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Ethan Headlee
Professor Trisha Bailey
English 2010, MW 7:00-8:20
13 February 2013
Annotated Bibliography
Blumenson, Eric, and Eva Nilsen. "No Rational Basis: The Pragmatic Case For
Marijuana Law Reform." Virginia Journal Of Social Policy & The Law 17.1
(2009): 43-82. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Feb. 2013.
(Journal) Summary: “This article presents a critique of marijuana prohibition
and suggests some alternative regulatory approaches that would be more productive and
consonant with justice. Part I relies on a forty-year empirical record to demonstrate that
(1) reliance on a law enforcement approach has aggravated rather than mitigated the risks
involved with marijuana use, and (2) criminalization, which results in the arrest of more
than 700,000 Americans annually for possession of any amount of marijuana, is an
inhumane and destructive response to an act that almost 100 million Americans have
committed. Part II assesses the relative merits of several alternative reform policies,
including both decriminalization and legalization under a regulatory scheme.”
Assessment: This is a good study suggesting alternative approaches to legalizing
marijuana. I want to use the following quote, “ Reliance on a law enforcement approach
has aggravated rather than mitigated the risks involved with marijuana use, and
criminalization, which results in the arrest of more than 700,000 Americans annually for
possession of any amount of marijuana, is an inhumane and destructive response to an act
that almost 100 million Americans have committed.”
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Foner, Eric, and John A. Garraty. "Drugs." The Reader's Companion to American
History. Dec. 1 1991: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Feb 2013.
(Book) Summary: “Learn about drug use throughout American history. "Drugs
have never been absent from American life, but the type and level of use have varied over
time. Legal responses to drugs were profoundly influenced by the evolving interpretation
of the U.S. Constitution, which, until the twentieth century, reserved to the states the
police powers to regulate the health professions and drug availability. The result was a
generally free economy in drugs until late in the nineteenth century when an ineffective
patchwork of state antidrug laws were enacted."
Assessment: The book gives a good overview of drugs and their history in the
United States. I want to use the following quote in my report, “Drugs have never been
absent from American life, but the type and level of use have varied over time… The
laws against narcotics at the local, state, and national levels early in the twentieth century
reflected a strong antagonism to drug use. By 1937 intolerance and fear of drugs had
reached such dimensions that the Marijuana Tax Act was passed with little debate. As use
of drugs decreased, punishment increased until by 1955 the death penalty for providing
heroin to anyone under eighteen was added to federal statutes. Narcotic use retreated to
the margins of American society. But, beginning in the 1960s, drugs became increasingly
popular for recreational use, particularly among young people. The favored drug was
marijuana, but hallucinatory substances such as LSD and peyote, depressants such as
barbiturates, and opiates, particularly heroin, were also widely used.”
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Friese, Bettina, and Joel W. Grube. "Legalization Of Medical Marijuana And Marijuana
Use Among Youths." Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy 20.1 (2013): 33-39.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Feb. 2013.
(Journal) Summary: “This study examined the relationship of youth marijuana
use and perceived ease of access with the number of medical marijuana cards at the
county-level, and marijuana norms as indicated by per cent of voters approving
legalization of medical marijuana in 2004. Methods: Survey data from 17,482 youths
(aged 13-19) in Montana and county-level archival data, including votes for the
legalization of medical marijuana and the number of medical marijuana cards were
analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling.”
Assessment: I want to use the angle that this study uses. This study gives me
information on specifically marijuana use among youths and they find that, “Among
marijuana users, marijuana cards and voter approval were positively related to perceived
ease of access. The relation between medical marijuana cards and youth use may be
related to an overall normative environment that is more tolerant of marijuana use.
Interventions to prevent youth marijuana use should focus on adult norms regarding use
by and provision of marijuana to youths.”
Hildebrandt, Erin. "Medical Marijuana." Mothering. May/June 2004: 52-61. SIRS Issues
Researcher. Web. 10 Feb 2013.
(Magazine) Summary: “The author presents her experiences of using marijuana
for medicinal purposes during her pregnancies and notes her "belief that if the American
public were told the truth about marijuana, they could not help but support an immediate
end to cannabis prohibition" (Mothering).”
