Courtney Kessler

Professor Madden

ENG 1201 Online

14 July 2019

Online Casebook

My academic essay will explore the idea of why marijuana is not legal in all 50 states. I

want to find out why marijuana is not legal everywhere. What is it about marijuana that makes it

illegal and what about it that makes it legal. I want to know how beneficial and harmful

marijuana can be to the consumer, our economy, and to society as a whole. How has marijuana

affected the states that have legalized it?

Berman, Robby. (November 17, 2017). A Clear-Eyed Comparison of Alcohol vs Marijuana.

Accessed July 4, 2019, from https://bigthink.com/robby-berman/a-clear-eyed-

comparison-of-alcohol-vs-marijuana.

In this article, “A Clear-Eyed Comparison of Alcohol vs Marijuana” Robby Berman is

comparing and contrasting the negative effects of alcohol and marijuana. The clear difference

between the two is the death rates. Alcohol is known to cause many long-term diseases like

breast cancer, liver disease, heart disease and even death. On the other hand, there are no

fatalities from the use of marijuana. The likelihood of addiction is more prevalent in alcohol

drinkers than marijuana users, as people who smoke are more dependent than addicted. While

marijuana impairs driving, driving while being intoxicated with alcohol is known to kill. I will

use this information to compare and contrast the effects marijuana and alcohol have on us.
Bogdanov, Ekaterina & Goltz, Nachshon. Lessons from Washington and Colorado: The Potential

Financial Gains of Recreational Marijuana to Canada. Accessed July 14, 2019, from

https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=19&sid=d1734b2a-f302-4509-

9b97-8246759c8623%40pdc-v-sessmgr02.

In the research article, “Lessons from Washington and Colorado: The Potential

Financial Gains of Recreational Marijuana to Canada” by Ekaterina Bogdanov and

Nachshon Goltz, the two law graduates have a lot to say about the future financial gains

recreational marijuana could have on Canada. With the legalization of recreational

marijuana in Colorado and Washington, there are many benefits being presented. This

article provides information on marijuana smoking patterns in Canada, Colorado and

Washington’s legalization history, regulatory framework, and taxation. The financial cost

of marijuana criminalization is high and with the push for legalization can lessen the cost.

This information was found using the EBSCOhost on Sinclair Community College’s

Library website and is credible. I will use this information to provide statistics and factual

information from different states who have legalized marijuana as well as statistics from

Canada.

Brennan, Mary & Weber, Lydia Marie. (2017, February). Should Marijuana be Legalized?

Accessed July 4, 2019, from https://www.npjournal.org/article/S1555-4155(16)30757-

7/pdf.

In the article, “Should Marijuana be Legalized?” two nurse practitioners Mary Brennan

and Lydia Marie have different opinions on the legalization of marijuana. Mary Brennan believes

that marijuana should not be legalized due to its harmful health effects and on the other hand,
Lydia Weber believes that marijuana should be legalized due to the benefits of its medicinal and

recreational use. Having both perspectives will help give an unbiased view of my topic for my

academic article. This article is from the Journal for Nurse Practitioners Volume 13, Issue 2,

Pages 116-117 which was published in February 2017.

Cowan, Nils & Morton, Riley. Evergreen: The Road to Legalization. Accessed July 7, 2019,

http://www.evergreendocumentary.com/.

In the documentary, “Evergreen: The Road to Legalization” produced by filmmakers

Riley Morton and Nils Cowan was based on Initiative 502. Initiative 502 was the law that made

Washington the first American state to legalize the possession of recreational marijuana.

Washington soon inspired Colorado to join in on the change four days later. I will use this

documentary in my academic essay to include the information on the legalization of marijuana in

Washington and Colorado and the benefits it has caused.

History.com Editors. HISTORY. Marijuana. Accessed July 4, 2019, from

https://www.history.com/topics/crime/history-of-marijuana.

In the informative article, “Marijuana” written by History.com Editors we learn all about

marijuana. From the use of herbal medicine to recreational use, marijuana has many uses. The

article talks about the effects of marijuana, the Marijuana Tax Act, the legalization of marijuana,

and the uses of medical and recreational marijuana can do for you. In this article it is very

interesting to learn about the origin of marijuana and how it got here today. The effects of

marijuana use are included in this article and will help me write about why marijuana isn’t
legalized in all 50 states today and/or why states have chosen to legalize it. This website is very

informative and is a great source for my academic essay.

Villa, Lauren. The Great Debate: Alcohol vs Marijuana. Accessed July 4, 2019, from

https://drugabuse.com/marijuana-vs-alcohol/.

In the article “The Great Debate: Alcohol vs Marijuana” by Lauren Villa, alcohol and

marijuana are being differentiated from each other. I will be comparing the two (including

cigarettes) and which one is worse for you. I will be asking the question: If alcohol and cigarettes

are legal and worse for you, then why isn’t marijuana? This article will give me the insight to

find the answer to my question. The article concludes that although both may be bad for you, one

out ways the other by far.

WebMD. How Does Marijuana Affect You? Accessed July 4, 2019, from

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/marijuana-use-and-its-effects#1-3.

The article, “How Does Marijuana Affect You?” by WebMD provides the insight on how

and why marijuana gives you the effects it does. I plan to use this information to states the

effects THC and other chemicals in marijuana has on one’s mental and physical state. I will also

inform the reader about what marijuana is composed of and how it affects one the way it does.