For those of us that want to see Marcus Thomas a Buccaneer...

[Itchalot]

Move to Amsterdam.  This is America where everybody knows whats good for everybody else!

[klb55]

and to those bashing the kid, i believe sapp had a pot issue as well... turned out pretty good. it's just freakin pot. i know so many people that smoke pot its ridiculous. i dont know a single person who has ruined their life on pot. i know about 15 people that attend UF and get high almost daily. a friend of mine works as a paralegal and has smoked pot with many of lawyers. a friend of mines father is an engineer for some laser optics b.s. and is the biggest pot head i've seen.

anyone that says pot is worse than alcohol or it has this huge negative effect on you is ignorant and uninformed.

I have my own experiences and opinions which I'm pretty sure I did have for real, unless I fell asleep at the television set watching an episode of the reality show "Boring Real Life". And I think whats BS is to think that the majority of Americans who are against legalizing pot are ignorant and uninformed about it. They aren't. You have your opinions based on your experiences, I have mine, and other people have theirs.

My experiences are from the days when pot was pretty much accepted, more so than today. Now what happened in the last couple decades? Why hasn't the public changed its mind after all this time? People are just ignorant and uninformed? No they aren't. People have been trying to get pot to be legalized and accepted for decades, and all in all they've gotten nowhere. The majority of Americans know all about pot and they think it should continue to be against the law. I'm one of them.

I respect everyone's position on this matter but I have one question.  Why does society care if an adult makes the decision to smoke pot?  I'm very su**CENSORED**ious of laws enacted or that are on the books to protect me from myself.  I find it very curious as to why others feel the need to control what other people do.  Adults should be able to do what they want as long as they are not harming others.  I think the best position is to leave people alone and worry about your own life.

[Itchalot]

and to those bashing the kid, i believe sapp had a pot issue as well... turned out pretty good. it's just freakin pot. i know so many people that smoke pot its ridiculous. i dont know a single person who has ruined their life on pot....
anyone that says pot is worse than alcohol or it has this huge negative effect on you is ignorant and uninformed.

I have my own experiences and opinions which I'm pretty sure I did have for real, unless I fell asleep at the television set watching an episode of the reality show "Boring Real Life".   And I think whats BS is to think that the majority of Americans who are against legalizing pot are ignorant and uninformed about it.  They aren't.

My experiences are from the days when pot was pretty much accepted, more so than today.  And at the time I thought the same thing, that it was harmless.  Now what happened in the last couple decades?  Why do I think the way I do now?  Because I'm ignorant and uninformed?  Because I've gone conservative?  No not really.  I'm a liberal and proud to say it. 

Why hasn't the public changed its mind after all this time?  People are just ignorant and uninformed?  No they aren't.  People have been trying to get pot to be legalized and accepted for decades, and all in all they've gotten nowhere.   The majority of Americans know all about pot. They are informed, and they think it should continue to be against the law.  I'm one of them.

And I never said it was worse than alcohol. Thats a false debate.  Alcohol is what it is right or wrong, good or bad and whatever we should or shouldn't do about alcohol is a seperate issue.   Who cares whether pot is worse or better than alcohol?  

[psymun]

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=3326&section=N%20Latest%20News

"The only thing with me is that marijuana thing,� Thomas said. “I’ve never had any other off-the-field issues. I’ve never been arrested or anything or had any other issues. That was just something I did being dumb and hanging around the wrong people. That really messed me up a lot. I just have to let people know that it’s in the past and that’s not who I am now.�

[rayfsc07]

I guess we shouldn't expect him to say:

"Man, I like to smoke weed cuz.  You know, that right there is my thang, yo.  I like to be like cheech and chong and get all faded, u know my homie?"


That being said, he is a massive talent and I wouldn't mind seeing him with the Booger pick.  I said it before, and I'll say it again.  At worst he turns out worthless and basically we even out Booger, since he was worthless as well here.  At best we have a guy who can be near what we had in Warren Sapp here.  Risk/Reward, I say take the risk.

[cvillebucfan]

Yeah I have been a proponent for Marcus Thomas since I realized that booger was a true joke and we needed that player inside to help out. Thomas could be that guy with our 2nd round pick. Runs daddy said it best in the fact that you traded a scrub in Booger so whats the worst you can get out of Thomas. Risk/Reward is the way its stands and we could certainly use a straight Marcus Thomas.

