Persuasive Speech
... B) Basic background- 1- Marijuana has been used all throughout history and all over the world 2- Def: the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant that yield THC, a chemical that produces a euphoric and intoxicating effect when smoked or ingested. C) Main Points- 1- Government taxation and redirecting of funding used to keep pot illegal 2- Positive regulation of the manufacturing and sale of marijuana. 3- Medical benefits 4- Religious freedom II) Need: A) In the US, all levels of government (federal, state, local) participate in the “War on Drugs” 1- We spend billions of dollars on suppressing marijuana use 2- We pay for food, housing, health care, attorney fees, and court costs to lock these people up with our taxes dollars 3- A marijuana user is arrested every 45 seconds 4- In 1998, the number of arrests exceeded rape, robbery, and assault combined and presently 59,300 offenders are in prison or jail B) Young children have access to it on a regular basis 1- The average age for trying marijuana is 14 years old 2- Anyone can get it therefore supporting and even increasing the black market 3- Potential lacing of marijuana with other drugs such as crack, can lead to several health risks and even death. 4- The “Forbidden Fruit” effect is prominent with our young people - because if you can’t have something, it drives you to want it more - Parallel situation: accounts of binge drinking and alcohol related problems with US youth versus those countries without drinking ages. C) Religious Suppression 1- Some religions use pot as a part of their ceremonies - Catholicism and Judaism use wine in their ceremonies - In this same way, religions such as Hindus, Buddhists, and Rastafarians use marijuana as a part of their ceremonies i.e. Rastafarians use pot to enhance their consciousness of the relationship between God, Creation, and the Individual Soul - The US is a nation of diversity and the right to free exercise of religion - The US Supreme Court ruling in Oregon vs. Smith (1990) stated that states can legally prohibit drug use and can punish people who violate anti-drug laws, even if they claim religious use as a defense - After this, Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which President Clinton signed into law in 1993, but the court deemed it invalid in 1997 in City of Boerne vs. Flores stating the RFRA was unconstitutional D) Medical purposes: 1- Marijuana can be used as medicine because it helps to stimulate appetite and relieve nausea in cancer and AIDS patients 2- DEA Administrative Law Judge Young- “In many cases doctors have found that, in addition to suppressing nausea and vomiting, smoking marijuana is a highly successful appetite stimulant. 3- Importance of increased appetite is that many chemotherapy patients lose a tremendous amounts of weight and lose their interest in food and eating 4- Psychiatrist Lester Grinspoon M.D. wrote: “Thirty to forty percent of patients with bipolar disorder are not consistently helped by or cannot tolerate standard medication… a number of sufferers were discovered who believed marijuana to be more affective than conventional anti-manic drugs,” such as lithium, carbamazephine, or Valproate 5- This is because pot affects the balance of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, and norepinephrine that are the basis for this disorder III) Satisfaction: A) Now with all this statistical and valid information it is hard to ignore the fact that there is a strong argument for marijuana to be legal and it comes from many different perspectives 1- There are many petitions and legally affiliated communities on the internet that you can seek out to help support. - www.petitiononline.com - www.legalize.com 2- Legalize.com deals with more tha...