EndingFederalCannabisProhibition

JakeBeekmann

Whostosaythatit'snotjustifiedforonetoconsumemarijuanainordertoprovidesecurityforcitizens
onasmallscale?Infact,BenjaminFranklinonceacknowledged,Anysocietythatwillgiveupalittle
libertytogainalittlesecuritywilldeserveneitherandloseboth.It'sabouttimetheFederalGovernment
receivesawakeupcallandrealizesthatmarijuanaprohibitionhasfaileddramatically.Theyhavedenied
citizensthelibertytoconsumeasubstancewithstrongmedicalproperties,aswellasavastamountof
recreationalpleasure.Ithasbeenalmost40yearssinceCongresspassedthecurrentbanonmarijuana,
whileinflictingimpairmentonsocietyforasubstancefarlessdangerousthanalcohol.Thetimeislong
overdueforCongresstorepealthatdecision.InordertoensurejusticeamongcitizensoftheU.S,the
federalgovernmentmustlegalizemedicalmarijuanatoincreasetheeconomicopportunitythatis
currentlyuntapped.Thelegalproductshouldbetaxed,andthetaxwindfallsshouldbeusedprimarilyto
fundourstrappedU.S.publiceducationsystem.(

Withregardstothis,theU.S.facesasubstantialamountoffederaldeficitsaccordingtoCNNMoney,
leavingusmorethan$18.1trillionorabout74%ofGDP(GrossDomesticProduct)indebt
.
Federal
spendinghastakenamajorcutinthelastfewyearsandit'sabouttimethatthedilemmafacesaquick
improvement.Thelegalizationofmarijuanacouldboosteconomicopportunityconsiderablyandsupport
thefederalgovernmentspending.Accordingto
ForbesMagazine,
therewasarecentlayoffof200,000
oilfieldworkers.Theincreaseofjobsnationwidethroughlegalizationofcannabiscouldfulfillthe
massivejoblossandcreatemoreopportunityforthosewhostrugglefromsevereeconomicdepression.

Opponentstomarijuanalegalizationpointtoitsschedule1status,claimingthatpothasahighpotential
forabuseandhasbeenrecordedasaharmfuldrug.However,basedonrecentstudiesrecorded
byCableNewsNetwork(CNN),marijuanahasproventohavepositiveeffectsonmedicalpatientsthat
experienceseizures,chronicpain,stress,multiplesclerosis,Crohn'sdisease,andHIV.Inarecentreport
donebytheEpilepsyFoundation,
Seizuresdecreasedbyanaverageof54%in137peoplewho
completed12weeksonEpidiolex.Clearly,
medicallyprescribedcannabishasprovidedpositiveresults
tofamiliesacrossthenation.Althoughitisrecommendedthatfurthersafetyinformationisacquiredfor
longtermuseandeffectsonchildren.Theevidencesupportsthatitmustbeconsideredtoberescheduled
toaSchedule2drug.Stillwiththepotentialforabuse,whileopenformedicaluse.

Recognizingthepublicmoralityassociatedwithstatesthathavemarijuanalegislation,Iwouldsuggestwe
mustprotectthelibertyofourcitizensasawhole.Accordingto19thcenturyUtilitarianphilosopher,John
StuartMill,Theonlypurposeforwhichpowercanberightfullyexercisedoveranymemberofa
civilizedcommunity,againsthiswill,istopreventharmtoothers.Soasacountrythathasclearly
definedjusticeasliberty,shouldn'titbejustifiedtoallowadultsthelibertytodistinguishmoralsofdrug
consumptionaslongasitdoesnotposeharmtoothers?Ofcourseitshould,althoughifindividual
libertieswereviolatedinrelationtomarijuana,thenitshouldbejustifiedforthegovernmentregulatethe
industry.

