medicalmarijuanadoctors

 

Nate Tubbs & Jose Ribalta Discuss Their Views on Medical Marijuana

Heavyweight Jose Nino Ribalta Interview: Stop Medical Marijuana in Florida!

Ribalta

 

By Robert Brizel, Head RCM  BoxingCorrespondent

 

Former top ranked heavyweight contender Jose ‘El Nino’ Ribalta of Miami Beach, Florida, who immigrated from Cuba and went on to fight 12 heavyweight champions and is today a middle school security guard, in an international Real Combat Media interview exclusive, has gone on record as the first professional boxer to speak out against medical marijuana.

 

Ribalta, whose daily activities as a school security guard makes him a role model to the young people in his school, is opposed to the Florida State Supreme Court’s decision on Monday, January 27, 2014, to put medical marijuana on the Florida ballot in November 2014 for a narrow 4-3 decision. If Florida voters approve, Florida would become the first Southern States in the United States to approve medical marijuana, which has already been approved in 20 other states and the District of Columbia. Ribalta is also opposed to the Florida State Athletic Commission allowing amateur and professional boxers to smoke medical marijuana. Reached at his Miami Beach home Tuesday night, Ribalta had some strong words to say about the dangers of approving marijuana use in any form.

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “Stop medical marijuana in in Florida! I’m totally against medical marijuana. I really feel marijuana brings down mankind. Beer and alcohol were not allowed at one time, and they have done damage to our young people and our society. Marijuana damages your brain cells. It is the downside of mankind. I have never tried marijuana.”

 

Real Combat Media: “Has marijuana affected boxers you know or knew?”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “I have seen marijuana affect boxers I have trained, and affect boxers in sparring. One time I was getting ready to box on the same card with the late Hector Macho Camacho, who offered me marijuana to smoke with him the day of the fight card. I said to Hector, you are crazy, man.”

 

Real Combat Media: “Is it possible a boxer would need to smoke medical marijuana for medical or neurological reasons?”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “I don’t agree with that! There are other normal cures. I have never smoked marijuana. It affects the brain.”

 

Real Combat Media: “Yesterday, the Florida Supreme Court put medical marijuana on the Florida ballot for voters to approve or not in November 2014 by a 4-3 vote. Could Florida voters approve the medical marijuana referendum?”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “Yes, unfortunately. This is because Florida has a lot of people from different countries who will vote to approve medical marijuana, people from Columbia, Costa Rica, the list of immigrants from foreign countries goes on and on.”

 

Real Combat Media: “Even if voters approve medical marijuana in the State of Florida this November, do you think the Florida State Athletic Commission will allow amateur and professional boxers to fight while using medical marijuana, and allow athletes in other sports to complete while using medical marijuana?”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “When boxers have marijuana in their system, they are nothing like the fighter they were before. The Florida State Athletic Commission may allow athletes to smoke pot with a doctor’s note. Experience has shown me boxers fight much better in normal mental and physical condition. Marijuana slows your reflexes down.”

 

Real Combat Media: “As a junior high school security guard in the Miami Beach Public Schools, you have undergone sensitivity training in regards to youths and drugs.”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “At the school I work at now, we (the security guards) look out for the students. We make sure the students are very clean and not on drugs.”

 

Real Combat Media: “Do you think approving medical marijuana use sends society the wrong message?”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “Approving medical marijuana sends the wrong message all over the world. The United States is pretty much the capital of the world. If they continue to legalize  medical marijuana here (medical marijuana is currently approved in 20 states and the District of Columbia in the United States), it is the beginning of Sodom and Gomorrah, the beginning of the end. Medical Marijuana will lead young people to use other drugs. Of course, on medical marijuana they’ll be high-and they’ll then do other drugs. It’s the downfall of mankind in my opinion.”

 

Real Combat Media: “Nino, have any of your athlete friends died from drugs?”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “I had a friend who died from marijuana use, a football player we’ll call ‘Bay-Bay’. Anything which prevents your mind from functioning, when you aren’t sure what you are doing, is extremely dangerous.”

