Article Writing Homework Help

Discussion Board Thread Topic 350 words

Discussion Board 1 

Using your textbook and/or one primary outside resource, please discuss why Marijuana should or should not be legalized. Might legalizing Marijuana outweigh its benefits or lead to additional social problems in our society? Is making Marijuana use legal or not-legal a true benefit or strictly political?

Reply to at least two classmates substantively discussing what they have shared. Be sure to support your thoughts from the textbook and/or primary resource per the rubric for class.

Reply #1 250 words 

Glenn Snyder

I’m personally bent more toward libertarianism politically. I have a hard time with the idea of legislating morality into the culture. There are some hard clear lines regarding things like protecting the unborn or protecting minors from risks that they are unable to properly assess. This for me is where the legalizing of marijuana becomes an issue. While I can see that there is strong evidence how “marijuana slows the spread of cancer and of Alzheimer’s disease” (Henslin 2017, p. 95), my worry is the potential growth in use among youth if marijuana is federally legalized for recreational purposes. A journal article from this year talks about the rapid rise in “sales of electronic cigarettes…after a plethora of advertisements featuring glamorous celebrities.” (Thomas, 2019 p. 287) 

Ultimately I am not against legalization but just as with alcohol and also explicit sexual media. The legal right people can have to use them doesn’t mean that they don’t cause harm. “Everything is permissable, but not everything is beneficial.” (1 Corinthians 10:23, NIV)

 References

Crossway, & Bibles, C. (2014). John. In Study Bible-ESV.

Henslin, J. M. (2017). Social Problems: A Down-to-Earth Approach (12th ed.). Retrieved from https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134521466/Thomas, S. P. (2019).

The Alarming Increase in Vaping among Youth. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 40(4), 287-288. doi:10.1080/01612840.2019.1578142

Reply #2 250 words

Tasha Lockett

One difference between marijuana and tobacco is one is taxed and legal the other is not. Out of all of my years of knowing many who smoked marijuana never did I see them violent, or cause harm to themselves or others. I am all for legalizing marijuana. It is a dynamic business with less fatalities then tobacco and alcohol. Think about it, alcohol has caused death, suicide, and medical issues that result in suffering and death. Yet it still remains legal. Tobacco causes medical issues such as cancer that can result in death. “Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) each year in the United States from 2006 – 2010, shortening the lives of those who died by an average of 30 years” (CDC, 2018). Many celebrities have publicly come out in many platforms and backed the legalization of marijuana and their use of it. Most of them are very successful and can function in their occupational capacity while using marijuana. Big names like, Cameron Diaz, Seth Rogen, Steve Jobs, Morgan Freeman, and Whoopi Goldberg have said that they enjoy smoking marijuana and don’t intend to stop. All of them very relevant in their craft today and influential on many levels. The largest problem I think is not in the use of marijuana but in the sale and trafficking. Because it is illegal it must be smuggled in and lives are lost from bad drug deals, and the risk they take. If it were legalized there would be open trading and taxing. It would open shops and business where it would provide more revenue as a benefit and open jobs and build capital. The marijuana business is a lucrative business that is growing daily. The fact that its illegal in most states has not stopped the use. Imagine how the use and distribution will grow if there were no threat to jail time. Marijuana has no more side effects then some drugs that are given to patients daily to sustain life. There are so many benefits and so much more to gain. If marijuana were legalized.        

References

CDC. (2018, January 3). Center for Disease Control nad Prevention . Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm

Henslin, J. (2018). Social Problems . In J. Henslin, A Down to Earth Approach . New york: Pearson .