Geraldo Rivera needed a marijuana advocate to help round out his panel discussion on the Michael Phelps bong controversy, so of course he turned to infamous cannabis connoisseur, WWE/ECW alum Rob Van Dam. During the Geraldo at Large segment, RVD launched into a passionate defense of the virtues of weed versus cigarettes and alcohol. So passionate, in fact, that Geraldo had to interrupt him due to time limitations.

Geraldo managed to bring RVD down off his favorite soapbox just long enough to get him to address the specific situation with Michael Phelps. Rob questioned the motives of the law enforcement officials considering bringing charges against Olympic medalist Michael Phelps:

If it was just about breaking the law … what if Michael Phelps was speeding or driving with his seatbelt off? It’s not just about breaking the law, it’s specifically about prejudice against cannabis because they know nothing about it.

Here’s the whole video segment on Youtube:

I’m not taking sides in this debate, at least not publicly, but some advice for RVD? Lay off using the word “prejudice” when talking about your drug of choice. When there’s still plenty of racial and ethnic prejudice in the world, speaking out against ganja prejudice just sounds trite and isn’t going to sit well with a lot of people. It might be time for a new line of argument.

In other Rob Van Dam news, our congratulations to Rob and his wife Sonya for getting the word that she’s finally cancer free!