 

Real Combat Media: “How will you work against the medical marijuana referendum in Florida?”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “I’m going to work against the medical marijuana referendum in Florida. It’s a must! Marijuana destroys young minds. It makes young kids forgetful of what they were going accomplish and do with their life when they smoke it. Marijuana causes memory loss, you can’t remember things. That’s the beginning. Marijuana eventually kills the brain. I work with young kids in my school with marijuana and drug prevention, and let them know what their future will be like depending on the path they take.”

 

Real Combat Media: “Nino, what life experiences have brought you to your understandings?”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “I wrote a book entitled ‘Courage in the Ring’ you can buy on Amazon.com. I talked about my boxing career. I came from Cub, where my father worked for the president of Cuba, Fulgencio Batista, as a government adviser and counselor. Before working for President Batista, my dad was a sugar cane inspector.”

 

Real Combat Media: “Nino, why are you making such a strong public stand against medical marijuana?”

 

Jose Nino Ribalta: “As a middle school security guard in Miami Beach, I am trying to help the current generation of young people to understand the dangers of drugs and to stay away from them. I want to keep every little kid from smoking marijuana.”

 

Heavyweight Nate Tubbs Interview: Say Yes To Medical Marijuana and Casual Marijuana Use in America,Will Reduce Crime

<a href=Nate Tubbs" src="http://realcombatmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Nate-Tubbs.jpg" width="267" height="385" />

 

By Robert Brizel, Head RCM Boxing Correspondent

In an international Real Combat Media exclusive interview, former top ranked heavyweight contender Nate Tubbs, a noted boxing promoter and trainer today whose 18 year professional career in the heavyweight division included a second round knockout of future World Boxing Organization World Heavyweight champion Corrie Sanders in South Africa in 1994, finished his career with a first round knockout of Mike Middleton in Indiana in 2005. Nate Tubbs is also the younger brother of Tony TNT Tubbs, who held the World Boxing Association World Heavyweight title from 1985 to 1986.

Nate Tubbs: “In my opinion, marijuana should be legalized! Everybody’s smoking pot anyhow. It would generate tax money and it would reduce crime. I think it would be a good thing to legalize marijuana. In terms of medical marijuana, it should be allowed for cancer patients where it makes people feel better. With people who have cancer, marijuana helps them mellow out. If you are not sick, I don’t think people should be using marijuana. If people are sick and require the use of medical marijuana, they should require a doctor’s prescription to use marijuana. I think legalizing marijuana should be both state and Federal law, and tax marijuana sales, as people are making a lot of money selling it.”

Real Combat Media: “Nate, have you ever used marijuana?”

Nate Tubbs: “I’ve never used marijuana, so I have no opinion so far as that.”

Real Combat Media: “Marijuana is illegal in 30 American states. Does this stop people?”

Nate Tubbs: “It’s not stopping people. It’s not a major illegal thing to be smoking or using marijuana. I think anti-marijuana laws are ridiculous laws to a certain extent. The time they are giving people in prison for violating state and Federal laws against marijuana sales and possession is ridiculous. I’ve got friends doing 20 to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Real Combat Media: “Can marijuana sales and use be stopped permanently in the world?”

Nate Tubbs: “Marijuana is here to stay. I think crack cocaine and heroin are more dangerous than marijuana.”

Real Combat Media: “Should boxing commissions allow amateur and professional boxers with a physician’s prescription to smoke marijuana for medical reasons? For example, a boxer who needs to smoke medical marijuana for a severe migraine headache.”

Nate Tubbs: “I think if you are participating in a boxing match, a boxer should not be using drugs. Marijuana should be legalized for casual use, but it should not be legalized for a boxing event. A lot of boxers smoke it anyway for casual use. My opinion? Being an ex-fighter, you need to smoke marijuana to fight, you shouldn’t be fighting anyhow.”

Real Combat Media: “When do professional boxers smoke marijuana,  that you know of?”

Nate Tubbs: “I’ve seen a while lot of fighters smoking marijuana casually. I’ve seen three or four world champions smoking marijuana casually, you know, weed smoking, but not before a fight.”

