Rihanna causes controversy with white powder photo

Rihanna’s Twitpics and Instagram shots are like anyone else’s, just followed by hundreds of thousands of people: a side-boob here, a freshly laid weave there, a rolled blunt and nugget of weed occasionally in-between. She’s fly, rich, young, and famous. It’s Rihanna. What can you do?

The singer shared all of the fun she was having at this past weekend’s Coachella Music Festival with the world via Instagram, posting a picture of herself sitting on some bald guy’s shoulders and cutting up an unknown substance on his head. The picture had the caption “Memories don’t live like people do #coachella.” Funtimes. Comments from her fans were filled with glee, praising Ri for keeping it real and being so open.

Eventually, more discerning eyes took a look at the photo. Is that substance Rihanna is breaking up on that bald guy’s head white? Is that cocaine? The typical reaction to this photo has been to conclude no, because even a Law & Order level understanding of drugs will tell you that breaking up a white powdery substance on some bald guy’s head in a 90 degree concert venue doesn’t make good aerodynamic sense. Plus, the flash of the photo is probably what’s making the substance look white-ish and not green. Yep, the stuff Rihanna was breaking up was just marijuana for a blunt or doobie or joint or whatever it is she does. Just marijuana. Like that’s not a drug too.

The debate over what Rihanna does and does not do with her body has become so trite that labeling it tired is an understatement. But watching people worry for a moment whether she is using cocaine, realizing it’s probably just some other illegal drug, and then going about their lives with their warm-hearted impression of her in tact simply tickles me. It’s hard to argue that cocaine and marijuana are equal when it comes to the effects that each can have on our bodies, so it makes sense that we’d react differently to knowing someone has a habit with one than with the other. But doesn’t the fact that we’re cool with folks posting pictures of their weed piles — even if they’re pop singer weed piles — demonstrate that while the stuff may be illegal, marijuana is not really a drug?

What do you think?