Marijuana Legalization: an Annotated Bibiliography

Colin Morris Ms. Morgan English 102-053 1 March 2013 Is it time for the Federal Government to Bud out of States’ Rights? : An Annotated Bibliography Cohen, Micah. â€Å"Marijuana Legalization and States Rights. † FiveThirtyEight Marijuana Legalization and States Rights Comments. The New York Times, 8 Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. Summary: This article starts off by asking a new question about the legalization of marijuana. It doesn’t ask whether or not it should be legal, but if the government should change it’s laws on drug enforcement.The polls show that in most of them polls, half of the pollsters believe that it should be left up to the states that have legalized marijuana to decide the laws. It concludes by stating that even though some believe it should be left up to the states, 49% of those people are still opposed to legalization. Analysis: This article makes some very interesting points that are not really brought up in a normal legalization debat e. The issue of states’ rights brings a whole new side to the debate. He also does a very good job of keeping his bias out of the article.There are some places in his writing where his bias could have shown but he kept it out. Cohen’s numerous polls do all come to one conclusion; not everyone believes marijuana is a bad thing. Those supporting the issue of states’ rights could help turn the tide in this ongoing debate. What he lacks in this article is a way that pro-legalization leaders could use this new strategy to help their cause. A way to do this would be to show that there are average Americans who could have a say in this debate and not just stoners. Peterson, Bo. â€Å"Legal Pot in South Carolina? DonAt Hold Your Breath. † The Post and Courier.The Post and Courier, 13 Nov. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. Summary: This article draws support from unions and civil rights advocates in the Charleston area. These groups all agree that South Carolina should fol low with Colorado and Washington. But these groups are countered by senators who believe this issue not only has no ground, but has no chance of happening with this current legislation, due to it’s conservative nature. Analysis: Looking at this article as a South Carolinian, it just shows how for as long as I can remember, our state legislature has had a hard time getting anything accomplished.This article points out the ever growing gap between the people and the government in this state will be the main reason why marijuana will have a hard time being legalized. Bias is not an issue in this article, the writer addresses both sides and draws support from both sides. Even though this article has the general idea that legalization will not happen in South Carolina for awhile, the fact that there are people who think that it should happen, helps the cause as much as it can. Robillard, Kevin. â€Å"Medical Marijuana Bill Unveiled in House. † POLITICO.POLITICO, 25 Feb. 201 3. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. Summary: In this article, a bill was brought before congress that would help lay out a plan for the government to eventually legalize marijuana. Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer did this in an effort to shed some some light on the federal pot policy. Surprisingly this bill has 13 co-sponsors. These sponsors happen to come from both parties, one is a Republican from California. Though his bill isn’t likely to pass, bills in New Hampshire, Illinois, New York and Maryland are expected to pass to make medicinal marijuana legal.Analysis: This article does nothing but give hope to the pro-legalization crowd. These bills that are circulating through various state Houses are nothing but good news. This writer does a nice job of bringing in people for sources who are actually close to the issue. One of these sources has the idea that medicinal marijuana could help troops with post-traumatic stress. That would be affective but would require a motion from not only p eople within legislature, but an idea could be to bring in some military execs to help back their claims.But the issue still remains that there are still people a lot of pro-legalization people who do not have a voice. But until there is one solid voice for this issue, it will not go anywhere in the House or the Senate. Pack, Lauren. â€Å"Marijuana Summit Counters Legalization Movement. † Dayton, Ohio Network News, Weather, Traffic, Sports. WHIOTV, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. Summary: This article was on a regional marijuana summit in Ohio. This event brought in people from all sides of the issue, from the business, medical, education, law enforcement and government.Since there are 18 states that have legalized pot, Ohio is looking to push into that group. The usual arguments were brought up from the pro crowd, but the anti-legalization brought up a valid point, 10 percent of card holders in those states actually have a legit reason to have them, but 90 percent use them for headaches etc. But the summit came to the conclusion that if it is about business then they can support it. Analysis: This kind of summit is something that tends to be happening more and more across the country.These summits bring people together who can actually make a difference when the legalization issue comes up. What people don’t realize is that when there is an issue that needs attention all it takes is important people in numbers getting behind then. This kind of summit could actually help progress the pro-legalization cause. The smartest part of the way this summit is constructed was by bringing in people who held power in all parts of the local government. If this method was used across the country, the pro-legalization group would have a much better chance of succeeding.Ludwig, Mike. â€Å"Is America ready to Legalize Marijuana?. † Truthout. Truthout, 7 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2013. Summary: This article tracks another bill that is circulating from the House rather than the Senate. The democratic Rep. from Colorado is proposing a bill that would help lay out a plan that could start a motion to legalize marijuana within the next few years. Support is drawn from polls that are stating that slightly more than half of all Americans belief that adults should be able to purchase marijuana like they do alcohol or tobacco.The bill proposes to remove pot from the Controlled Substance Act. Analysis: This article like most others on the subject, gives marijuana users hope that one day they will not be discriminated. Seeing that there is more than one person in Congress trying to make this works makes users believe they can use freely soon. The more that I look into these articles, the more I find that there really are a good amount of people who actually want to make this happen. By bringing in the idea that we are spending too much money on the war on drugs, the argument for pro-legalization grows new legs.By laying out a plan for all of th e money America could be saving, more people could gather around this idea that the debt that keeps going up, could eventually come down to a more manageable amount. Hale, Gary. â€Å"What Is the Best Regulatory Framework for Legalized Marijuana? † Baker Institute Blog. N. p. , 31 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2013. Summary: In this article, the writer addresses the issue of what exactly would be legal when it comes to the future of marijuana.It addresses the issue of the new business side as well Dispensaries would have to gather numerous permits and would rapidly increases in numbers in just a few months. But first the government would have to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act. Until that happens, all of this talk is just speculation. Analysis: This article brings some new ideas to the table as well as some more roadblocks that are not normally talked about. With marijuana being on the banned drugs list, that is the largest hurdle that is left for marijuana to be totally legalized.Right now it is in the same category as LSD and heroine, some people would find that a little excessive. In my opinion marijuana does not even come close to being as dangerous as LSD or heroine. The writer does a nice job at keeping his bias out of his writing. He does an even better job at making hard to detect what side of the argument he falls on. But outside of that the article lays down so pretty interesting ideas that the pro legalization crowd could use in later arguments.