Author Archives: Marisol Martinez

by Marisol Martinez | August 12, 2015 · 1:41 AM

Rescheduling marijuana. BP.4

Hudak, John. “How to Reschedule Marijuana, and Why It’s Unlikely Anytime Soon.” The Brookings Institution. Brooking, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Aug. 2015.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/fixgov/posts/2015/02/13-how-to-reschedule-marijuana-hudak-wallack

In the article “How to reschedule marijuana, and why it’s unlikely anytime soon” by John Hudak and Grace Wallack , the authors argue why marijuana is most likely to not be reschedule soon. The article also argues how The Controlled Substance Act is prohibiting medical marijuana . It states that in 2006 the FDA reaffirmed that they did not find any scientific studies supporting medical marijuana as schedule II. In July 2011 the DEA denied the petition for medical marijuana to be legalized stating that marijuana has no accepted medical use and would therefore remain in schedule I. The authors also state that if marijuana was to be rescheduled then it would complicate their production and prescription process. The drug would have to undergo testing and numerous regulatory requirements, “the outcome may not be what legalization advocates would want in the end.”

The article adds that Congress has the power to reschedule marijuana, “ether through new legislation specific to marijuana or through tailored amendments to the Controlled Substance Act. Basically the author states that if Congress wanted to they would have had already reschedule marijuana. The author then gives examples of proposed bills that have failed. The first bill that was proposed to move marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule II was introduced by Representative Stewart McKinney (1981). In 2011 Representatives Ron Paul and Barney Frank introduced a bill to remove marijuana from the schedules entirely, and as usual “died in committee”. The author then adds that President Obama is contended that Congress has the responsibility to reschedule marijuana. According to the article “It is ironic that the president, who is so often criticized for overreaching his authority, is shrinking from the administrative power that Congress has granted him”. The author argues that even the President doesn’t want to be responsible for rescheduling. Lastly the author states that some in Congress “have been quite vocal about their opposition to administrative scheduling”. Also that the actor at the DOJ and HHS as well as the white House may be unwilling to spend political capital on this issue. This decreases the possibility of rescheduling marijuana.

The author states that the Controlled Substance Act is getting in the way of medical science. The law that identifies marijuana as a Schedule I Substance, “meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no current accepted medical use”. The author then states that the substance Scheduled II-V are still subject to varying degrees of control, but have a recognized medical use and can be dispensed with a prescription. The fact that the author states that marijuana, a Schedule I substance is high for potential abuse is debatable. Substances that are also classified II are as addictive. For example cocaine, morphine, and Opium are Schedule II substances and can be as addictive as marijuana. This is one of reasons why people disagree that marijuana should be used for medical purposes. Marijuana should be reschedule and The Control Substance act should be readdress considering medical marijuana. medical-marijuana

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by Marisol Martinez | August 3, 2015 · 11:01 PM

Stop criminalization. RS3.

Hutchinson, Earl. “Obama Took Big Steps Toward Ending Grotesque Drug Sentencing Laws.” La Prensa San Diego 17 July 2015. Ethnic NewsWatch. Web. 3 August 2016.

In the Barack Obama interview with VICE news on March 2015, Barack Obama confronts the controversial topic of criminalization. Obama addresses the injustice in criminalization saying that people shouldn’t be punished for the rest of their lives for possessing marijuana, and stating that the criminal justice system is skewed to crack down the people of color and, nonviolent drug offenders such as the people of color. In newspaper published on July17, 2015 by La Prensa San Diego, Earl Hutchinson the author describes Obama’s actions to help those who have been incarcerated for pot and to end drug sentencing laws. This article clearly relates to President Obamas issues addressed on VICE News, president Obama wants to decriminalize. From La Prensa San Diego newspaper found on the database we can learn that the speaker is bias towards decriminalizing, and he is addressing this issue to all U.S residents, more specifically to African Americans. This source addresses the discrimination in arresting for marijuana that Obama describes in his speech, “They continue to wreak dire havoc in mostly poor black communities…”

Earl Hutchinson is the author of the source “Obama Took Big Steps toward Ending Grotesque Drug Sentencing Laws”. He is an author and political analyst, he also contributes to the news on MSNBC. Hutchinson is an editor of New America Media and weekly co-host at the Al Sharpton Show on American Urban Radio Network, he is host at other radio stations as well. The publisher is La Prensa San Diego, a bilingual newspaper in San Diego California and the largest Mexican American newspaper of general circulation in San Diego. It has been publishing continuously for 33 years, and it displays a Hispanic perspective view. The text in this case is written in English, and it is biased on decriminalizing, the text is clear and written in a respectful professional way. The speaker uses historical facts to help emphasize his point of view, Hutchinson begins the newspaper with flashbacking to Christmas 2013, the day in which president Obama granted clemency to eight low level drug offenders. Then he addresses the recent action Obama took to grant clemency to 46 offenders. We can conclude that the author has knowledge on President Obamas actions to decriminalize, he is most likely is well educated on issues regarding marijuana. The newspaper seems very knowledgeable of the community, considering the racial disparity in the communities and showing sympathy to those who are incarcerated and to poor black communities.

