Argumentative Essay On Legalization Of Marijuana

Legalization of Marijuana The legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington has brought about controversy within the American public within the past year. Reason for this was because it was such a radical move by these states and no one knew what was going to happen. Now it has already been a year since the states have legalized marijuana and both have become economically prosperous. In this essay I will be comparing the themes of media articles and academic journals on how they cover the legalization of marijuana. I won’t be focusing so much on the content that is being covered by each article or journal, but I will be analyzing the difference sources in order to see the differences and similarities on how they explore the same subject.
In the first article published by the Huffington Post examines the positive effects marijuana has had in Colorado in the field of law enforcement. For example in the article “Colorado and Marijuana Legalization One

This is expressed when they state “[b]y shifting away from unnecessary marijuana arrests and focusing instead on public health, Washington is better positioned to address the potential harms of marijuana use…” This is intended to show how even though they have legalized marijuana they understand the risks that come with it. But in “Colorado and Marijuana Legalization One Year Later: What Has Changed?” they display an emphasis on how police have to change their previous conceptions of marijuana when it comes to enforcing the law. Because “[p]olice are now forced to change their ways and simply focus on whether or not there is imminent public safety harm due to marijuana use.” (Colorado and Marijuana Legalization One Year Later: What Has Changed?, 2014) This is a key difference between both media articles on how they depict the legalization of