The argument that the article is making is that marijuana not only affects the users it also affects those around them. The article gives an example of a child accidentally digesting a piece of marijuana because it was not properly labeled as a medicine. The speaker’s assumption is that by keeping marijuana illegal, people will stay safe. Pharmacists, have the significant opportunity and responsibility to protect people by educating patients on the facts about the established risks with using smoked marijuana as medicine. As well as applying there unique skill sets to advocate for the development of safe and effective alternative dosage forms and delivery-systems. They also mention keeping marijuana out of pharmacies. Their ending point is that it is bad enough that most of them are already dispensing products on a daily basis that are only said to be safe and effective, when they know the opposite to be true. They often find themselves in situations where they dispense pursuant to questionable prescriptions. They state “We need to get off of this slippery slope before it is too late. If smokable marijuana becomes uniformly legalized for dispensing in pharmacies, what will come next? Let’s not find out.”
The article makes the argument that marijuana should not be legalized due to its affects to those around them. The speaker’s constitution is that be keeping marijuana illegal then people will maintain safe. However, the refutation to that is just because the government makes it illegal doesn’t automatically make everyone safe. Marijuana will always be available on the black market, which includes questionable people that deal marijuana, who do not care who buyers are and have no regulations. There is mention of a child that ingested marijuana by accident, due to improper labeling. The issue with that argument is that marijuana is not always going to be properly packaged due to it not being seen as a medicinal drug. Once it’s seen as a medicinal drugs certain regulation should be put in place to prevent situations like this from happening. The speaker also states that they must inform patients’ effective alternative sources. This is not a convincing argument for those who see marijuana being the last resort for some as well as being much cheaper than pharmaceutical prescriptions. Over all the speaker has a flawed argument. They do use an example and a constitution to try and get their view point across. They state that marijuana affects are harmful to those around users, however, only state one example where it has affected someone other than the user.
