The Granite State debate on marijuana legalization continues. There are many aspects to it all which we won’t get into here, except that—as with so many issues—there is a sports component.
Consider the outcry a couple of years ago when American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson faced disqualification from the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana. She supposedly smoked pot after her mother’s tragic death.
Drug testing has abounded for decades. In sports, we don’t want performance enhancers providing Russians with unfair advantages. And that’s why home run king Barry Bonds’ steroid use keeps him out of the Hall of Fame.
But is pot a performance enhancer? The debate will continue.
Full disclosure: I’m not a fan of legalizing pot. I’m sure my low tolerance stems from being drug-tested for many years as a U.S. Marine.
This brings us to Saturday, June 18, 1983, when I boarded a bus in Quantico, Va., along with 50 other Marine Corps lieutenants, to ride up to Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium for an Orioles game. The O’s were hosting my Red Sox, and it was Carl Yastrzemski’s 23rd and last season. I wanted to see Yaz play one more time.
Yes, there was beer on the bus. Would one expect differently from 50 young Marine Corps lieutenants out on liberty?
One of the pro-pot arguments is “Alcohol is worse!” But Prohibition failed. And there are many differences. Comparing pot to booze is like comparing apples to oranges.
Anyway, we fifty Marines sat as a group in Memorial Stadium’s upper deck, on the first base side—where we’d hopefully avoid trouble. But I was pleased to discover that, unlike Fenway Park, Memorial Stadium had a liberal beer policy. One could buy multiple 24-ouncers at the same time!
After making an early inning head call, I walked back towards the upper deck when I saw a beer vendor strapping on a giant tray with numerous libations to sell in the stands. This inspired an idea.
“Yo! Beer vendor. I’ll sell those beers for you!”
The beer vendor laughed and explained that it would surely be frowned upon.
“But I’m with those Marines up there. I’ll sell every beer in no time.”
The beer vendor laughed and said he’d need to follow me at a discrete distance.
“Excellent!”
I strapped on his giant tray and donned his beer vendor cap, and started up the steps, hawking brewskis.
“Beer!” I yelled. “Get your beer here!”
After a couple of sales, I was inevitably recognized by my Marine brethren, who naturally cracked up.
“Moffett is selling beer!”
As predicted, the Marines immediately bought all I had. I returned to the tunnel and gave the delighted beer vendor a bunch of money, loaded up the tray again, and went up and again sold out. The section of Marines gave me a standing ovation, which drew the attention of many of the 36,668 attendees. What was going on up there on the upper deck? (The Orioles drew good crowds then and would win the World Series that year.)
I was fortunate that this was before social media. A viral video of me selling beer in the Memorial Stadium stands may not have enhanced my military career. And the beer vendor would likely have been fired.
Such fun. But there’s more.
Sitting a few rows behind us near the top of the stadium were some hippies. Midway through the game, the hippies did what hippies do. They started smoking pot. This immediately got the attention of fifty regularly drug-tested buff Marine officers, all concerned that inhaling second-hand pot smoke might end their careers.
Our group turned and stood as one to confront the hippies. A big Texan with a deep voice yelled, “You G— D— hippies better stop smoking that pot or we’ll throw your asses over the top of the stadium!”
Peer pressure? Or beer pressure?
Rather than confront 50 agitated Marines, the hippies decided that discretion was the better part of valor and wisely moved to another part of Memorial Stadium to get stoned. This commotion also surely drew the attention of many of the 36,668 attendees. What was going on up there?
Marines on liberty. Always an adventure.
A night to remember. Jim Rice hit a homer, and BoSox pitcher John Tudor went all the way to win 3-2.
And I got to see Carl Yaztrzemski in action one last time. The 44-year-old future Hall-of Famer walked twice. He’d hit ten home runs that season to finish his career with 452 round-trippers.
And I’m also pretty sure that not one of Yaz’s 3419 career hits was aided by any performance enhancer, whether eaten, injected, or inhaled!
State Rep. Mike Moffett (R-Loudon) is one of the founders of the Legislative Beer Caucus.
