Journal 12

One of my topics is the death penalty. I choose the death penalty because i believe that it is cruel and unusual punishment and should be outlawed. I think no matter what the crime is people dont have the right to condemn people to death. There always is a chance that someone is convicted of a crime that they did not commit and they should not be killed over it.

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2010111900.

Cyber bullying is a huge new issue. With advances in technology it becomes a new and huge issue. Now cyber bullying is a new way that kids can pick on each other. It is becoming very common for kids to cyber bully each other and their are even extreme cases that can lead to suicide. Cyber bullying is not okay and should be treated as a serious crime.

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2008050200&type=hitlist&num=1

Journal eleven

In America a conviction of 220 pounds of weed or the equivalent of 100 plants requires a five-year sentence. It is ridiculous that someone who is carrying weed would have the same criminal sentence as someone who has been convicted of burglary. Decriminalization of marijuana is when someone is in pession of less the one gram of weed they will be treated like a normal traffic fine. Decriminalizion of weed is a trend that is sweeping across many states and is a trend towards overall legalization. It is important to separate marijuana into its own class and not keep it up their with the hardcore drugs like cocaine and heroine.

In America if one is caught with 220 pounds of weed, which is the equivalent of 100 plants, then they will be sentenced to five years in jail. It is absurd to think, that someone who is carrying weed, can have the same criminal sentence as someone who has been convicted of a serious crime like burglary, or possession of a assault riffle. The best way to solve the problem of sending people to jail for weed it to decriminalize it. Decriminalization of marijuana is when someone is pulled over with a small amount of weed one them (varying by state), and the fine is treated like a normal traffic fine. Decriminalizion of weed is a trend that is sweeping across many states and is a step towards overall legalization. .

Journal 10

My article is entitled Legalizing Marijuana (should pot be treated like alcohol and taxed). The article talks about how weed is a cash crop and is sold for tons of money. If the government was to take control of Marijuana and tax it like alcohol and tobacco then they will be making a ton of money. California estimates that if it was to tax marijuana it would created around 1.4 billion dollars in revenue. Marijuana is not bad for you with less then 1% of all Americans who use marijuana on a daily bases are dependent on it which is number far less then tobacco or alcohol. The jail system in America is overcrowded and police are being overworked and it is not worth the efforts of the judicial system to waste their time and energy on people smoking weed. Marijuana sparks a drug war that has people fighting over who sells what product and how to sneak it into the country. This is a good argument because they use a lot of different arguments to reach their point. I like how they bring up medical use as a reason on why marijuana should be legal. Many articles talk about how weed for medical use should be legal because it helps sick people. Weed can give cancer patients who are going through kimo enough of an appititate that they can finally eat something. Weed can also help with many other sickness including autism. I also like that this article talks about the pros and cons of each including "I say this as representative of an organization that believes marijuana should be treated like alcoholic beverages: Legal for adults but subject to sensible regulations and taxes". If weed is just used by adults and tax is can be treated just like alcohol or cigarettes. People are scared of weed for no particular reason. Everyone agrees that it is in a class of its on and it is not like the hardcore drugs. Marijuana can help out the total population and be wonders to anyone who is sick. It really had the power to com down anyone how is sick or had serious problems. Also government issued weed can be controlled by the government and will not have anything extra added into it that will make people sick. "That's $250,000 in untaxed revenue per crop — or a potential total of more than $25 million just for those 39 sites in San Mateo County. In a state where desperate politicians are wrestling with a bankruptcy-threatening $24 billion budget deficit, the prospect of adding any kind of business to the tax rolls can start to sound like a plan." This proves that it can help stabilize the economy. The three main reasons that marijuana should be legal are for medical reasons, to help clear the jail system, and to give the government money and control the strains released.
The MLA citation is Katel, P. (2009, June 12). Legalizing marijuana. CQ Researcher, 19, 525-548. Retrieved November 4, 2010, from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2009061200.