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Assessment: This article shows a very unique side to this argument. It explains
that marijuana during pregnancy, despite other beliefs, can help. I want to use this article
in my report to show the supporting side of legalizing marijuana. I would also like to use
the quote, “Marijuana completely transformed very dangerous pregnancies into more
enjoyable, safer, and healthier gestations.” And “Along the way, I discovered the benefits
of using marijuana to treat other disorders. At times, I have been plagued by migraines so
severe I would wind up in the emergency room. I would receive up to 250 milligrams of
Demerol and sometimes, when Demerol failed, even shots of Dilaudid. Thanks to my
sporadic use of marijuana and a careful dosing regimen, I have not been to an emergency
room in more than three years.”
Joffe, Alain, and W. Samuel Yancy. "Legalization Of Marijuana: Potential Impact On
Youth." Pediatrics 113.6 (2004): e632-e638. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11
Feb. 2013.
(Journal) Summary: This technical report provides historical perspectives and
comparisons of various approaches to the legal status of marijuana to aid in forming
public policy. Information on the impact that decriminalization and legalization of
marijuana could have on adolescents, in addition to concerns surrounding medicinal use
of marijuana, are also addressed in this report. Recommendations are included in the
accompanying policy statement.
Assessment: This journal article provides great examples and reason why
marijuana should not be legal. It focuses mainly on the youth. I want to use the following
quote, “Any change in the legal status of marijuana, even if limited to adults, could affect
the prevalence of use among adolescents.2 For example, tobacco and alcohol products,
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both legal for adults 18 and 21 years of age, respectively, are the psychoactive substances
most widely abused by adolescents.”
Kleber, Herbert, and Joseph A. Califano Jr. "Legalization: Panacea or Pandora's Box?."
World & I. Jan. 2006: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Feb 2013.
(Magazine) Summary: "Legalization of drugs has recently received some
attention as a policy option for the United States. Proponents of such a radical change in
policy argue that...drug prohibition, as opposed to illegal drugs themselves, spawns
increasing violence and crime...drug abuse and addiction would not increase after
legalization...and foreign experiments with legalization work and should be adopted in
the United States.... The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University (CASA) examines these propositions; recent trends in drug use; the probable
consequences of legalization for children and drug-related violence; lessons to be learned
from America's legal drugs, alcohol and tobacco; the question of civil liberties; and the
experiences of foreign countries." In this article the authors oppose drug legalization,
arguing that "such a policy would impose heavy additional costs on the health care
system, schools, and workplace, severely impair the ability of millions of young
Americans to develop their talents, and in the long term overburden the criminal justice
system.
Assessment: This article shows a good opposition angle that I want to use in my
report to combat the argument made by the article from “Mothering” magazine. I want to
use the following quote in my report, “Smoking marijuana is clearly detrimental both
physically and mentally. The effects of one marijuana joint on the lungs are equivalent to
four cigarettes, placing the user at increased risk of bronchitis, emphysema, and bronchial
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asthma. The active ingredient in marijuana remains in the brain, lungs, and reproductive
organs for weeks. Marijuana weakens the immune system, 126 and regular use can
disrupt the menstrual cycle and suppress ovarian function.127 Regardless of
socioeconomic status, prenatal use of marijuana by the mother appears to reduce
significantly the IQs of babies.128 Marijuana impairs short-term memory and ability to
concentrate when its young users are in high school and college.129 And marijuana use
diminishes motor control functions, distorts perception, and impairs judgment, leading
among other things to increased car accidents and vandalism.”
"Pot for Medical Purposes? Sure. For Getting High? No." USA TODAY. 30 Oct 2012:
A.10. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Feb 2013.
(Newspaper) Summary: "Making marijuana available for medical use is a
humane and sensible policy, despite the likelihood of wider use and abuse. Doing the
same thing simply to allow adults to get high legally isn't worth the inevitable cost." This
article discusses the risks of legalizing marijuana.
