Gavin Gangi

English 102

Annotated Bibliography
42 Milestones in the History of Marijuana. Brainz.org. Brainz, 2009. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. This article
is a date by date timeline that maps out the different marijuana prohibition acts throughout the
years. The article also lays out the history of marijuana, which includes the uses of the hemp
plants for fabric, food, etc.. This article ties into my paper by giving me the solid background
about the marijuana prohibition and where it has been so I am able to compare to where it
should be today in terms of legality and social acceptance.
Causes of Death. Drug War Facts, 2009. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. This is a chart that maps out the numbers
for the different causes of deaths in the U.S., which includes murders, suicides, overdose of
illicit drugs, etc.. Due to the fact that it reveals there has not been one reported death, this will
help my claim that marijuana should be legalized. This also helps support the fact that there are
a lot more dangerous things than pot that are legal.
Common Sense for Drug Policy. Nixon Tapes Show Roots of Marijuana Prohibition: Misinformation,
Culture Wars and Prejudice. CSDP Report, 2002. Web. 3 Mar 2010. These documents are files
based off of declassified Oval Office tapes from 1971-1972. These recordings of President
Richard Nixon indicate that the foundation of marijuana criminalization is misinformation,
culture war, and prejudice. The information shows the discrepancies between Nixon's own
personal opinions and those opinions of his Commission's researched recommendations. This
will help me by revealing how the criminalization of marijuana is solely based off of prejudice
and the opinion of Richard Nixon.
Kleiman, Mark A.R. Not Your Grandfather's Pot? New York Times. New York Times, 19 Jul. 2009.
Web. 3 Mar. 2010. Mark Kleiman, a professor of public policy at U.C.L.A and editor of the
Journal of Drug Policy Analysis, talks about how the marijuana that is around now days is a lot
more potent than it was back in the day, but that it would not affect addiction rates to the
substance. He also suggests a grow your own policy, which would allow only personal
production or small nonprofit organizations as opposed to opening it up to be sold
commercially. This ties into my paper by supporting my claim that marijuana is not addicting
and the legalization would not necessarily increase the amount of users.
Marijuana Addiction. Spencer Recovery Centers, Inc., 2005. Web. 2 Mar. 2010. This refuting source
talks about how marijuana is just as addicting as alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine. They also
discuss the negative long term affects that have been said to come with heavy abuse of the drug.
They also provide information for rehab centers for anyone that may have an addiction to the
substance. This is going to help strengthen my argument by finding a hole in their
argument by saying that marijuana is just as addicting as legal substances such as alcohol,
caffeine, etc.. If there are legalized substances that are just as addicting, if not more addicting
that marijuana, there is no reason marijuana should not be legal.

New, Emerging Evidence of Marijuana's Medical Efficacy. The Science of Medical Marijuana. Web. 01
Mar. 2010. Based off of actual studies by the National Institute of Mental Health, the article
includes new information regarding the benefits of medical marijuana on the brain as well as the
non-addictive pain relief benefit of the drug. For example, they have found that medical
marijuana can actually protect the brain from effects of stroke, and other mental disorders such
as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. This helps back up my claim that we could actually benefit
from medical or personal use of the drug by protecting our brains from disease.
Roth, Rebecca. Medical Marijuana Serendip.edu. Serendip, 17 Jan. 2008. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. Brings
up both sides of the argument about whether or not the use of medical marijuana is beneficial
for terminally ill patients. For the most part they come up with a lot of good evidence that
validate that medical marijuana is helpful, and barely come up with any other explanation for
why it would not be good. By using the actual facts from experiments done with medical
marijuana can further validate my claim that we will only benefit from the full legalization of
the drug for medical and personal use.
Stamper, Norm. The Tobacco Precedent. New York Times. New York Times, 19 Jul. 2009. Web. 3
Mar. 2010. Norm Stamper, a thirty-four year police veteran and member of Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition, talks about how legalizing marijuana would ultimately lead to less
violence. Based on his years of work on the law enforcement field he has seen what the
criminalization of the substance can do to a person's attitude towards the law. By using
Stampers experience, I will be able to strengthen my argument by talking about how the
legalization would help crime rates and contempt for the law.
Summary of Deaths by Drug Classification. Medical Marijuana. Procon.org, 08 July 2009. Web. 12
Mar. 2010. According to this source, in comparison with seventeen other FDA approved
medications, marijuana has not been the main contributor to a single death. On the other hand,
those seventeen other FDA approved drugs have killed almost twelve-thousand people. By
bringing up this information I can strengthen the argument that marijuana has not killed a single
person.
Super High Me. Dir. Michael Blieden. Perf. Doug Benson, Sarah Silverman, Bob Odenkirk, Patton
Oswalt. Screen Media Films, 2008. DVD. Doug Beson, comedian, conducts an experiment
where he smokes marijuana for thirty days straight after not smoking a straight thirty days
prior to the experiment. By not smoking the thirty days before, Benson will be able to see
exactly how much his physical health is hindered after his thirty day smoking binge. Once the
thirty days are up, Benson comes to the realization that his health was barely altered. This
source will help me explain and validate my claim that the long term use of marijuana does
not cause any physical harm to the human body.