Annotated Bibliography

“Legalization of Marijuana and its implications” Research Project

By: Jocelyn Byers
Date: 3/10/19
Donnelly, Joseph, and Michael Young. "The Legalization of Medical/Recreational
Marijuana: Implications for School Health Drug Education Programs." The Journal
of School Health, vol. 88, no. 9, 2018, pp. 693-698. ProQuest,
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w/2087245570?accountid=10163, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/josh.12669.
1. The authors, Donnelly and Young discuss the implications of the Legalization of
Medicinal and Recreational Marijuana on the School Health Drug Education Programs.
More than half of U.S. states have legalized marijuana for medical use. There a total of 29
states that have legalized medicinal marijuana, 9 of which including Washington D.C. , also
allow it to be used recreationally for adults. Marijuana still remains illegal under federal
law. Despite that fact, it seems as though states legalization of marijuana will continue to
increase. Research shows that can be beneficial in some situations, but there are still
concerns when it comes to the harmful effects toward an individual and also the public
health. In the debate over legalization, schools can serve as a resource and teach students
about the marijuana itself and its effects. They state that schools should continue to
dissuade students from using any drugs, alcohol, and/or tobacco.
Grinspoon, Peter. “Medical Marijuana.” Harvard Health Blog, 9 Jan. 2018,
www.health.harvard.edu/blog/medical-marijuana-2018011513085.
2. This blog discusses Medical Marijuana. Medicinal Marijuana is legal in 29 states and
Washington D.C., but is still not legal under the federal law. The FDA has yet to approve
approved marijuana for treating any health problems, but those states and D.C. allow its
use for certain health purposes. The most common use for medical marijuana in the
United States is for pain management. Marijuana isn’t strong enough for severe pain like
Narcotics (such as Morphine) are. Though it has proved to be effective for the chronic
pain that millions of Americans suffer from. CBD is an extract of the hemp plant that does
not get you high but provides health benefits. Some patients have reported that CBD has
helped relieve their pain whether physical or mental.

