Running head: MARIJUANA LEGALISATION 1
Marijuana Legalisation
Tina J. Dockery
Liberty University
MARIJUANA LEGALISATION 2
Abstract
Support for the legalisation of marijuana in the United States is at an all-time high
gaining traction across spectrum of civil segments of the populace. A group of doctors under
the name Doctors for Cannabis Regulation (DFCR) have been trying to push the federal and
legal apparatus to hasten the legalisation of marijuana citing that the benefits of legalisation
will be more than the current ills sustained due to legal measures placed against recreational
use of marijuana. This group is urging the government to expedite legalisation and put
regulatory measures for the sake of public interest. The author of the article lends voice to
this legalisation drive.
Marijuana Legalisation
MARIJUANA LEGALISATION 3
The case of legalisation of marijuana has been prevalent in the recent past across the
various States of America making it to the ballot in such states as California and Arizona
which is registering about 50% support. There has been growing support across the board
and now in the article being critiqued here; the author of the article lends her weight of
influence in support of legalising marijuana (Wang et al., 2013).
On the other hand, the commission f bribery has been prohibited by strict adherence
of federal policy. However this has not always been the case as companies try to outdo
each other in winning bids or securing political and economic leverage in the highly
competitive business world of today.
Article 1 – Background
Many nations across the globe have standing laws against the free use of marijuana
for recreational reasons. There are guidelines that allow for its use in the medical filed for
palliative and curative purposes but countries differ in how these are endorsed by their
constitutions. Many organisational forces have however been registering growing discontent
on the strict legal measures and calling upon the governmental authorities to review their age
long policies on marijuana stating the changing social trends (Pacula et al., 2014).
Article 1 - Critique of Strengths and Weaknesses of the Article
Strengths
The article makes a strong case by presenting the views of the author who sets out to
describe the benefits of marijuana when pitted against the apparent side effects. Marijuana is
touted as having been proved to be less harmful than other legalised drugs like alcohol. The
article also lends credence to its cause by mentioning the use of marijuana in medical cases.
The use of marijuana by successful people is also put forward as a reason for legalisation of
the drug.
MARIJUANA LEGALISATION 4
Weaknesses
The article does not address pertinent issues touching marijuana such as the
categorisation by American Doctors Association as a very addictive and therefore dangerous
drug. Research has found that marijuana use has negative effects on growing brains of
adolescents. Indeed the article does not put into account the fact that surveys have linked the
use of marijuana by teenagers to increased school dropout rates and suicide rates.
Article 2 -- Background
Bribery has become a global tragedy in the recent with studies and surveys showing a
ubiquity in the practice across all the quarters. The global relevance of companies today is
threatened by the cutting edge competition which sometimes pushes them to seek unorthodox
methods of making quick the processes. This has given rise to the most unsanctioned craze of
almost all companies resorting to corruption to secure supposedly easy gains.
Article 2 - Critique of Strengths and Weaknesses of the Article
Strengths
The article explores exhaustively the reasons for bribery and corruption occurrence
especially in corporate systems. It presents compelling reasons against bribery in that it
fosters of public property and engenders professional laxity and poor quality of service
dispensation.
Weaknesses
The article presents bribery as a public norm which is so prevalent as to render it
virtually unavoidable for the most part. This is not an entirely accurate spin on the narrative
and the article should have dwelled more on the legal crackdown that is in place against
corruption.
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Summary of the Article
The first article delineates the pros of marijuana use such as that it is safer than other
legalised drugs and thus that marijuana is a less harmful drug and should be legalised.
The second article accounts the prevalence of corruption and the social reasons that
propel the scourge forward together with a look at the compelling reasons against bribery.
Personal Reflection, Position, and Christian Worldview
Marijuana, in my personal reflective opinion, should not attain legalisation for
recreational purposes. I support it being used for medical purpose because there is weight of
scientific evidence for its effective curative value in some ailments. However the cons of
marijuana outweigh the pros and therefore it should not receive full legalisation. In a trip that
I made to Colorado I saw too many homeless and high people and this further strengthened
my resolve against legalisation of marijuana. Besides, marijuana use for purely recreational
reasons has no permissible moral ground. The use of marijuana beclouds the mind and alters
the judgement of an individual placing them in a position where they can easily err in
judgment yet the Biblical injunction is that we should be “…sober…”( 1st Peter 4:7).
About bribery, I think that although bribery may give a company some competitive
advantage in the short term it should not be touted as a tool for success. As a matter of fact, I
think that people caught in the crosshairs of corruption scandals should be set as legal
precedents by harsh rulings and indictment and corrupt companies put for closure. This is
because when it comes to corruption, the unequivocal Christian standpoint is unanimously
against the practice as it is both a violation of justice and equity and a form of deception into
getting what one does not deserve.
These two articles touching on different topics have varied effectiveness in passing
the message across but they have notable shortcomings in the overall conveyance.
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References
Pacula, R., Kilmer, B., Wagenaar, A., Chaloupka, F., Caulkin, J. (2014) Developing public
health regulations for marijuana: lessons from alcohol and tobacco. Am J Public
. Health. 2014; 104(6):1021-1028. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
Wang, G., Roosevelt, G., Heard, K. (2013) Pediatric marijuana exposures in a medical
Marijuana state. JAMA Pediatric. 167(7):630–633. [PubMed]
