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Corrisa Malat
Professor Fielding
WRTC 103_0029
11 October 2015
Comparative Rhetorical Analysis:
PRO: Decriminalize Small Amounts of Pot vs. Growing the Economy
As of today, fifteen states in the U.S. have decriminalized marijuana, twenty-three states
and the District of Columbia have legalized medicinal marijuana, and four states and the District
of Columbia have legalized recreational use of marijuana (NORML). The war on drugs,
specifically Marijuana, is far from over. Many states continue to debate whether or not to
decriminalize and/or legalize this substance, while others who already have are trying to figure
out if they made the right move. A large current debate and the main focus of this rhetorical
analysis is, should marijuana be decriminalized and/or legalized to help the economy? Jennifer
Preyss published PRO: Decriminalize small amounts of pot in Victoria Advocate, the second
oldest newspaper in Texas, to highlight the positive economic outcomes from legalization.
Grow the Economy, a PSA created by Corrisa Malat, mirrors the message of Preyss article,
and could possibly be found in a magazine that brings attention to current issues. While ethos
and logos are the dominant rhetorical strategies in both Preyss article and Malats PSA, each of
their pieces convey a strong message through different forms of delivery.
In PRO: Decriminalize small amounts of pot, Preyss supports that decriminalization of
marijuana would indeed help our economy in numerous ways. Her argument is controversial

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because many do not agree that marijuana should be decriminalized and/or legalized. Those who
hold this position see this substance only as a harmful drug and are reluctant to see the ways it
could help individuals along with our whole nation. Preyss purpose for writing and publishing
this article is to inform readers of the possible ways decriminalization could help, in hopes that
they will support the change after seeing its potential. Preyss does not have an easy audience to
convince, however. For she has published her newspaper article in a Texas, one of the strictest
states in the U.S. when it comes to drug laws.
Despite Preyss tough crowd, her article is strong because it follows the structure and
main points of the Democratic Convention in Huston, where delegates discussed a resolution for
the partys policy on marijuana legalization. To give her audience further background from what
they may already know, Preyss tells of the current division of laws and attitudes across the states
towards marijuana. In addition, she goes on to support her argument by mentioning the effects
marijuana has on law enforcement expenses and taxpayers. She declares, the law changes will
lessen the economic impact of jailing non-violent criminals and reserve law enforcement
resources for more high-profile crimes (P.5). She also quotes Kelli Gill when saying, If we're
looking at it from an economic standpoint, it costs taxpayers more money to criminalize small
amounts of marijuana because we wouldn't be spending time prosecuting small offenses. We'd
have to regulate the sale and taxing of it, but it could benefit Texas (P.4). Of course there could
be holes found in Preyss logic, as there are always exceptions. But overall, the points she makes
are quite valid and possible outcomes of decriminalization.
Preyss uses multiple rhetorical strategies to send her message, rather than just
submissively listing off positive outcomes of decriminalization with non-sense filler to connect
each idea. The first rhetorical strategy, ethos, is recognized in both Preyss herself, and her outside

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sources. Preyss is a nationally award winning reporter and columnist, a Feature Editor, and
Victoria Advocate Editor-in-Chief (LinkedIn). As a credible writer, she seeks for other reliable
sources to strengthen her argument. Throughout all of PROS: Decriminalize small amounts of
pot, she refers to information extracted from the Democratic Convention, and even names
several delegates for their contribution. For one example, she gives recognition to a lady named
Kelli Gill in paragraph three: Victoria's Democratic Chairwoman Kelli Gill said decriminalizing
pot, especially for those caught with small amounts, is economically advantageous for the state
and may have some residual effects on overall crime reduction.
It is not uncommon for a single statement to support two or more styles of rhetoric. In
paragraph ten, Preyss uses a mixture of both ethos and logos as she introduces a credible source,
then follows it with statistics: The National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws states
more than 853,000 people per year are arrested for marijuana possession -- more than the total
number of arrests for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and
aggravated assault. It costs taxpayers about $10 billion each year. This combination of rhetorical
strategies makes the statement stronger because it now provides the source to back up the
statistic.
Although ethos and logos are predominate rhetorical strategies in this piece, pathos is still
present. In paragraph seven, Preyss again quotes Gill and says, "If we treat it as if it were
alcohol, or cigarettes, as if it were a controlled substance, then it could be beneficial to the
economy, and we could have our law enforcement pursuing more dangerous crimes". This quote
can be identified as displaying pathos because it connects to the desire for safety. With law
enforcement pursuing more dangerous crimes, there is an opportunity to improve safety on a

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small and large scale. Although this article may be lacking in pathos, ethos and logos provide
plenty of support to justify this as an effective argument.