Real Combat Media: “Have any of your fighter friends died from drug abuse?”

Nate Tubbs: “We had a fighter in Ohio, I won’t use his name, who recently died after a lifetime of alcohol and drug abuse. We’ve got fighters out here who smoke weed and drink alcohol a lot, many athletes who smoke marijuana on their personal time, partying, drinking, and smoking weed. After they have accomplished their goals and objectives. After a professional bout, a lot of boxers like to go out and party. I think every individual is different. Some athletes go onto hard drugs, some don’t, and it’s not just boxers. It’s professional baseball players, professional football players, and other professional athletes.”

Real Combat Media: “What’s the bar scene like for boxers you know?”

Nate Tubbs: Nowadays boxers drink alcohol when they are not training, every weekend. I don’t recommend using drugs to anyone, period, but it cannot be stopped.”

Real Combat Media: What is your legal viewpoint on medical and casual marijuana?”

Nate Tubbs: “I recommend decriminalizing marijuana because athletes shouldn’t have to sneak and hide to smoke it anymore, and (then) get charged with possession of marijuana.”

Real Combat Media:  “In October 2000 in Michigan, Mike Tyson’s TKO 2 win over Andrew Golota was declared a No Contest, due to Tyson testing positive for marijuana after the fight.”

Nate Tubbs: “Mike Tyson is a personal friend of mine.”

Real Combat Media: “In August 2013, Mike Tyson went public and revealed he is an alcoholic and is close to death.”

Nate Tubbs: “I’ve been out with Mike casually from time to time and he’s had a drink, and I didn’t observe Mike having any problem with it.”

Real Combat Media: “Mike got suspended in Michigan years ago due to marijuana use. His problems with drugs and alcohol have been well documented.”

Nate Tubbs: “Mike got caught due to his personal use of marijuana. Mike should have been punished (at that time) because he should not have been using pot period. Mike and I have been very close friends since 1984. I don’t think Mike still has a drug problem, I know him better than he knows himself.”

Real Combat Media: “A few days after fighting Sergio Gabriel Martinez for the World Boxing Council Middleweight title in Las Vegas in September 2012, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. tested positive for marijuana. By a 3-2 vote, the Nevada Athletic Commission suspended Chavez for nine months retroactive to the day of the fight, and fined him $900,000. Chavez had Martinez down in the twelfth and final round. Could his performance have been better if he was not smoking marijuana before the world title fight?”

Nate Tubbs: “It’s a possibility. It’s a tough question. Boxers like Chavez Jr. all need to be punished. To my understanding, Chavez Jr. was punished. I don’t know him, but without the marijuana, he (Chavez) would have been a much better fighter.”

Real Combat Media: “Will illegal drugs ever be stopped?”

Nate Tubbs: “I don’t think drugs are gonna stop. All the officials are getting probed, too many people are making a lot of money, too much money is involved, I don’t think it’s ever gonna stop. Too many people are getting paid a lot of money, so things can happen. Mexico is really out of control, everyone is trying to take control. The drug trade is a multimillion dollar business. Everyone is looking to get paid. Too many people are in the get rich quick scheme, turn your head and make five million dollars. People don’t earn five million dollars in a lifetime.”

Real Combat Media: “Will medical marijuana be approved on your state of Ohio?”

Nate Tubbs: “They are trying to put medical marijuana on the ballot now. This town, Cincinnati, is too conservative for that. Ohio is a very conservative state. Though I approve of medical marijuana, I don’t think a medical marijuana referendum will pass in Ohio, They (the Pro-Marijuana lobby) are certainly trying. Some things take time and persistence. It took 25 years of trying in Ohio to vote a casino in, and they finally got a casino in Ohio in 2012, The Horseshoe Cincinnati. Now area boxing events are held there.”

Real Combat Media: “Any final comments you would like to make?”

Nate Tubbs: “Yes. Everyone is different. Heavyweight Jose Nino Ribalta gave your other interview in which he says no to medical marijuana. Jose Ribalta is also a very good friend of mine.”

Comment below if you feel marijuana should be legalized for casual or medical use.

 

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