"High Time to Talk about Pot." The Leader, Sep 02, 2015. ProQuest,
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3. In recent years the Legalization of Marijuana has sprouted, therefore it is becoming
more and more of a discussion. This article talks about how there have been
inconsistencies surrounding Marijuana Dispensaries in B.C. This concerns citizens, and
raises the question “How is Legalization of Marijuana effecting the public health?” and
“What does our future hold regarding marijuana?” Some cons of marijuana and its
legalization were talked about in this document. Marijuana can be a possible gateway
drug for other more dangerous drugs such as cocaine, pain pills, heroine, etc. The drug
raises health risks regarding adolescents whose brains are still developing. Impairments
in judgement and memory can arise while under the influence of marijuana. Lastly, that
most likely even the legalization of marijuana will not be a cure or solution to illegal
marijuana trade in America. Some pros of marijuana were also listed in this article.
Legalization of Marijuana can help reduce the black market. It has economic benefits
involving taxes and licensing. Cost savings for court and police time. There are both
negative and positive aspects that come with legalization, this article urges people to
think about it cautiously and talk about it openly.
Kerr, Geoffrey T. Understanding the Relationship between Marijuana use and Self-Control,
University of Colorado at Boulder, Ann Arbor, 2016. ProQuest,
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4. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug. Marijuana is widely available, and
widely used all over the U.S. No matter how many laws are put into place, whether
legalizing pot or limiting it, there is always concerns that follow. The main concerns that
many people have when it comes to marijuana is physical and mental health. This
document or dissertation explores the relationship between marijuana use and self-
control. A person’s urge to smoke weed or when a person associates smoking weed with
pleasure or fun can relate to self-control and marijuana use. This document allows us to
have insight to the complexity of marijuana usage, or the fact that there might be an
underlying reason to why people smoke weed.
Keyhani, Salomeh,M.D., M.P.H., et al. "Risks and Benefits of Marijuana use: A National
Survey of U.S. Adults." Annals of Internal Medicine, vol. 169, no. 5, 2018, pp. 282.
ProQuest,
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5. This article shows results of a survey where they asked U.S. citizens their thoughts on
marijuana. It provides with some percentages which I found to be quite interesting.
16,280 U.S. adults participated in the survey. 81% of U.S. adults reported believing that
marijuana has at least one benefit and 17% believed that there was no benefits. The most
common benefit noted was pain management, then treatment of diseases (like epilepsy
and multiple sclerosis), and then relief from mental issues (like anxiety, depression, and
stress). 91% of U.S. adults reported that they believe marijuana has at least one risk and
9% believe there is not risk. The most common risk noted was legal problems, then
addiction, and then impaired memory. Now only a very small portion of U.S. citizens
participated in this survey so it is not completely accurate and it’s based off of opinion and
personal feelings, but I thought it was so interesting to see just regular citizens thoughts
and thought I would include it within my research.
Leonard, Devin. "Pot and Booze Lobbyists Rumble in Washington." Business week, Nov,
2013, pp. 1. ProQuest,
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w/1492883370?accountid=10163.
6. There are a mixture of states in which marijuana is legal and illegal. Leonard states that
November of 2013, the pro-marijuana legalization lobby had much to celebrate. On
November 5, residents of Portland, Maine voted to legalize marijuana for adult
consumption in their city. Along with that, Colorado’s residents voted to approve taxation
on legal pot sales. This would help Colorado help accumulate money to fight off any
possible interference from the Federal Government. Leonard also goes on to talk about
how not everyone is rejoicing in the “Pot Lobbies” triumphs. The alcohol industry and the
pot industry have an ongoing feud, which is expected. The alcohol industry was not
pleased with the billboard ads being posted in Portland, funded by Washington DC’s –
based Marijuana Policy Project. The ads stated that “it is better to smoke weed than to
drink booze.” Since, the alcohol industry has protested the legalization of marijuana.
Onder, Hannah. "Legalization of Marijuana Continues to be Hot Political Topic. "University
Wire, Nov 13, 2018. ProQuest,
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7. I chose this article because it talks about what marijuana actually is. PBS states that
marijuana is dried, shredded leaves from hemp plants. Farmers have been growing hemp
plants since the 17th century. Hemp aided in the creation of ropes, sails, clothing, this
continued until the Civil War when more materials became popular. Media outlets would
link marijuana use to violence, insanity, and even murder. The brought the Marijuana Tax
Act of 1937 which outlawed the use of the drug. However, at the time 29 out of 30
professional doctors believed that marijuana was not a dangerous drug. The government
eventually started to discuss the option of decriminalizing of marijuana, but in 1986
Ronald Reagan pass the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which created penalties for the possession
of marijuana. The penalties were changed throughout to a “three-strike policy”. In 2015,
The New York Times reported that arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana
outnumbered all violent crimes. Marijuana has a very complicated history. This
document provided a lot of backstory and information regarding Marijuana.
Phil's Stock World: Legal Marijuana's Social Impact on Colorado. Newstex, Chatham, 2017.
ProQuest,
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8. This document shows some of the impacts of Legalizing Marijuana in Colorado.
Colorado legalized marijuana in 2014. A common misconception that people have is that
if weed is legalized many more people will partake in it, in Colorado’s case, there was no
visible change in marijuana users between 2014 and 2015. The department of Public
Safety has reported that arrests involving marijuana has decreased by 46% between the
years of 2012 and 2014. Colorado is one of five states that have the lowest unemployment
rate in America, ranking at 3.0% as of December 2016. The legal marijuana industry
helped with that by adding over 18,000 new full time jobs in 2015. The most beneficial
change for the state was the tax receipts, Colorado received around $198.5 million in
taxes from marijuana sales in 2016. On a negative note, Colorado experienced the third
largest increase in the number of homeless people in 2016 because many people were
moving there because weed was legalized and they had hopes of finding a “marijuana
related job”.