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Rhetoric Analysis
Sam Lipsmeyer
Professor Fielding
WRTC 103-30
The War on Drugs Has Failed Us All
Much controversy has been raised over the effectiveness of the so called War on Drugs. The
War on Drugs dates as far back as when ex-president Richard Nixon created the nationwide effort to stop
drug use and other drug related offenses. This long and tireless endeavor has lasted over 30 years, and
many feel it is time to put an end to it. Many of these people draw similarities to the alcohol prohibition
of the 1920s. Evidence has begun to compile supporting the argument that The War on Drugs has
actually backfired and done more harm than good for society. Richard Bransons The War on Drugs a
Trillion Dollar Failure in addition to Sam Lipsmeyers Is It worth It PSA contain credible and factual
evidence that has an emotional appeal pertaining to the true ineffectiveness and costliness of The War on
Drugs.
The main argument present in Richard Bransons The War on Drugs a Trillion Dollar Failure is
that the United States government has spent an unreasonable amount of funding on stopping the use of
many different recreational drugs. This claim is aimed largely at political figures, law enforcement,
government officials, and voters. Voters are the most important group of the overall audience because of
their ability to make a true change in policy due to their civic duty. The style of this argument is scholarly
with touches of conversational, as when Branson talks about his personal connection of his sons
documentary on the subject. The article is largely in logistical order, consisting of factual evidence and
then examples to back up each of the facts present. Branson effectively uses all three rhetoric appeals:
ethos, logos, and pathos.

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The most important, and dominant, appeal in this article is logos. The author presents an enormity
of hard factual and logical statements, such as It also estimates there are 230 million illegal drug users in
the world, yet 90% of them are not classified as problematic (Branson). More statistical data is also
present when Branson states: The U.S. has the largest prison population in the world, with about 2.3
million behind bars. Another prime example is evident when Branson discusses that The U.S. is the No.
1 nation in the world in illegal drug use. This is effective in bringing to light how critical of an issue this
is for the U.S. If illegal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco, they
would yield $46.7 billion in tax revenue, is another quote from Branson. This fact shows how much
money we could be making if we would finally end The War on Drugs. These examples of logos are all
statistical evidence regarding the use of illegal drugs in the U.S. and the rest of the world.
In order to support his factual claims, they are accompanied by credible sources. Through the use
of these sources, Branson asserts himself as credible to the minds of the audience. Examples such as A
Cato study says legalizing drugs would save the U.S. about $41 billion a year in enforcing the drug laws,
and In 2005, the United Nations estimated the global illegal trade is worth more than $320 billion
(Branson). Branson also includes a more personal example when he writes: As part of this work, a new
documentary, Breaking the Taboo, narrated by Oscar award-winning actor Morgan Freeman and
produced by my son Sam Bransons indie Sundog Pictures, followed the commissions attempts to break
the political taboo over the war on drugs. Trust has been established through the thorough use of
accredited persons and sources.

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Is It Worth It?

The PSA by Sam Lipsmeyer supports Bransons case against The War on Drugs through appeals
of ethos, logos, and pathos. The mainstay of the PSA is an image depicting a policeman chasing after a
marijuana leaf, firing off a gun made of one-hundred dollar bills. This conveys the idea that law
enforcement is wasting money fighting this problem when there is a more obvious and clear decision.
Accompanying the image is text containing a fact and two statements aimed at achieving each of the three
rhetoric appeals.

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There are two particular statements aimed at creating an appeal of pathos. The first, The United
States spends more per incarcerated person than we do per student wasnt The War on Drugs to help
our kids?? Bringing the subject of children into the argument is a surefire way to hit the emotional
response of people. Informing people that the U.S. spends more on imprisonment than education kick
starts extremely heated debates. The next statement is simpler, however still manages to strike an
emotional response. Posing the question Is it worth it, urges people to think critically about the costs
and benefits and is intended to create a sense of shame for our government.
The author of the PSA, Lipsmeyer, does not have an established reputation on the subject.
Lipsmeyer has recently researched into the topic of The War on Drugs and has not become active in the
fight against it in the community. The PSA is heavily one-sided, representing only the viewpoint against
The War on Drugs. The bias of the PSA is very evident to the audience. The author effectively uses a
serious tone to win support from the audience for his side of the argument. The diction used in the PSA
was appropriate for his use primarily of the rhetoric appeal pathos. The PSA is not entirely professional,
with a cartoon drawing of a marijuana leaf being chased by a car. Lipsmeyer does, however, link his
argument to an accredited organization: www.drugpolicy.org. Using the organization to cite a claim in his
PSA creates a sense of legitimacy and trustworthiness.
The last rhetoric appeal is logos, which is also present in Lipsmeyers PSA, is present in the
factual evidence. The statement: The U.S. spends $51000000000 annually on The War on Drugs is pure
logical evidence. This fact, which is conveniently accredited by www.drugpolicy.org, appeals to logos.
The use of logos is the best appeal for this kind of argument. With such controversy surrounding the topic,
the use of factual evidence is best for gripping the minds of the weary. Pathos can only sway ones
opinion so far on matters that are this controversial. Cold, hard facts supported by trusted sources is key.
Bransons article presents a plethora of factual evidence supporting his claim, and the picture
depicted in Lipsmeyers PSA supports it with a primary appeal to pathos. The two complement each

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other. It would be wise to analyze the PSA prior to the article because of its nature to strike an emotional
response which could be quickly validated by the logos presented in Bransons The War on Drugs a
Trillion Dollar Failure. The stronger argument is the article, due to its many more examples of the three
rhetoric appeals than that of the PSA. However, both arguments are highly effective in supporting the
claim that The War on Drugs has become too costly, and needs to be heavily restructured.

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Works Cited
Branson, Richard. "War on Drugs a Trillion-dollar Failure - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News
Network, 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.
Lipsmeyer, Sam. Advertisement. Is it worth it? Oct. 2015: 7. Hand drawn.