research paper english about (legalization of marijuana)

Birinji 1

Birinji 2

Faris Birinji

Professor Hauer

English 101

28 March 2017

Annotated Bibliography on the Legalization of Marijuana

THESIS: as the legalization of Marijuana seems imminent, many question whether the restriction of the drug is still the right path to follow. Apart from much disapproval from the society, there is not much to know about the possible harms the drug could have on the human body. Maybe it is not the State’s job to somehow try to “protect” the population from the drug – and maybe the State is not doing a fairly good job at trying to restrict it from the population. Legalization seems inevitable, now what is left to know are the consequences, biological and sociological to it.

Barcott, Bruce, and Michael Scherer. "The Great Pot Experiment. (Cover Story)." Time 185.19 (2015): 38-45. Academic Search Premier. 26 March 2017. Web.

This article provides insightful information about the possible inevitability of having Marijuana legalized (at least for its medical purposes) and about how the criminalization of it has created a much harder environment for research on its positive and negative influences on the human body. The author intends to develop an article on the possible effects of the drug as well as making the reader aware of what it has been proven to have as negative outcomes – dependence being one of the most dangerous ones. He connects the legalization to the issues that the government had with the drug in the past (such as a “communist plot”) in order to show that just as much is known about the positive and negative aspects of it.

This article was published by TIME magazine, which generates a reliability to it. Moreover, the authors base much of their article on scientific studies, data and even show how some people live their lives with the drug constantly there, without any troubles. The authors describe the information about pot to be ‘potential,” for even science does not have much to back them up, but soon will have.

I believe that it will be helpful to my research, especially in finding and showing the many sides to this issue. Also, the article will provide depth to my thesis and credibility to the paper in general.

Blumenson, Eric and Eva Nilsen. "Liberty Lost: The Moral Case for Marijuana Law Reform." Indiana Law Journal, vol. 85, no. 1, Winter2010, pp. 279-299.

The author shows to be very resourceful and willing to show how liberty and the sense of decriminalization is always around whenever discussing the topic. They explore how the government’s acts of phorbiding the population from reaching marijuana can be seen as an act of violation of the human liberty. The problem with the sense and spirit of liberty and the prohibition of the drug is not often discussed. Thus, this article would provide my essay a point of view that not much writers have.

The depth of this article relies on the discussion about the possible harms of the drug to the human body. The article is a publication from a large law journal, which implies its own credibility – and assures mine.

These authors showed in this article that the decimalization is not one issue to be though without extent, preoccupation.

Gillespie, Nick. "Drug Decriminalization in Portugal." Reason, vol. 41, no. 3, July 2009, p.

13. 26 March 2017. Web.  

This article presents an interview with Glenn Greenwald, who is a civil rights attorney. Greenwald states that the legalization of the drug could be an issue for it potentially is biased: while the use of the drug stays as illegal, against the law, the drug itself is completely removed from the criminal problems.

This is an excellent article for it shows one example of the consequences of the use – or not – of the drug. As the Portuguese law of decriminalization, tension has built up. The author studies the reasons why the decimalization should or not work. By showing the readers an example of it, the author brings more reliability to my own work, and emotional touches as well, for the connection between people’s feelings about the matter would resurface as they see one good example of the discrimination of the drug.

This article would be of major importance to my essay, for it would show one side of the issue the other authors had not thought about: the given example of a working society. Also, the data provided is powerful and could be helpful setting up a strong logos domain.

Joffe, Alain, and W. Samuel Yancy. "Legalization Of Marijuana: Potential Impact On Youth." Pediatrics 113.6 (2004): e632-e638.Academic Search Premier. 26 March 2017. Web.

This article has a more technical and data based foundation and it connects many aspects of the sociological aspects that can be in accordance to the possibility of legalization. The authors provide a thorough and reliable historical background of what society approached the users and sellers of the drug throughout the years.

This article could be insightful to my paper for it would show how the drug – and even its use for medical purposes – could have a rather negative impact on the younger part of the population. The concerns about the youth and how they can relate and might react to the legalization is the main aspect of this article. Also, this article has a greater tendency against the legalization of the drug, unlike the first article, for example.

Coming from a journal of pediatric medicine, this article will provide my essay with more technical, yet more confusing, terms on the topic. Moreover, the mean of publication gives it much more credibility, thus enhancing my own work as well.

Kleiman, Mark. "A Nudge toward Temperance." Washington Monthly, vol. 46, no. 3-5, Mar-May2014, p. 38. 26 March 2017. Web.

This article has the main purpose of trying to understand the main impacts that discrimination of marijuana could cause in the world and to express his idea that there should be a counter attack. A way of somehow preventing people from the access, gives the dealers less money, which makes them less careful but also more powerful.

