Summaries, Quotes, and Such

 From "Voting No on Pot"
- "But I suspect that most of the people eager to vote yes on the new ballot measures aren't suffering from glaucoma, Alzheimer's or chemo-induced nausea. Many of them just want to get stoned legally." Sanjay Gupta
- Summary: There are several health risks involved with marijuana. Frequent use can damage a person's cognitive ability and short-term memory, and can also lead to depression or anxiety. Marijuana can also significantly damage lung tissue.
- Health benefits: THC in marijuana can help with Alzheimer's, anti-nausea for chemo patients, pain relief for multiple sclerosis patients, and reduce pressure/inflammation for those with glaucoma.


From "A More Balanced View..."
- Pro's: medical benefits, additional tax revenue, courts freed up for more serious crimes, and not more harmful than alcohol or tobacco when used in moderation.
- Con's: stepping stone drug, stoned driving risks increased, morally wrong, and could eventually lead to legalization of harder drugs.


From "Just Say...No?"
- "The effects of regular marijuana consumption are quite different. For example, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (a division of the National Institutes of Health) has released studies showing that use of marijuana has wide-ranging negative health effects. Long-term marijuana consumption “impairs the ability of T-cells in the lungs’ immune system to fight off some infections.” These studies have also found that marijuana consumption impairs short-term memory, making it difficult to learn and retain information or perform complex tasks; slows reaction time and impairs motor coordination; increases heart rate by 20 percent to 100 percent, thus elevating the risk of heart attack; and alters moods, resulting in artificial euphoria, calmness, or (in high doses) anxiety or paranoia. And it gets worse: Marijuana has toxic properties that can result in birth defects, pain, respiratory system damage, brain damage, and stroke."
- "Marijuana, like tobacco, is addictive. One study found that more than 30 percent of adults who used marijuana in the course of a year were dependent on the drug."


From "Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense"
- "...there is an enormous potential windfall in the taxation of marijuana. It is estimated that pot is the largest cash crop in California, with annual revenues approaching $14 billion. A 10% pot tax would yield $1.4 billion in California alone." Joe Klein
- "...and of the economic impact, with thousands of new jobs in agriculture, packaging, marketing and advertising. A veritable marijuana economic-stimulus package!" Joe Klein


From "In Arizona You Can Buy Marijuana..."
-  "So the patients have their cards permitting them to buy marijuana in Arizona, but no official place to do so." Marc Lacey
- Summary: Cannabis clubs are beginning to form in Arizona due to the inability of dispensaries to obtain licenses to sell medicinal marijuana. These clubs are unregulated by the law and are mentioned nowhere in the marijuana laws. Their objective is to get patients the marijuana they are entitled to for free - after providing a membership fee of course.


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I chose to use these quotes and summaries because they all will be useful in this paper. As far as the quotes, I left them as quotes to 1) give the statements more impact and 2) ensure what is being said is being said well. I chose to summarize what I did because I believe my wording may make more sense to my readers than their wording would have. 
I'll probably use more than just what I have here - I still need at least three more sources, but for now, this is what I've got :)

Research Paper Thesis

As I'm sure it is known, I am covering the legalization of marijuana for my research paper. I do take a stance on this, so I'm not sure how to get my point across while still being unbiased...please help!

This is what I have so far: The legalization of marijuana is an ongoing struggle in America that has both benefits and downfalls, each side in great quantity.

I know this doesn't have to be your final thesis, but I'd like to get it out of the way as soon as I can so please get any comments to me ASAP!!

Thank you :)