Perhapswemustaddresstheconcernsrelatedtomarijuanaconsumptionbyunderliningthatwhen
someonedecidestousemarijuanainanaddictivemanner,itforcespeopletolosecontrolofthemselves,
whileinflictingharmonthepeoplearoundthem.Thismaycausealargedecreaseincivillibertiesif
peopleuseitthroughselfdestructionandexposuretoyoungchildren.Millmightbelievethatthe
reductionofcivillibertiesisimmoraliflegalizationofmarijuanaisnotmade.However,Millsdoesargue
thatoncesomeoneslibertiescauseharmtoothersortosocietyasawhole,thenthatlibertyshouldnotbe
tolerated.Infact,theonlyformofgovernmentMillwouldjustifyisonethathelpsprotectindividuals
fromtheft,fraudorphysicalharm.Basedonthatreasoning,Iwouldarguethatsometypesofregulation
arejustifiedinordertobothprotectindividuallibertyandsecurity.AlthoughIagreewithMills
reasoning,Ialsobelievethatourgovernmentneedstoputfocusintocitizensthatareexperiencingthe
morallyundesirableunemploymentrate.

TheHuffingtonPost
hassuggestedthattaxmoneyearnedfrommarijuanasalesshallbepouredintothe
U.S.educationsystems,inordertoprovidethelowerclasswithaffordableeducationandeducationthat
teacheschildrentherisksthatareassociatedwithdrugconsumption.Inaddition,Iwouldsuggestthata
percentageofthetaxationbededicatedtosubstanceabuseandmentalhealthprogramsinordertoaddress
theindividualsthatsufferfromdrugaddiction.AccordingtotheNationalInstituteofDrugAbuse,17
percentofindividualsthatbeginusingTHCintheirteenscanbecomedependentonotherillegaland
harmfulsubstancesintheirdailylives.Studieshavealsoshownthat18.2percentoftheadultpopulation
sufferfrommentalillnesswhichcanoftentimesrelatetosubstanceabuse.Unfortunately,therearenot
enoughprogramsinthecountrytoaddresstheseissues.Itwouldbebeneficialtohavefederalfunding
availabletosupportthisneed.

OnefurtherregulatorymeasureIwouldrecommendthefederalgovernmenttotakewouldbetofollow
ColoradosproceduresbypassingafederalAmendmentsimilartoColoradosAmendment64,which
states,Intheinterestofthehealthandpublicsafetyofourcitizenry,thepeopleofthestateofColorado
furtherfindanddeclarethatmarijuanashouldberegulatedinamannersimilartoalcohol.Thisincludes
providingidentificationwhichprovesappropriateage,strictbackgroundchecksformedicalmarijuana
licensing,andtaxationthatdirectlyfundstheeducationsystemintheU.S.Iwouldalsorecommendthat
thereberegulatorymeasuresonthepotencyandlevelofmarijuanainordertoprotectchildrenandteens
whomightinadvertently(orpurposely)consumemarijuana.

Ourcountrywouldbenefitsubstantiallythroughtheeconomicopportunityitwouldcreateandbythe
medicalusesforthosesufferingfromdiseaseanddebilitatingconditions.Legalizingmarijuanaonthe
federallevelwillrestorelibertytoourcitizensatasmallmoralcost,butwillprovideahugepublicgain
intermsoftaxdollarsandwillreestablishjusticeamongcitizens.

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1070

WorksCited

"ConstancePureBotanicalExtracts."
ConstancePureBotanicalExtracts
.N.p.,n.d.Web.19Nov.2015.
http://www.cbdfarm.org/about/testimonials.html
Paragraph3,Sarah'stestimonyaboutmarijuanause.

"IsMarijuanaAddictive?"
IsMarijuanaAddictive?
N.p.,n.d.Web.19Nov.2015.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/researchreports/marijuana/marijuanaaddictive

Jonathan_Miller."TheMoralCaseforLegalizingMarijuana."
TheHuffingtonPost
.
TheHuffingtonPost.com,n.d.Web.19Nov.2015.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathanmiller/themoralcaseforlegali_b_1199242.html

"JohnStuartMill."
:TheConciseEncyclopediaofEconomics
.N.p.,n.d.Web.19Nov.2015.
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Mill.html

Miron,Jeffrey."WhyCongressShouldLegalizePot."
CNN
.CableNewsNetwork,19Nov.2014.Web.
19Nov.2015.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/19/opinion/mironmarijuanalegalization/

Colorado.Amendment,64,Section23.b.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Amendment_64

OpEdRubric
10
9
Complete
Strong
executionofthe executionwith
standard
someroomto
improve

8
Meetsthe
standard

7
Approaching
thestandard

5
Belowthe
standard

0
Standardis
notpresentin
thepaper

Purpose/Focus______/10=____/10
______Doesthepaperhaveaclearperspectiveonjusticethatisarguable,insightfulandunique?

