*Lil Wayne's 'Medicinal' Marijuana*

"Inside of the phantom, and it's lookin like a sauna, and I still stay high, and I still got my dipoloma." Those are some lyrics from Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, otherwise knows as Lil Wayne. If his name is spoken today, there probably aren't many people who don't know of him. He is probably one of the most talented rappers around, and some people wonder where he gets all of his 'creativity' from.

It is no secret that Lil Wayne likes the many pleasures of life. However, those indulgences in life have certainly caught up with him. Growing up in New Orleans, Lil Wayne was a bright kid and even enrolled in the gifted program in school. He came up with this first rap at the age of 8, and showed that he was truly destined to be a rapper. However, his life was not all roses and sunshine. He lived in a struggling area, one of the most poorest neighborhoods, and even lost his virginity at the young age of 11. Although he put out his first album when he was 12, he accidentally shot himself in the chest in his home at the age of 13. A year later, he dropped out of school. So here was a bright and talented young man who seemed to have a bright future ahead, but experienced struggles at an early age.

Things started to look up for Lil Wayne when he signed with the Hot Boys rappers in 1997 when he was 15. He recorded on the album, and began creating tons of tracks. He also got his girlfriend pregnant and had a daughter (He ended up having 3 other kids by 2 other women.) It probably does not come as a shock that lots of rappers use marijuana and other drugs. Lil Wayne was and has been no exception. In 2007, his marijuana use caught up with him. He was arrested after one of his performances in NYC for smoking marijuana near his tour bus. While the police searched the tour bus, they also found a pistol near the rapper. He was then charged with possessing a weapon and marijuana. A few months later, police had accused him of possessing a controlled substance, but that charge was dropped.

In January of 2008, Boarder Patrol stopped the rappers tour bus and found quite a problem. Not only was over 100 grams of marijuana found, but also 41 grams of ecstasy, over $20,000 in cash, and 29 grams of cocaine. Obviously he was not only doing drugs, but he was selling them. Why he would feel the need to sell drugs when he was already making millions is beyond me. Lil Wayne was then charged with 4 felonies. After he was taken into custody, he was released on a $10,185 bond. In May of 2008, Lil Wayne went to court and pleaded NOT guilty to the 4 felonies (possession of dangerous drugs, possession of narcotic drug for sale, misconduct involving weapons, and possession of drug paraphernalia.)

In February 2009, Lil Wayne was interviewed by Katie Couric on CBS. During that interview, Lil Wayne admitted that he liked to smoke "medicinal" marijuana for his migranes, and drink codeine cough syrup, though he is not addicted. In October 2009, he plead guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. As if he didn't already learn his lesson, Lil Wayne was taken in to custody again at the boarder patrol checkpoint when marijuana was found on two of his tour buses in December 2009. On March 8, 2010, Lil Wayne received a sentence of 1 year in prison, which he is currently serving. He has a possibility of only serving 8 months in prison, if he behaves.

So we can clearly see that Lil Wayne has some patterns. He likes to smoke marijuana and has been caught several times. Whether or not he gets out of prison in 8 months for good behavior, or he spends the whole year in prison, there is no doubt in my mind that Lil Wayne will still be smoking marijuana. There is no doubt that he will still be drinking codeine cough syrup. I don't know if he will still be selling drugs, but I definitely think he will still be using them. Lil Wayne is a millionaire. He has collaborated with so many artists and has performed at so many different places, that none of this legal trouble will hurt his career. It is his persona.

People know what kind of person he is. They know he enjoys doing drugs and rapping. He is obviously talented and quick when it comes to rapping and making new tracks. Do I think he is only creative because he smokes marijuana? Absolutely not. I believe that a person has to possess that type of creativity anyway. If he didn't smoke marijuana at all, I still think he would be able to spit out great raps. It might take him longer, but I know he possesses that talent. He doesn't even write down his lyrics. He just records them, and he remembers them. Somone who was really affected by Marijuana, probably would not remember the lyrics after they record them. It's not like he was smoking marijuana when he was 8 and wrote his first rap. It wasn't until he was 11 that he smoked marijuana! Anyway, don't think that Lil Wayne will be phased by this. Sure he will miss his family and children, but we all know he is busy writing other lyrics, and he will no doubt put out a hit record when he gets out.

