Research Summary 4

Nemko, Marty. “Legalize Pot? You Must Be High.” Time. Time, 7 Nov. 2014. Web. 04 Aug. 2015.

The controversy I’m going to be discussing in my essay is whether or not marijuana should be legalized. The following text is commentary over the controversy of the legalization of marijuana and relates to the article, “Legalizing Marijuana Is Not Worth The Risk”, which discusses why marijuana should not be legalized.

I believe this is a credible source because throughout the article, the author, Marty Nemko creates bullet list stating facts on how marijuana has a negative impact on teenager’s bodies from multiple health website and research done by prestige colleges such as Harvard to prove the negative impact marijuana has on the teenage brain. The article is published in a well known magazine and gives the reader many facts about marijuana and the reasons it should not be legalized. Not only is the article well written and provide numerous facts to support the reasons why marijuana should be legalized, the author of this article has a Ph.D. in education and has written several books. The author’s knowledge and understanding of the topic proves this article to be a credible source.

Touching on all the reasons why marijuana should not be legalized, Nemko goes into depth over each reason he gives for opposing the legalization of marijuana. Nemko states that several studies show that marijuana use in teenagers impact the part of the brain “associated with motivational, emotional and affective processing” and causes teenw between the age of 13-18 to have a decrease in IQ by ” 8 points.” He then goes on to state that marijuana also impacts the body physically. Smoking marijuana can cause “heart attacks and diseases in the arteries” to  “imped[ing] development of the baby’s brain,” along with other things.

Nemko discusses the fact that marijuana will not yield much profit from the legalization of marijuana due to “increased health care costs” as reported by the Center for Disease Control. He gives an example of the taxation of alcohol and the cost it has on the society which outweighs the amount brought in from the drug. Aside from pointing out the medical attention needed from the legaization of marijuana, Nemko says there will be an increase in accidents. In a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it is proven that  “18 percent of drivers in fatal accidents tested positive for a non-alcoholic mind-altering drug, mainly marijuana.” Since the legalization of marijuana the number of accidents have increased drastically.

Although Nemkno is against the legalization of marijuana he states using marijuana for medical purposes is personal preference. Marijuana should be a prescription drug, not “over-the-counter for recreational use” or readily available to anyone. He then goes on to say that giving up things such as alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana is appealing when it will result in “less disease and fewer car accidents, more fully functioning people . . . plus the richer lives people would lead.”

5 Comments

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5 Responses to Research Summary 4

  1. Topanga

    I liked your wording throughout your summary, it made sources perspective clear. You really got to the point of what the source. I haven’t really read many sources that are condemning the use of marijuana, so its good to see a differing viewpoint. I liked that the source backed up what he was saying with a study from Harvard, making it nearly impossible to refute him. The summary really captured Nemko’s beliefs and thoughts on marijuana being legal and how that would affect the development of young people.

  2. Marisol Martinez

    Your research summary was really clear to me as well as Nemkon’s position. Like Topanga said, it is nice to see a different point of view since most reasons we have been analyzing are bias legalizing marijuana. I like your article because I have the same views as Nemko, I believe marijuana should be a prescription drug. Instead of helping the community positively we might just impact the community negatively with accidents and drug abuse.

  3. Kimberly

    I agree with Nemkno that marijuana should be a prescription drug. I however think it is naive of him to say “giving up things such as alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana is appealing when it will result in ‘less disease and fewer car accidents, more fully functioning people . . .'” . No drugs and alcohol is great in a perfect world, yet it will never happen, they will always exist.

  4. Evelyn

    Marijuana is great idea for prescription drugs instead of always having to relay on over the counter drugs which are way more addicting. The writer was very informative and gave good points. Although, I think the whole debate on the legalization of marijuana will continue on, because of people’s paranoia so only time will tell if things clear out.

  5. Rosalio

    This article provides a really good viewpoint to why marijuana should not be legalized. Although I agree with some points within the article like it being a prescription drug and not offered over the counter to anyone, the author states the better lives people will live without such drugs and alcohol. However, this “dream” would never exist. Alcohol and drugs will always be around no matter what we do.

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