Remember back in ‘98 when the Canadian, Ross Rebagliati won a gold medal in snowboarding? He had his medal stripped (and eventually returned) after he was caught with traces of marijuana in his system (we call it havin’ a good time!). The first thing I remember saying to myself was “Wow! This guy won a gold medal while stoned? Fuck the gold medal! Give him a platinum medal encrusted with diamonds and be sure to BLING the shit out of that thing!”. This was the first time someone was caught with marijuana in the Olympics and the first time I realized that people don’t have a clue about what marijuana does to you. Now for the majority of users, marijuana can make you think and react slower than normal and, like me, a hell of a lot lazier. So for Rebagliati to win a gold while flying and flipping around in the air was quite a feat and at the same time impressed a crap load of stoners that were watching. This one instance only proved to be a great example as proof that if you’re a stoner, your life is not doomed to failure. So who are other stoners that successful atheletes? Read on to find out.

It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t include Michael Phelps as our next stoner athlete. As probably all of you know, Phelps was busted with pictures of him huffing and puffing herb out of a bong. Well guess what? Even though he’s a stoner he’s still a world class athlete with 14 gold medals and has broken 37 world records in swimming. Goddamn, that’s one productive stoner. It’s too bad the public made such a big ruckus out of it and many of his sponsors kicked him to the curb because of that pic. Swiss watchmaker Omega, Speedo, Mazda and a handful of other sponsors have since given this pothead a second chance for trying to show his fans that he ain’t fraid of no smoke. Gnome sayin?

Ricky Williams, pro NFL football player, has had many failed drug tests with the NFL cause he just can’t resist the call of Mary. Williams is an advocate of the benefits of marijuana and has publicly made that statement many times. Once again he’s lost a lot of endorsements because of his need for weed. Williams frequently used marijuana because it was better for him than Paxil, the drug that doctor’s were prescribing for his social anxiety disorder who’s producer also happened to be his sponsor former sponsor. Fortunately for Williams, Paxil didn’t cure his I-Don’t-Give-A-Fuckism either and he took his talents to a more jammin’ country, Canada!

Usain Bolt, an Olympic athlete and world record holder for fastest time in the 100m and 200m sprint, is another athlete who’s admitted to smoking reefer. He holds three gold medals and he’s only 23. He told press that those days of smoking marijuana are over, but for someone who learned to roll a joint at a young age and to one day become the fastest man alive is proof that marijuana makes you go faster. Potpotato would like to think that Usain still sneaks in a spliff or a puff from time to time. He’s got to, he’s from Jamaica aka Marijuana Land.

MMA is one of the toughest sports on this planet and has recently exploded in popularity, attracting highly trained fighters from almost every corner of the globe. Any stoners amongst the bunch? Cue Nick Diaz. Back in 2007, Diaz beat out Takanori Gomi who was considered the 2nd best lightweight fighter in the world at the time. Shortly after the fight the Nevada State Athletic Commission ruled his bout a no contest for testing positive for marijuana before his fight. Damn narcs. He’s gone on to admit that he regularly uses marijuana to help him stay more consistent and went on to beat veteran fighter Frank Shamrock.

LeBron James, the king himself, has admitted to smoking pot during his highschool days. Now he’s one of the biggest superstar’s the NBA has to offer. Not only that, he’s considered to be one of the best players currently in the NBA league! He’s not the only NBA star to admit laying back with a nice spliff. Marijuana didn’t stop Charles Oakley, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Rasheed Wallace from being NBA legends. Oakley himself admitted that over half of NBA players smoke pot before each game! Who knew? It’s not like marijuana is considered a performance enhancing drug. Like I said above, it makes me lazier.

These guys are only some of the great athlete’s out there that have tried marijuana (more than once) or are smoking joints on a regular basis. These guys are proof that marijuana won’t hinder a person’s potential but can actually help them achieve greatness. We here at PotPotato only hope that marijuana can one day be seen for it’s benefits and stopped being looked down upon as a drug that will ruin lives. For more great athletes that have admitted to smoking the magic herb click here.