AP photo
The Ganga League

This guy at ESPN thought he was being pretty clever with this snarky little piece on all the NFL players that have been fined or arrested for cannabis use. I guess it's mildly amusing if you know the players, (I don't), but the real point is just how many of the best players in the country functioned perfectly well under the influence of the plant and also illustrates how the punishment for ingesting a natural substance was worse than the actual use of the herb.

Gallo remarks, "And considering that long-term marijuana might lead to motivational problems, impaired judgment and loss of ambition, it's no wonder Williams thought it wise to give up the millions of dollars remaining on his contract for a life of joblessness and bong hits."

This sort of holier-than-thou judgments really bug me and goes to show just how mindlessly greedy this society has become. Why do they blame a plant for "motivational problems" when it's more likely that Williams simply didn't want to continue enduring the indignity of peeing in a cup and having his personal life dictated by the NFL's Big Brother is Watching You program.

So what if he gave up millions. He's already made millions. No doubt he has enough money to live a simple and comfortable life already. He doesn't need more money, what he needed was the freedom to make his own choices and live his life in peace.

Sure, cannabis smokers sometimes lack motivation but that's not the fault of the plant, that arises from deeper psychological causes. Marijuana abuse can be a symptom but it is not the cause. More often, cannabis helps one put things into perspective. Coming to the realization that peace of mind is more valuable than receiving millions for giving up personal sovereignty and risking potential permanent physical injuries seems to be a wise and thoughtful choice to me.