Corrisa Malat, student at James Madison University, created the image above as a PSA to encourage viewers
to support marijuana legalization to help their economy.

In PSA Grow the Economy, Malat uses visual and textual representation to convince
her audience that legalization of marijuana will help the economy. Malat wants to educate
Americans on the possible outcomes of legalization and show how it could be beneficial, instead
of merely pushing her opinion on others. For this purpose, Malats PSA is mainly intended for
the non-supporters of marijuana legalization, in hopes that they will open their minds to the idea.
To make her point, Malat organizes her PSA in an easy and professional manner. The structure of
her PSA consists of a catchy header, a bold image, a column of facts, and a section dedicated to
the non-profit organizations which support her message. The text provides adequate, helpful

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information, but the color scheme and image are the most effective features because they grab
the viewer and spark an immediate response.
Like Preyss, Malat delivers her message in more than one way, using a combination of
ethos, logos and pathos rhetoric. Ethos was clearly used when Malat included the links and logos
for the National Cannabis Industry Association and the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws. Both these sources are trusted, non-profit organizations which help build
credibility to Malats PSA.
In order to convince people that legalization of marijuana can positively affect the
economy, Malat used logos. She gave factual evidence and statistics from the results of
legalization in Colorado, Ohio, and Washington State so her audience could get an idea of what
would happen to them if their state were to legalize it. Two examples of logos from her PSA
include: Colorado has made $70 million in tax revenues just in the past fiscal year, ending on
June 30, 2015, and Denver as already reported a 10.1% decrease in overall crime, and a 5.2%
drop in violent crime. Theoretical outcomes do not make very strong arguments, which is why
Malat researched to find true facts and statistics.
When creating a PSA, it is important to include an attention-grabber. The illustration in
Malats PSA acts as an attention-grabber as well as rhetoric for pathos. The illustration is an
image of a joint shedding out each of its ends; one side is shedding people into prions, while the
other side sheds money into the government. This image appeals to pathos because it connects to
those who know someone or have personally gotten in legal trouble for marijuana before. The
audiences prior experience along with the image work together to get an emotional reaction.
While some states have passed laws to decriminalize and/or legalize marijuana, the rest
of America is still in debate and trying to gather more information before passing any new laws.

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Both Preyss and Malats pieces provide substantial information and make a strong argument on
one side of this issue. Both Preyss article, and Malats PSA dominate through delivery of ethos
and logos rhetoric, but they do not completely mirror each other. Each piece makes a few extra
points that the other does not, and while one is a textual representation, the other is mainly a
visual argument. Images like the one in Growing the Economy, are catered to make an
audience think and weigh out the what if options even if he or she is already sold on a side.
Because of the powerful effect of imagery, it is more likely that Malats PSA will be more
effective and convincing than Preyss article.

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Works Cited
Basu, Tanya. "Colorado Raised More Tax Revenue from Marijuana Than Alcohol." Time. 16
Sept. 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
Juhasz, Victor. "The Great Marijuana Experiment: A Tale of Two Drug Wars." Rolling Stone. 03
Jan. 2014. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
"NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws." State Info. NORML Foundation, 2015.
Web. 07 Oct. 2015.
Roberts, Jeff. "7 Ways Marijuana Legalization Has Already Benefited Colorado In Only 8
Months." CollectiveEvolution RSS. DMCA, 13 Sept. 2014. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
Preyss, Jennifer. LinkedIn profile. Personal resume. 7 Oct 2015.
Preyss, Jennifer. "PRO: Decriminalize small amounts of pot." Victoria Advocate (TX) 11 June
2012: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.