1. I am trying to learn about marijuana’s negative side effects
2. I am trying to learn about marijuana’s negative side effects because I want to find out whether or not it is dangerous
3. I am doing this in order to consolidate a plethora of existing research in a single paper about marijuana’s negative side effects without talking about legalization or regulation.
Who hasn’t heard about the Penn State scandal? I feel I little confused about how to feel about this. It is my first year at Penn State and a scandal of this magnitude had to erupt. How it will affect my future employment opportunities is still unclear. The scandal boils down to sexual misconduct by Sandusky, a Penn State coach. He supposedly sexually abused young boys from a youth charity. Although Sandusky is the main perpetrator in the scandal, he is hardly the center of attention. Most of the media is focusing on the legendary Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno.
Joe Paterno has been given a bad reputation in the media. Many people claim that Paterno is culpable. Others believe that he is innocent. Both sides have legitimate perspectives. Legally, Paterno did what was required by rules and regulations. Some believe that he should have gone beyond the rules and regulations to follow up. Either way, Joe Paterno was not the child molester, but the media sees his role in the scandal as more important than Sandusky’s.
One inconsistency is that until today, McQueary was going to be the coach on Saturday’s game. The irony in that is that McQueary saw the sexual abuse first hand. What brought it upon the trustees to fire Joe Paterno, a legend, and keep McQueary? I feel that this is a grave inconsistency that shows an inappropriate reaction. As of now, McQueary is not going to coach Saturday’s game due to death threats that he received.
One result of the administration’s failure to empathize with the students was the riot Wednesday night. As a result of the riot, a WTAJ van was flipped, light posts were pulled out, and vehicles were attempted to be lit on fire. Anybody could have seen this coming when the trustees fired a legendary coach. For the trustees to not consider the backlash from firing a Penn State tradition is beyond comprehension. Joe Paterno had one more game to coach, and was not legally guilty as a trial had not been conducted.
One of the results of recent events is Penn State’s image being harmed. This is the largest university-level scandal to have evolved in recent years. How it will affect the university’s standings, both academic and sports, is still unknown. Many media outlets speculate that it will certainly harm both. This is of great concern to students and faculty alike. Through personal experience, my friends on facebook are reconsidering going to this university just because of this scandal. Also, some athletes decided to not play here next year because of this scandal. There are many backlashes, and the administration is doing everything they can to handle this situation poorly. Their responses are merely preventative and their decisions are not supported with evidence or explanation. This scandal has yet to come to full fruition as the trials and statements have not yet been conducted. Also, with a new administration and a new coaching staff, Penn State may become a new university altogether. Who knows what the future holds?
Original:
Marijuana is an herb that is used both medicinally and recreationally. It has been used by humans for thousands of years for such purposes. In the 20th century, many countries banned the drug. Recently, there has been an emergent movement to legalize it in the United States. Marijuana was banned in the United States with the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970. Under this act, marijuana is a schedule I drug (the most dangerous of the five schedules), along with heroine, ecstasy, magic mushrooms, and LSD. The surge started in 2010 with Proposition 19. This ballot referendum would have legalized possession and growth of marijuana in California. It didn’t pass, but it showed the growing movement to legalize pot. Recently, a revolutionary poll by Gallup showed that a plurality of Americans support the legalization of marijuana (Newport). Ironically, this consensus is not represented in Congress, with no congressmen coming out in support of marijuana. Even more biting, the President of the United States has admitted to smoking marijuana (Seelye). There is a stark contrast in the will of the American people and their representation in congress (Eckholm).
Martin Luther King Jr. said that “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” That is just what millions have done; they have disobeyed a marijuana laws that are unjust and unconstitutional. Marijuana has been used by humans for thousands of years. In the 20th century, many countries banned the drug. Recently, there has been an emergent movement to legalize it in the United States. Marijuana is an herb that is used both medicinally and recreationally. It was banned in the United States with the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970. Under this act, marijuana is a schedule I drug (the most dangerous of the five schedules), along with heroine, ecstasy, magic mushrooms, and LSD. The surge started in 2010 with Proposition 19. This ballot referendum would have legalized possession and growth of marijuana in California. It didn’t pass, but it showed the growing movement to legalize pot. Recently, a revolutionary poll by Gallup showed that a plurality of Americans support the legalization of marijuana (Newport). Ironically, this consensus is not represented in Congress, with no congressmen coming out in support of marijuana. Even more biting, the President of the United States has admitted to smoking marijuana (Seelye). There is a stark contrast in the will of the American people and their representation in congress (Eckholm).
My argument paper is supporting the legalization of marijuana on the federal level. To that extent, it would probably be posted on NORML’s website. NORML is a group whose goal is to end marijuana prohibition. It is the largest and most well-known group in support of the position. They have been in the news recently for having the most voted-upon petition at the White House’s petition site, We The People. The petition was in support of marijuana legalization.
The article I chose is called “Real World Ramifications of Cannabis Legalization and Decriminalization.” The article is about what would happen if marijuana were decriminalized and the insufficiencies of marijuana prohibition. The author first makes the statement that marijuana prohibition is an absolute failure. He claims that regulation gives the government control over marijuana. With prohibition, they are removing any regulation from marijuana, making it more dangerous. These dangers include gang violence, and an easy gateway to harder drugs. After that, the author uses several examples of marijuana being legal in other countries. For example, in India, one UN statement claimed that the legalization of marijuana deterred crime. Lastly, the author makes the point that the legalization of marijuana will not increase its use.
The author is clearly in support of the legalization of marijuana. He takes this stance very carefully, suggesting more practical proposals than full-on legalization. This is a very clever way to support a radical position. The article is organized into sections by issue. This is very convenient and easy to read. On top of that, the main points are highlighted in bold. This makes the piece very good for both reading and skimming. I agree with the writer on some points and not on others. The evidence that he used to make his points is sometimes very shady and warrants investigation. Otherwise, the author does use a lot of ethos in his article, giving him a lot of authority on the subject. I like what the writer did in his piece. He uses some very interesting references, organized his article in a very convenient matter, and makes an intriguing point. One thing I would have liked to see the author do differently is remove a little of the bias. Sometimes he hides it well, but other times when he uses a quote from a discussion as ethos to prove that an entire movement was successful, it makes me question his legitimacy. This is a very minor factor in the article, and it is otherwise well written.
This piece has many techniques I can incorporate into my own writing. For one, it does a great job at organization. It separates the questions that it answers into sections. On top of that, it separates its references into sections as well, making the read very simple. The main points are highlighted, which made it even easier to read. Lastly, the author uses many studies, facts, and quotes, some of which I can incorporate into my paper. The article was very well written, and gave me many ideas for my paper.
http://norml.org/marijuana/personal/item/real-world-ramifications-of-cannabis-legalization-and-decriminalization-2?category_id=729
