Ghimire 1

Ashim Ghimire Greg Seitz English 102 November 10, 2010 Legalize Marijuana: An Annotated Bibliography Clark, Peter A. "The Ethics of Medical Marijuana: Government Restrictions vs. Medical Necessity." Journal of Public Health Policy 21.1 (2000): 40-60. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

This article claims that getting marijuana legalized for medical purpose is a tough job as of government restriction in growing it. Conventional medicine is getting old and cannot cure everything. That is why 40% of the nation gets some unconventional medicine for the betterment. There should be research for such unconventional medicine which can lower the medical risk and make people happy using it. One unconventional medicine is marijuana, which is already used for chemotherapy patients to help them with nausea and vomiting, and weight loss in associated to AIDS. Seven states have been granted permission to research marijuana and its many potential medical uses. This article is in support of the government allowing marijuana for medical use and does a good job explaining the restrictions that researchers face, and how they could get it legalized for their use. I learned the restrictions that researchers face to get marijuana legalized for their use and the possible positives outcomes of getting it legalized.

Ghimire 2

Sullum, Jacob. "Pot luck." Reason 26.3 (1994): 16. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 9 Nov. 2010. Sullum explores the relation of marijuana with fatal traffic collisions by comparing the accident between the drunk-drivers and pot stoned drivers. In this article, writer states that there are many opinions exaggerating the risk of pot. While he states that driving under the influence of pot is not safe, studies show that marijuana affects the motor skills less than alcohol. In a study of accident over seven states, 40 percent of drug related accidents were caused by consumption of alcohol whereas 1 percent of accident was related with pots. This article will help disperse some of the pre-conceived notions of marijuana as a harmful drug. I will use this article to provide an ethos appeal to my readers to show that- while few- studies have been done to show marijuana is not harmful. Zucker, Arthur. "LAW AND ETHICS." Death Studies. 22 (1998): 199-201. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 9 Nov. 2010. This column written by Arthur Zucker provides another argument in favor of medicinal legalization. The article briefly assumes that it is an old belief of conservative people that marijuana should not be legalized. In their opinion, Marijuana is harmful. It is a gateway drug, and it sends the wrong message to children. Zucker then ignores the former view and provides logical answers to all these three questions. He also raises another more important one. With the crucial ok for medicinal usage, how will that affect the doctor-patient relationship? The article provides three equally reasonable points of view for those issue raised by conservative people. He also proves some of them. Before this article, I had not taken into account how much the doctor-patient relationship would be affected. Can someone imagine their doctor being their

Ghimire 3

dealer? While thats a bit of a broad perspective but the question does arise how much information are they allowed to disclose before they are blacklisted?

Battle, Allen. "Health Topics." UT Medical Group. 15 May 2002. UT Medical Group. 20 Feb. 2007 <http://www.utmedicalgroup.com/pages/webchat_addiction.html>.

This is an interview with Dr. Allen Battle. He is a University of Tennessee Medical Group Clinical Psychologist. In his interview he states that because of presence of THC, an active ingredient, marijuana is not addictive and does not become a part of the body chemistry. He also argues that gambling, food, and sex are not addictive. He believes these are obsessions. People do this stuff for escaping problems that they have in their daily lives. They can forget all those problems they have which helps them to create peaceful mind. He uses good reasons to suggest that marijuana is not addictive by comparing marijuana to other common habits. He further explains that body becomes dependent to these habits just like food and water.

Zimmer, Lynn, and John P. Morgan. Marijuana Myths: Marijuana Facts. New York: Lindesmith Center, 1997. 1-241.

This book is written by two people, Lynn Zimmer, Ph.D, and John Morgan, M.D., both professors at universities in New York. This book is intended to teach anyone who wants to learn more about marijuana. This book lists several facts about marijuana, including its addictiveness. It states that less than 1% smoke marijuana daily and that hardly anyone develop a dependence on marijuana. It also says that some people smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty. It gives many facts and statistics about how many people use the drug in

Ghimire 4

different circumstances that I plan on using in the not addictive argument. I also plan on using some of the studies with animals injected with THC and their argument about how it has no relevance to human marijuana users.

Buckley Jr., William F. "The Pot Wars Go On." National Review 52.22 (2000): 66. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

This Buckley article discusses, among other topics, Proposition 5 in Alaska that would make marijuana legal outright. Buckley presents problems that would arise from such a law but continues to state his support. This is the first article I have come across that discusses attempts to fully legalize pot in the US. Under Proposition 5, marijuana will be offered by licensed sellers who would oversee quality and distribution. The bill goes even further than just medicinal usage; it actually states that reparations would be granted to those whove had their sources seized by the government.

"FAQs." The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana La. 01 Nov. 2006. NORML. 25 Feb. 2007 <http://www.norml.org/>. This websites intended audience is any person that has an interest in the issue of marijuana legalization. NORML is a non-profit, public-interest lobby that opposes marijuana prohibition. They believe that the addictiveness to marijuana is low compared to other addictive drugs. They use the U.S. Institute of Medicine as their source of facts that support that marijuana is not addictive. According to this website, Marijuana prohibition needlessly destroys the lives and careers of literally hundreds of thousands of good, hard-working, productive citizens each year in this country. More than 800,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges last year, and

Ghimire 5

more than 5 million Americans have been arrested or marijuana offenses in the past decade. Almost 90 percent of these arrests are for simple possession, not trafficking or sale. This is a misapplication of the criminal sanction that invites government into areas of our private lives that are inappropriate and wastes valuable law enforcement resources that should be focused on serious and violent crime. They state that less than one in ten marijuana smokers become regular users, compared to 15% for alcohol and 32% for tobacco smokers. They also argue that cannabis withdrawal symptoms are rare, and they are mild and subtle compared to those associated with alcohol and heroin. They believe that honest educational campaign can make people responsible while consuming marijuana.

Pacula, Rosalie Liccardo, et al. "State Medical Marijuana Laws: Understanding the Laws and their Limitations." Journal of Public Health Policy 23.4 (2002): 413-439. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

The article discusses the state medical laws regarding the use of marijuana in the United States, through an emphasis on their conceptions and limitations. Twenty-sex states and D.C. have been allowed by the government to use marijuana for specific medical purposes since December 31, 2000. Even if it looks like a large step but the laws enabling the states to do so are very strict. Many groups have joined on advocating the use of medical marijuana including the American Medical Association. Other groups like the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana only want the medical marijuana laws if marijuana becomes legal. This article is a good source about the specific laws that let people use marijuana for medical purpose and laws that dont. It does a good job by clearing up the misunderstood laws. This knowledge will be good when it comes time to write my paper while I can use a lot of facts from this article in my paper.

Ghimire 6