[caradoc]

I wish the NFL would get over the whole reefer thing.  The rest of the world has, it's just the government and the league that still act like alcohol is a better drug for college kids...

[Itchalot]

Caradoc, Please don't speak for the rest of the world.  You don't speak for me.  Besides the NFL wouldn't give a crap except that the rest of the world does.  Thats the only reason. They sure didn't give a crap when Bill Romanowski was doing everything to his body. 

And its pretty funny you say that when this thread is about a guy who just said he messed up his life by hanging with the wrong people and smoking weed. 

I have had experience personally as a student and as a teacher and I have seen the effect weed has on education from both perspectives and it does nothing but ruin education.  Do you think kids who are getting high are getting the education they should be getting?  Well they're not.  They are cutting short their chances at a good education.

[bucs1]

That's actually good that he is coming out and speaking the truth about his life.

[Mellow]

Gotta side with caradoc and against Itch here.  I have the same experiences Itch (from both perspectives) and the only thing I'll add is that the effect of weed is far smaller and less damaging than the effect of alcohol.  Hands down.  As long as alcohol is legal (and abuse is condoned) and marijuana isn't there will always be this glaring inconsistency and hypocrisy that will cause many to ignore the law. 

And when Thomas said he messed up I'm pretty sure he meant (a) because saying so's the obvious thing if you want to get drafted and make millions of dollars; and (b) because it's ILLEGAL, not bad--i.e., not a bad influence that will cripple his education, etc. (i.e., your argument).  There's a big difference.  I personally don't smoke pot (anymore, LOL) not because I think it's bad but because I fear the consequences of getting busted.  Given my druthers, in a perfect world I'd MUCH rather smoke a little weed to relax than several beers, among other things to avoid the unpleasantness of a hangover and the damage to my liver. 

[flyinbuc]

Neither Pot or Alcohol are appropriate for kids.  That is pretty clear, I review cases in the hospital on a daily basis and Alcohol as a health risk far outdoes MJ.

[Itchalot]

If you are driving a Pepsi truck or have a lawn mower repair business smoking pot will probably enhance your life. If you want to go to community college or modeling school you can probably go all the way through high on pot. 

 But if you are trying to get a serious education involving things like Physics, advanced math classes, medicine, economics, foreign language being a regular pot smoker will severely hamper your ability to excel at the tough subjects.  And at the high school level it goes hand in hand with kids losing interest in their education.   Alcohol is more dangerous for driving and binge drinking, but most pot smokers are daily smokers.  It severely limits your motivation and ability to think clearly much more than alcohol. In my school the pot smokers are ones that don't give a crap.  Not the only ones,  but you just don't see a kid who is a pot smoker who is really focused on his education.

Multiply that times thousands or millions and society as a whole is adversely affected by the drain that marijuana has on the ability for us to educate our kids. For education pot is much worse. At a time when our country is falling behind in education, try to catch up with ten pound weights on your ankles and thats what pot does. 

[bradentonian]

He’s almost assured to help any team who selects him. Branch is such a gifted athlete that he returned five punts for touchdowns in high school. He entered his freshman year at Michigan at 375 pounds, dropped 25 after two-a-days and has now found a home around 324 pounds.

[PoorRichard]

Its not about the weed, its about his ultimate selfhishness as a player. As a Gator I can attest to the fact that Coach Meyer bent over backwards to keep this kid on the team even though he tested positive on 3 different occasions. His character is a big question mark. Great player indeed, but he has lots of growing up to do to make it as a professional.

[miamicanes04]

Caradoc, Please don't speak for the rest of the world.  You don't speak for me.  Besides the NFL wouldn't give a crap except that the rest of the world does.  Thats the only reason. They sure didn't give a crap when Bill Romanowski was doing everything to his body. 

And its pretty funny you say that when this thread is about a guy who just said he messed up his life by hanging with the wrong people and smoking weed. 

I have had experience personally as a student and as a teacher and I have seen the effect weed has on education from both perspectives and it does nothing but ruin education.  Do you think kids who are getting high are getting the education they should be getting?  Well they're not.  They are cutting short their chances at a good education.

HAHAHAHA!!! YOUR AN IDIOT!!! I happen to smoke marijuana 3 times a day and to be honest. It completely makes me pay better attention and gets me through the day better. My friends are the exact same way. Are grades have gone up.