MOST young Americans can smoke marijuana without making world headlines, but not 23-year-old Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals in Beijing in August. Last week, Phelps was suspended from the US team for three months and dropped by one of his sponsors after a photo of him using a bong ran in the British newspaper News of the World. His punishment has ignited a debate in the US about youthful indiscretion and public responsibility. After all, about 42 percent of Americans say they have smoked cannabis in their lifetime, according to a 2008 survey published in PloS Medicine, a journal of the Public Library of Science. Comments on a recent Los Angeles Times blog showed how divided Americans are about their Olympic hero's behavior. Some called him an "idiot" and said he should be held to a higher standard. Others disagreed. "Michael Phelps did not ask to be anyone's role model," wrote Gina Pera. "He set goals for himself and accomplished them. The media made him into a superman and now want to tear him down."