Although I like this article, it was one page only, and, with the many sources options that I have, it seems rather unfair not to use other ones, which are more complete.

Kreit, Alex. "What Will Federal Marijuana Reform Look Like?" Case Western Reserve Law Review 65.3 (2015): 689-718. Academic Search Premier. 26 March 2017. Web.

This article has a focus on the need for change in the United States’ federal laws in order to have the legalization process run more smoothly. Among the discussed topics are: the need for Marijuana reforms across the country (so that federal and state laws are not overlapping each other anymore), the role of the U.S. DEA (Drug Enforcement Program) and even the medical issues it could provide the people.

This article has an engaging writing style. However, the authors seem to rely much of their arguments on aspects I either do not understand or haven’t heard of. Therefore, having this article as a possible piece to my research paper could be tricky.

The ethos domain of rhetoric is very present in this issue, and although it could be harder to read all of its 30 pages, full of technical content, I believe that this article could have a great connection to my previous one, as they both talk about the legal parts of having Marijuana as a legalized drug, but they disagree to about to what extents the drug could be harmful not only to the users, but to society as a whole.

Lidz, Gogo. "Breaking The Grass Ceiling. (Cover Story)." Newsweek Global 165.8 (2015): 22-29. Academic Search Premier. 26 March 2017. Web.

This article discusses how there are some women who are making the difference in the industry of selling legal Marijuana (to many medical needs). The author provides insightful information about the most important women in the business, which is expected to rise ridiculously if the drug gets legalized under federal laws. The article fully covers the extents to which the sale and the industry itself have progressed. The author includes valid and important information about the legal and ethical side of the legalization (the more conservative, the harder for a person to accept not only the drug dealers, but the users as well.

This article would be indeed helpful to my essay, for it would provide more credibility to it, since it is a publication from a big magazine. The author seems to be very objective, although at times, she becomes slightly biased towards the legalization (by mentioning how much it gave those women more ground and rights by selling it. Unlike the other articles, this one provides information about the women in the industry and that could possibly leave a window open for me to speak a little about the drug and even about how profitable the drug was in 2012: a 1 billion dollar worth industry (and many states even still treat it as business only).

I believe that this would be a helpful source to my research, for my research, it not only covers the topic in question, but it also backs up my thesis about the marijuana legalization will and should be treated as a large spider net. Although this article is way shorter than the others, I believe it would even be more helpful, for the language provided is easier, hence easier to understand full stories and to have discussions.

Rojas, Andrea S. Marijuana : Uses, Effects and the Law. Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2011. Substance Abuse Assessment, Interventions and Treatment. E-book.

This source would provide my essay with an even better source on the uses and effects of the drug: an entire book about it. The book intensely goes through all the psychological, psychopathological and of substance abuse topics that the legalization of the drug could possibly bring to us and to society.

Since it is a printed book – resource of information – the use of this book in my article could bring an objective point of view to my essay, as well as it would be of great importance to the final credibility of the research paper.

Unlike what the other articles had stated, marijuana has had a few shots at being studied and this book shows the results of it and the relationships it has to others aspects of life. Moreover, this source should help me to shape my thesis that scientific data is not only needed to be gathered, but also to be studied and understood. In this aspect, the decriminalization should end up as a process not only of turning a new drug legal, but to finishing all the financial iligal support it gave some people.

Waxman, Olivia B. "How America Voted." Time 186.20 (2015): 14. Academic Search Premier. 26 March 2016. Web.

Published by TIME magazine, this article exposes to the readers the many things that concerned the ballot voting. The author travelled some place. This article creates a thorough view on the information about the poor US conditions, and it appoints that some people already knew how this story ended, even before it began.

This article could be connected to some of my previous articles for they all possess some kind of critique to one department in society; the Church, the State or even Society itself. I believe that this article would be influential to athletes who actually wanted to learn about this topic. Also, the way that the author writes, in a neutral non-biased manner, brings to my essay more credibility and data.

Weiss, Suzanne. "The Green (and Winding). (Cover Story)." State Legislatures, vol. 41, no. 3, Mar. 2015, pp. 20-24. Accessed 26 March 2017.

This article discusses how the marijuana’s legalization has developed in the states of Colorado and Washington, with state law being more powerful than the federal one.

The author conveys a much detailed aspect of how the drug has changed the places it has been legalized at (and the society as well.)

This article was provided by the schools database, and although I found it interesting, I believe that it is too short (2 pages only) to be added to my paper, since there are so many other men lined up outside a door for me. Therefore, If I had the chance to choose, I would prefer not to sing the song.