Tarnished Pot

Trey Smith

As of earlier this month, exiled LSU cornerback/kick returner Tyrann Mathieu was back in classes in Baton Rouge, paying his own way, and every indication from coach Les Miles was that his former star would have a "very legitimate chance" of returning to the team next year. That chance now seems significantly less legitimate after Mathieu was arrested along with three former teammates Thursday afternoon for possession of marijuana.
~ from Tyrann Mathieu, Jordan Jefferson Among Four Ex-LSU Players Booked on Marijuana Charges by Matt Hinton ~

We see these kinds of headlines frequently. The star athlete -- often a person of color -- has their reputation tarnished because they got caught smoking pot. We're not talking child porn here. We're not talking about violence towards anyone. We not talking about stealing or robbery. No, their reputation gets dragged through the mud because they were in possession of the wacky weed.

Upon entering Mathieu's apartment, officers reported "a strong odor of marijuana" and this led to the arrests. Three of the "suspects" are age 22, while Mathieu is a mere 20.

Imagine if this scene had played out so that, instead of a strong odor of marijuana, the officers had smelled tobacco in the form of cigarette or cigar smoke. No one would have thought a thing about it and it is very unlikely anyone would have been arrested.

What if the odor coming from the apartment was that of recently baked chocolate chip cookies and the officers had found the occupants gorging on them? While eating cookies nonstop is not good for a person's blood sugar and if it is habitual can lead to obesity and many corresponding health issues, we can be almost certain that such information wouldn't have merited a mention in the police report. It is highly unlikely -- even in Louisiana -- that any arrests would have been made for reckless eating!

What if the odor coming from the apartment was that of beer? Since Mathieu is underage, this might still have led to one or more arrests. However, if Mathieu was not present and the three 22 year olds were just sitting there sharing a beer, this again would not have led to national headlines.

No, it's only a story because of the marijuana, a substance that is no better or worse than tobacco or alcohol. It is a story only because of our outdated drug laws.

Now Mathieu -- who has been touted as a star college athlete and potential professional star as well -- is being looked down on for engaging in an activity that is not atypical in the least for a sizable segment of the population. His "character" is in question because he was hanging out with his buds and smoking a little weed.