This electronic newspaper focuses decriminalization and the reasons why decriminalizing would be the best solution to end racial disparity. Hutchinson begins the source by describing President Obamas actions to help those who have been arrested for pot, he describes the Presidents clemency to eight individuals back in 2013, and then he describes his recent clemency to now forty-six offenders in which he states “Their prospects of getting out without the President’s intervention would have been slim to none.” (Hutchinson,1)The speaker then describes the corruption of the criminal justice system as mentioned by President Obama, describing that more than half of crack users are white but yet blacks make up the majority of those sentenced. The speaker is clearly arguing against the criminalization of pot, “Obama’s actions are heart lifting news for the offenders and their families and its great news for a nation that has acquiesced far too long in the thoroughly debunked notion that the nation can incarcerate its way out of the drug morass. Yet as Obama certainly knows there’s still much to be done to dig out of it.” (Hutchinson,1)

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by Marisol Martinez | July 29, 2015 · 10:59 PM

President Obama addresses marijuana. RS.3

“President Obama On Marijuana Legalization And Criminalization: The VICE News Interview.” YouTube. Trans. Shane Smith. YouTube, 23 Mar. 2015. Web. 29 July 2015

Shame Smith interviews the President Barack Obama on the issue of criminalization and marijuana legalization on VICE media on March 23, 2015. Shane Smith is a Canadian Emmy Award-winning journalist and web entrepreneur. He is the Co-founder and CEO of the International media company VICE Media. Shame graduated from Carleton University with a degree in political science. In this interview Smith questions the President with public questions on the internet that are addressed to President Obama, the questions include topics such as climate change, Iran’s nuclear deal, and Marijuana. I will be focusing specifically on the last part of the interview that addresses the topic of marijuana.

Smith begins his interview by stating that marijuana legalization will be the biggest part of our (young peoples) legacy, President Obama responds with saying that Marijuana shouldn’t be the young people’s biggest priority, young people should be thinking about the economy, climate change, and war peace instead of legalizing marijuana. President Obama begins his interview on marijuana by addressing the issue of pot criminalization, he clearly suggest that he supports decriminalizing pot. The President addresses the corruption of the Criminal Justice System, pointing out that the system is skewed towards cracking down nonviolent drug offenders, that now affect communities specifically of color and individuals in that community.

The president recognizes that due to criminalization individuals have been affected by a felony record that has left them unemployed, prisons have been disproportioned, and this has cost money to many states. The Presidents adds that even Conservative Republicans and Liberal Democrats have realized that this doesn’t make sense. He includes that they might be able to make some progress on decriminalizing, and that if enough states end up decriminalizing then Congress might reschedule marijuana. President Obama then clarifies that the legalization of marijuana and decriminalization is not a panacea, a remedy for all. There is an overall effect this has in society, abusing substance whether legal or illegal is also a problem. Lastly the President adds that locking up somebody for 20 years is probably not the best strategy to fix this problem, and that is something we have to think of as a society.

Overall the President does not state his position on supporting or not supporting marijuana legalization, however he does state that marijuana is not a panacea, and that if enough states decriminalize then maybe Congress could approach a marijuana. From his interview we can conclude that he does not agree with the marijuana policies of incarceration, and with the discrimination of arrests. We can also conclude that legalizing marijuana is not a major priority to the President, he is not in a hurry to approach a deal on marijuana.

We are a community! BP.2

What would be you first stereotype if I told you I was Mexican American? Most Mexican Americans face constant stereotypes that are not always true. Some of those stereotypes include that they don’t have a college education or can’t get a college education, that they are poor, criminals, and that they only work for others. I am Mexican American, I was born in Mexico and raised in the United States, and most people would be surprise to find out that I will be attending a University. They usually question me with questions like, how are you going to pay? Why didn’t you just go to a community college? I do not get offended by such questions. It helps me realize that most people believe that a Mexican student does not have the ability to succeed. I am also a Dreamer, part of a group of undocumented students who were brought illegally by their parents to the United States. As dreamers we value the opportunities given to us by the government such as education, we are given the right to be temporary residents and attend a college as well as work, and that is enough to feel thankful for. I believe that your racial background or ethnicity should not determine your level of education or your abilities to be successful.

Our Mexican American community shares many values that helps us become a stronger group, some include family, religion, and culture. “ La familia viene primero”, this means family comes first, family is at the center of our social structure, one of our main values. Typical Mexican families tend to be very large, this means there is a big responsibility to support the family, having family parties and sharing traditions such as cooking typical Mexican food helps bring the family close. “Mi casa es tu casa”, my house is your house, it is Important to make our guest feel welcomed and part of the family as well. It is also most common for the man to be the head of the household, patriarchy is visible in most Mexican American families, and having a large family is one of the reasons why the man tends to feel more powerful. Most Mexican Americans value religion, more specifically Roman Catholic, sharing the same religion allows us to share similar beliefs and traditions, for example we get together to pray to saints, to God, and to the Virgin Mary, we also have religious holidays such as “the day of the dead”.