Assessment: I want to use the statistics and studies found in this article. I want to
use the following statistic, “National opinion is shifting, as well. Gallup reported this
month that, for the first time, 50% of Americans think marijuana should be legal; in 1970,
just 12% were for legalization. While fewer than one-third of voters 65 and older favor
legal pot, the number rises to almost two-thirds among voters 18 to 29.” And “Doctors
have split over whether marijuana causes lung cancer the way smoking cigarettes does,
though evidence seems to be accumulating that it could. A recent study at the University
of Southern California found a link between recreational pot use and testicular cancer in
men from their teens to the mid-30s.” I also want to use the following quote, “Modern
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marijuana can be very powerful, potent enough to make it dangerous to drive or operate
other machinery under the influence. Backers of legal pot wisely advocate tough
penalties for driving while stoned, but do we really want to add another widely available
drug to roads where alcohol already causes mayhem? And do we want to worry (more
than we already do) that pilots or train engineers or others are high when they come to
work? That would be more likely if pot were legal.”
Raasch, Chuck. "On the Lookout for Pot Incursion." USA TODAY. 15 Jan 2013: A.3.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Feb 2013.
(Newspaper) Summary: "States neighboring Colorado and Washington are
wondering how much marijuana will spill across their borders after voters in those two
states legalized its recreational use in November [2012]. They vow to arrest and
prosecute marijuana possessors even if the product is purchased legally across state
lines." This article addresses concerns about "increased cross-border trafficking from the
two states.
Assessment: I want to use this article to show that even though marijuana was
legalized in only Colorado and Washington, surrounding states might encounter problems
with marijuana use spilling across the boarders. I want to use the quote that states there
might be an increase in cross boarder traffic and patrolling, “"Everyone is aware of the
possibility that you could have an increase (in cross-border traffic), especially for some of
our counties on the border of Colorado," says Lt. Josh Kellerman, a spokesman for the
Kansas Highway Patrol. "People might not understand that while they bought it legally in
Colorado, it is still illegal in our state."
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Shore, James M. "Medical Marijuana and Zero Tolerance Drug Testing Policies."
Employee Benefit Plan Review. May 2011: 6-7. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 11
Feb 2013.
(Magazine) Summary: "Employers and the courts continue to wrestle with
issues involving 'zero tolerance' drug testing policies and whether employers must
accommodate medical marijuana use by their employees. Marijuana use is illegal under
the federal Controlled Substances Act, and therefore does not need to be accommodated
under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, 15 states currently
have legalized some form or another of medical marijuana use: Alaska, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New
Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the District of
Columbia." This article summarizes recent court decisions on medical marijuana in the
workplace.
Assessment: This article has very important court cases that I want to use in my
article. It talks about the court case of Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores about an employ that
was fired by Wal-Mart after he tested positive to medical marijuana use, even though the
state of Michigan legalizes medical marijuana. I want to use the following court case,
“Most recently, in Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., a Michigan federal district court ruled
that an employee who was terminated by Wal-Mart after testing positive for validly
obtained medical marijuana stated no legal claims for wrongful discharge. The court
accepted Wal-Mart's argument that Michigan's medical marijuana law does not regulate
private employment; rather, it merely provides a potential affirmative defense to criminal
prosecution or other adverse action by the state. The court rejected the plaintiff's
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argument that the law created a new protected employee class, which "would mark a
radical departure from the general rule of at-will employment in Michigan." The Casias
decision is currently being appealed.”
Uritsky, Tanya J., Mary Lynn McPherson, and Françoise Pradel. "Assessment Of
Hospice Health Professionals' Knowledge, Views, And Experience With Medical
Marijuana." Journal Of Palliative Medicine 14.12 (2011): 1291-1295. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 11 Feb. 2013.
(Journal) Summary: “The medicinal and recreational use of cannabis has been
controversial, especially in the United States. Marijuana for medicinal use is approved in
14 U.S. states and has recently been considered for legalization in several additional
states. Given its demonstrated efficacy in symptom management, marijuana has a
potential role in palliative care. This study utilized a 16-item questionnaire to assess the
knowledge, experience, and views of hospice professionals regarding the use of
marijuana in terminally ill patients. The study results revealed that, like the general
public, hospice health care providers are generally in favor of legalization of marijuana
and, if legalized, would support its use in symptom management for their terminally ill
patients.”
Assessment: This article uses great charts, graphs, and statistics that I want to use
in my report. The article also includes a very interesting study that I wan to use in my
report. The following quote was the result of the study; “hospice health care providers are
generally in favor of legalization of marijuana and, if legalized, would support its use in
symptom management for their terminally ill patients.”