I'm not that well versed in South Carolina state law, but where I'm from, possession of marijuana is a crime, but smoking it, in and of itself, is not per se. So, regardless of what Phelps has said on the record about what he was doing in that picture, I'm not certain that simply smoking marijuana would be a crime, minus actually being caught in possession of marijuana.

So, given that he is no longer in possession of it (and it likely belonged to someone else in the 1st place, and he was simply smoking it), and there is no way on earth they could ever prove how much he was ever in possession of, I don't see how they could ever charge him with anything, because they wouldn't really know what to charge him with. Of course they could just charge him with simple possession (or whatever the lowest possession charge is in South Carolina). I'm just holding out hope that my lack of faith in mankind will be proven wrong, and either the Sheriff will wise up and shut his mouth, or that atleast the District Attorney will refuse any charges that the Sheriff files against Phelps. However, being the cynic that I am, I'm sure that won't happen.

Personally, I don't really care all that much about Phelps. I respect what he did in the Olympics, but I never found him to be that interesting of a character, and I always thought his marketability was limited at best given his gangly looks and his nerdy personality. But what do I know?

What I do know is that the spin being put on the case by the Sheriff that it amounts to a crime that should be prosecuted is laughable at best, and is a gross abuse of power (in an attempt to gain fame for the Sheriff), and is a waste of tax dollars and the limited resources of the Sheriff's Department and the county court system at worst. I mean, I know he has a DUI (including underaged drinking) incident in his past. But what is the worst that would happen to him if he were convicted in this case? A small fine and probation? Yep, that's certainly worth pursuing! Is it any wonder so many why so many States are literally facing chapter 9 bankruptcy due to huge budget deficits?