food has harmful effects (look at the obesity issues plaguing the country, leading to heart failure, diabetes, etc, etc)? How about certian over-the-counter drugs, which if taken in high enough doses can be lethal? Should we start banning all 'harmful' substances? Now that I think about it, I knew a kid who drowned, and another one who fell off his bike and broke his back. Let's get rid of those, too, we wouldn't want people to lead anything but a Puritanical, clean, healthy life and live to 110, because that's what everyone wants.

My quote about marijuana being dangerous was a response to an assertion that it's not (I should have quoted the line before, but I didn't think it was something worth calling anyone out on):

Well, he lied to me about pot [being dangerous]

I, personally, don't think it's the business of the Federal Government to tell people that they can't use marijuana. For that matter, I don't think it's something that state governments should concern themselves with either. However, false statements in defense of using it are just as 'unfair' as false statements in opposition of using it. As you imply, pretty much everything we take into our bodies will have some negative effects, even if they also have positive effects. Even aspirin has a downside, after all.

 

[signbabybrady]

My quote about marijuana being dangerous was a response to an assertion that it's not (I should have quoted the line before, but I didn't think it was something worth calling anyone out on):



I, personally, don't think it's the business of the Federal Government to tell people that they can't use marijuana. For that matter, I don't think it's something that state governments should concern themselves with either. However, false statements in defense of using it are just as 'unfair' as false statements in opposition of using it. As you imply, pretty much everything we take into our bodies will have some negative effects, even if they also have positive effects. Even aspirin has a downside, after all.

negative effect and dangerous are two different things.

 

[Deus Irae]

negative effect and dangerous are two different things.

Call me when psychosis stops being dangerous. Then we'll start talking about cancer and the like.

 

[signbabybrady]

Call me when psychosis stops being dangerous. Then we'll start talking about cancer and the like.

Studies have not been able to link Marijuana to cancer but don't let facts get in the way. I am not sure about psycosis either but never heard any facts so can't dispute.

 

[Pujo]

Studies have not been able to link Marijuana to cancer but don't let facts get in the way. I am not sure about psycosis either but never heard any facts so can't dispute.

It would be silly to think that something that's inhaled as a hot smoke into the lungs and causes an altered state of mind may not have a negative effect on some people. I've known people I would not want to see stoned. On the other hand, people do things that are a little dangerous all the time - more people die from skydiving every year than will ever be killed by marijuana, so that's not to say it should be illegal. Both sides over- and under- estimate the risks, the truth is somewhere in between.

 

[rabthepat]

I was surprised that Kevin, at his age, was doing any illegal drugs while under contract in the NFL. He just seemed more mature that that. Perhaps the pot clouded his judgement?

 

[signbabybrady]

It would be silly to think that something that's inhaled as a hot smoke into the lungs and causes an altered state of mind may not have a negative effect on some people. I've known people I would not want to see stoned. On the other hand, people do things that are a little dangerous all the time - more people die from skydiving every year than will ever be killed by marijuana, so that's not to say it should be illegal. Both sides over- and under- estimate the risks, the truth is somewhere in between.

I am not denying it as some negative effects but people act like it is the worst thing in the world.

 

[Kontradiction]

There's obviously a bunch of old men in this thread.