Young Mexican Americans such as myself are part of the Dream Act, we are usually referred as “dreamers”. A dreamer is a person who is undocumented but has certain rights due to the Dream Act. The Dream Act enables undocumented students to attend college and receive financial help, to work, and to live in the U.S. Although we are given certain rights we also have certain rules that we must meet or our temporary residence could be jeopardized, leaving the state and not pursuing a career after high school could put our residence in danger. As dreamers we have a strong connections and we tend to bond due to our similar family backgrounds, we all value family as well. We also value education, all dreamers are looking forward to attending college and breaking the Mexican tradition of working right after high school or middle school. We want a better future and equal opportunities, and now that we are given the opportunity to be in the United States and go to college we are willing to struggle to go to get our education.

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Although Mexican Americans and Dreamers only hope to have a better future, we often face discrimination and stereotypes. Most people assume Mexican Americans don’t speak English or that they work as maids. People assume that I won’t be going to college or that I am too poor to attend a college, other people believe that dreamers won’t be successful and most likely drop out of college. Jose Hernandez is one of four children whose family migrated from Mexico. Jose didn’t learn to speak English until he was 12, he earned his Engineering degree and was hired by NASA and in 2009 he was the first Mexican American to travel into space. People like Hernandez are inspiring and keeps us motivated to keep extending our education and find a place in society where we can be accepted. The University of Texas is a campus full of opportunities and organizations that form communities. Some of the organizations that I could connect with include the MAAC, a community that celebrates the tradition and cultures of Latin America and offers leadership and growth opportunities through volunteerism. As well and the University Leadership Initiative organization, a community of students and parents that advocate education equality and for the rights of immigrants at a local, state, and national level. I would be interested in joining this organizations during the fall, as we share some of our values such as Latin traditions and education.

Communities are more than a group of people, a community is where we have our closer connections, our greatest pleasures, and our most serious problems. Communities could be small or large, a small community could include a group of people in your senior class while a large community could be a large group of people you associate that shares some of your values. In my case I belong to the Mexican American community, but I am also part of the Dreamers community, a smaller group that I share my Mexican American values with.

Does marijuana bring social inequality? RS.2

Atkinson, Korri. “States spend $3.6 b8illion on racially biased marijuana arrests.” Proquest.com. New York Amsterdam News, 20 June 2013. Web. 18 July, 2015

Atkinson Khorri a journalist and author for the New York Amsterdam Newspaper, writes on a report from the American Civil Liberties Union named “The War on Marijuana in Black and White” highlighting the U.S. biases arrests on marijuana. Khorri juxtaposes the enormous amount of arrests of African Americans compared to those of whites. He also indicates that there is a huge amount of money being spent to regulate marijuana laws and for incarcerating convicts when the U.S could be making profit from marijuana if it was to be legalized. Khorri emphasizes with the ACUL call for marijuana legalization to eliminate racial biases.

Based on the report between 2001 and 2010 there were more than seven million arrests for marijuana possession in the U.S. with more than 800,000 arrests in 2010 alone. According to the director of ACLU Criminal Law Report Project, state and local governments have aggressively enforced the marijuana law selectively against black people and communities. The report demonstrates that Iowa has the greatest racial disparity arrest, although African Americans make up only 3.1 percent of the population, black Iowans are 8.3 times more likely to be arrested. For this reason the ACLU believes that police officers are being bias towards the whites and unfairly arresting more blacks than whites when it is obvious that African Americans don’t make up most of the population. To back up his argument Atkinson uses the analyses from the New York Civil Liberties Union, in which according to the analyses “Brooklyn and Manhattan have the highest ratio disparities in arrests in New York State, where Black New Yorkers are nine times more likely to be arrested.” As pointed out by the NY CLU, blacks are being handled unfairly compared to the whites, whatever happened to equality?

The author describes the useless amount of money being wasted on marijuana laws when legalizing marijuana can “…Save millions of dollars that are being used to enforce marijuana laws.” He indicates New York has spent more than $600 million enforcing marijuana with Black New Yorkers 4.5 times most likely to be arrested. The report suggest a regulation and a tax on marijuana to eradicate the unfair, specifically on racially targeted enforcement laws. In other words, the Union wants legalize marijuana to make profit and not waste millions of dollars on enforcing laws. Not only will it remove the racial bias that is present all over the U.S. including in large and small counties, cities, and rural areas and in high and low income communities, but it will help the economy grow. To support their argument the ACLU concludes that states will spend $200 billion dollars enforcing laws over the next six years if bans on marijuana continue.

The information obtained by the author can be useful to those supporting the legalization of marijuana. According to a survey 52 percent of Americans support the legalization while 45 percent oppose it. The data obtained by the ACLU is useful to demonstrate the controversies linked with marijuana such as crime and racism.

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