Organization______/10=___/10
______Doeseachparagraphhaveasingleclearideaorfocus?
______Doyourideasandparagraphslogicallyflowinawaythatmakessense?
______Istheoverallperspectiveofthepapersupportedineveryparagraph?
______Areyourparagraphsconciseandanappropriatelengthforanoped(36sentencesroughly)

Evidence_______/10x1.5=_____/15
______Haveyouusedmultipletypesofevidenceinyouroped?
______Doesyourevidencemakesenseinthecontextofyourargument?
______Areyourquotessetupcorrectly?(seethestudentexamples)
______HaveyouincludedacorrectlyformattedWorksCitedsection?

RhetoricandArgumentation___________/10x2.5=_____/25
______Doyoumakespecificandclearconnectionsbetweentheexamples/evidenceandtheperspective
oftheparagraphorpaper?
______Areyoumakingconnectionsbetweenyourideasforyourreader?
______Areyourargumentswellsupported,withoutunsupportedgeneralizationsormisinterpretations?
______Doyouincludeethos,pathosANDlogosinawaythatisrhetoricallyeffective?
______YouropeddoesNOTcontaindoublespeakorlogicalfallacies.

MoralandPoliticalPhilosophyContent______/10x3.5=____/35
_____Haveyouincludedalloftheserequirementsinyouroped?
1. Aconnectiontothemoralphilosophythatsupportsyourperspectiveonjusticeasitrelatestothe
issueathand(Utilitarianism,Libertarianism,Deontology,orRawlsJusticeasFairness)
2. Atleastonequotebyamoralphilosopher(Optional)
3. Therelevantbigidea/keytermassociatedwithyourchosenmoralphilosophy/ies
4. AreferencetoanarticleoramendmentintheU.S.Constitution
5. Asolutionorideasforresolvingthepoliticalissue

SentenceCraft_____/5
______Areyouwritingsentencesthataregrammaticallycorrect?
______Isthemeaningofyoursentencesclearandeasytofollow?
______Doyouusesimpleandcomplexsentencesforavariedeffect?

Proofreading______/5
______Arethereerrorsinyourpaperthatspellcheckcouldcatch?
______Didyoucarefullyreadthroughyourpaperforproofreadingerrors?
______Arealltheformattingrequirementsfromthechecklistcorrect(wordcount,spacing,title,etc.)?

FinalGrade:_________/105Points

PART2,Option1:PoliticalCampaignVisualRhetoricChecklistfor
Excellence
Refinement
______Hasthevisualpiecebeenrefinedandisapolishedandprofessionallookingpieceofwork?

Integration
______Doestheposterintegrateaquotefromaphilosopherthatyourresolution/perspectiveofjustice
mostembodies?
______Doesthequoteenhanceorilluminatethemessageofthevisualpiece?

______DoALLcomponentsofyourvisualpiececometogetherinacohesivemanner?Forthiscategory,
yourpostershouldintegratetheElementsforRhetoricalImpactasoutlinedinAshleysRhetoric:The
ArtofPersuasionpowerpoint.Theseelementsinclude:Arrangement,aesthetics,conciseness,toneand
clarity.

Perspective
______Doesthevisualclearlycommunicateyourperspectiveonjusticeasyouarticulateinyouroped
article?
______Cantheviewereasilyunderstandthatperspective?

RhetoricalImpact
______Isthevisualprovocative(meaning,doesitmakeyourreaderthinkandchallengehis/her
perspectiveonjusticeregardingyourpoliticalissue)?
______Haveyouusedatleast2Aristotelianappeals?(Ethos,pathos,logos)