Here are the 2 youtube videos that feature Lil Wayne's interview with Katie Couric on CBS Evening News. I suggest watching the entire interview, because it is kind of interesting, and funny seeing him explain his life to Katie.

First half: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyI26E5agM4&NR=1
Second half: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM2VAbYgJPQ&feature=related

Thanks for reading,
Samantha

*Harding plays dirty*

There are many sports in this world. Many teams, and many players and participants. We all have views on what it takes to become an athlete and what kind of person those athletes are. When I think of figure skaters, I think poise. I think grace and preciseness. Tonya Harding was an amazing gold medalist figure skater. She was talented and poised. Until she wasn't. Tonya proved that she doesn't have a poised bone in her body.

Case and point. Tonya Harding was a phenomenal and talented skater who won the 1991 United States Figure Skating Championships. She also took home silver in the World Championships. She possessed the talent of landing triple axels, and knew how to use them in her routines. Instead of embracing her talents and having good sportsmanship, Harding decided to risk everything. Her main competition in the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships was Nancy Kerrigan. Kerrigan was kind of the sweetheart in figure skating. She was very kind and also a very talented woman. I suppose Harding was threatened by her talents and wanted her out of the competition. How could she make this happen? Tell her ex-husband to get someone to hurt Kerrigan so she could not perform of course! That is exactly what Harding's ex-hubby, Jeff Gillooly, did.

Gillooly and Harding's body guard hired a man named Shane Stant to hit Kerrigan on the knee. Stant instead ended up striking Kerrigan on her thigh at a practice session. This caused her to have to withdraw from the competition. Harding ended up winning that event, while Kerrigan spent it in the hospital trying to recover. Harding admitted to conspiring the attack on Kerrigan, and the Olympic Committee decided that they wanted to try and remove her from the Olympic team. Harding then threatened to take legal action on the Commitee, so they backed down and Harding remained on the team.

She ended up finishing in 8th place at the end of the Olympics. Kerrigan recovered from her injury and finished in 2nd place. I suppose Harding was kicking herself because she still lost to Kerrigan, even after she was attacked. Harding pleaded guilty to conspiring, and received a fine of $160,000, three years probation, and 500 community service hours. Later on, the United States Olympic Committee revoked Harding's 1994 title, and forever banned her from participating in any of their events.

As if that were not enough to ruin Harding's reputation forever, she ended up having a sex tape scandal. She also gained a lot of weight and became a wrestler. In 2000 she punched her ex-boyfriend and threw a hubcap at him. Because of that, she received 10 days of community service, and spent 3 days in jail. In 2002, she was driving drunk and got into an accident. In 2005, Harding called police claiming that she was assaulted by 2 men who were masked in her home. Police arrived and Harding's boyfriend at the time said that Harding attacked him and she was drunk. Her boyfriend was found guilty of assault and was told to stay away from Harding. Finally, in 2007, Harding called the police again claiming that there were 5 intruders trying to steal her car and hide some rifles on her property. The police said that Harding was "agitated" and her story did not make sense. She was disoriented and claimed that she was "seeing animals." Harding's agent claimed that her actions could have been from a bad reaction to her prescription drugs.

Obviously Tonya Harding has lost her mind. It was clear in 1994 when she decided to play dirty and sabotage her opponent. She was a great skater and was going places. Instead of embracing that, she fell off the wagon and forever ruined her reputation. When I read reports of her life drama, I feel like I am reading something that should be in a movie. I feel like no one in their right mind with so much potential would throw it all away. I really don't understand what goes through her mind. I believe she is probably on some sort of drugs. Whether those are legitimate prescription drugs or not, she could be abusing those prescriptions and she could have a problem with drinking. I honestly don't think she will ever be great or respected again, because she has gone cuckoo for coacoa puffs!

Here is a video of Nancy describing the incident, and some clips of her right after the attack occurred: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T09XWRkq5M

Thanks for reading,
Samantha