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Marijuana legalization
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Introduction
Marijuana legalization continues to be a contentious debate in the country with the push for federal laws to legalize its sale and use gathering gradual momentum by the day. Several states have legalized marijuana in recent years, either for medicinal use, recreational use, or both. But possession, sale, or use of the drug still is considered a crime at the federal level and in most states. Regardless of one’s position on the explanations for marijuana prohibition, there are two sides to the debate. Proponents of legalization have put forward several reasons to validate their position on the subject while opponents have remained steadfast to the original underlying factors behind illegalization. The impact of the implementation of current laws has also been a matter of significant concern. This paper dives into the debate throwing weight behind the proponents of legalization through a critical analysis of the subject. With the positives seemingly outweighing the negatives of marijuana use, maybe it is time for a change in course with regards to Marijuana use. Marijuana should be legalized given the tremendous benefits that recent pieces of research and observations have attributed it with and the numerous setbacks in current laws.
Research has for the longest been the basis from which policies are drafted, strategies adopted and effective ways to better human life developed. Marijuana and its effects have been the subject of extensive research in recent years. These researches have yielded results in favor of marijuana use prompting legalization in some of the states in America, and certain countries around the globe. Some of these benefits are discussed.
Supporting Reason and Details
Marijuana is of numerous medical purposes. It has been found to be effective in chronic pain relief, treatment of certain types of cancer, glaucoma, inflammatory bowel disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Marijuana use in monitored doses for various medical purposes is now common in healthcare practice all over the world. Opponents of legalization often argue that the medical benefits of marijuana should limit it to monitored doses as prescribed by a physician and thus no need to further legalize the sale and use of Marijuana. They however fail to acknowledge the impact of current laws on drug adherence or the willingness of patients to embrace treatment regimens involving marijuana. One of the challenges of medical marijuana use has been poor drug adherence from patients who consider marijuana harmful by virtue that it is an illegal substance (Compton et al, 559). Legalization can help overcome this stumbling block consequently enabling patients to enjoy the benefits of medical marijuana through increased adherence to the drugs.
Other than impacting health through its medical purposes, marijuana has been found to be a key contributor to mental health promotion. Mental health is currently a momentous subject in the country. Awareness campaigns have become commonplace and mental health facilities continue to be developed in a bid to tackle the rising prevalence rates. According to the CDC, 1 in 25 Americans lives with a mental health issue. Cannabinoids found in Marijuana have a relaxing effect and have been found to prevent mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and prevent the advancement of Alzheimer’s disease (Keyhani, et al, 286). Yet marijuana remains illegal, preventing individuals exposed to these diseases from getting cushion. In as much, as much as there are other mental health disorders associated with Marijuana, depression, PTSD, and anxiety, – some of the most common mental health issues can be prevented by Marijuana use. Going by these facts, the benefits as far as mental health is concerned may just be greater than the negative impacts.
The recreational effects of marijuana include a feeling of joy, increased sense of sight, hearing and taste, and relaxation. Marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes consumed legally in the country for recreational purposes. It is only fair that it is legalized as an adult drug to enable individuals to enjoy its recreational sense as is the case with alcohol and cigarettes. Legalization which ultimately will lead to taxation on marijuana will increase government income, create employment opportunities as well as free police resources used in the enforcement of the laws prohibiting the sale and use of Marijuana.
Law enforcement regarding Marijuana has several disadvantages that further necessitate the legalization of marijuana. First, as stated, a lot of police resources are used to enforce the law, resources that can be focused on non-debatable crimes such as traffic laws enforcement and sexual violence. Secondly, enforcement is unnecessarily cruel and racist. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the rate of marijuana use between whites and blacks is almost the same. However, Black individuals are almost four times more likely to be apprehended for a drug-related crime (Hart & Hart, 6). Racism, a long-standing vice that the country keeps fighting can be reduced significantly by legalizing marijuana. Additionally, marijuana prohibition impedes the criminal justice process. Current laws have created a black-market economy where crimes which are not related to marijuana, but linked to persons who sell and use it, go unreported. The resulting situation is that real crimes prove difficult to solve and more victims never get the justice they deserve because of the circumstances under which crimes against them were committed.
Consumers today have no idea whether the marijuana they use is mixed with other toxic substances or chemicals to enhance their impact. Legalization will ensure that the marijuana being sold passes the necessary consumer safety checks and warnings to kids. For example, in Washington where marijuana is legal, health warnings and quality assurance on marijuana are a prerequisite by law. THC concentrations are also labeled. For legalization such factors must be considered in order to protect the consumers. Legalization will therefore enhance consumer safety and warn consumers of the negative effects of what they are consuming.
Counterargument and Rebuttal
While tabling arguments for legalization, this article took into consideration some of the main counterarguments put forward by the opponents of legalization. Marijuana obviously has its negative effects that one cannot pretend not to be concerned about while taking a stand in the legalization debate. The paper’s position however is that the benefits of legalization outweigh the negative effects. Some of the main factors supporting the status quo are discussed below.
Marijuana is associated with psychotic disorders. Opponents of legalization argue that legalization will increase cases of such mental health issues. The benefits of marijuana to mental health are however tremendous and outweigh the risk it poses to individuals with regards to mental health illnesses. As discussed in support of legalization, some of the most common mental health illnesses can be prevented by marijuana. Legalization may increase some mental disorders, which are not very common for instance schizophrenia but will prevent common mental health problems such as depression, stress, anxiety, and PTSD. The diseases associated with marijuana also not as harmful as dangerous as some of the diseases associated with alcohol and cigarettes.
Opponents argue that legalization will increase teen use of marijuana with harmful results given the fact that marijuana is highly dangerous for younger people. Indeed, the percentage of 12- to 17-year-old marijuana users is higher in states where marijuana is legal than the national average (Anderson et al, 880). Legalization with the correct measures in place to prevent use among children is however possible. Restrictions on the sale and more awareness and warning to teens just lie alcohol can be adopted. This will allow adults to enjoy the benefits of marijuana without endangering children.
Opponents argue that traffic accidents and death will increase with the legalization of marijuana. This concern must be appreciated given the number of traffic accidents and deaths that result from drink driving. Studies however show that individuals under the influence of marijuana tend to be more cautious and take fewer risks than drunk drivers. Marijuana use for anxiety management is also associated with composed driving. So contrary to the popular view that marijuana legalization will increase the number of traffic accidents, it may as well reduce them. There is a popular stereotype that marijuana smokers engage in criminal activities thus legalization will lead to increased crime rates. This however remains a stereotype, there have been no studies linking marijuana use with crimes. As discussed earlier, legalization will free up police resources and enable the police to focus on solving and reducing crimes. More focus and resources for the police as a result of legalization can therefore only reduce criminal activities.
Conclusion
The proponents for the legalization of marijuana continue to rise by the day as a result of the realization of the benefits of marijuana. Medical research findings have been a major force behind these rising numbers. The medical and health benefits are tremendous thus this paper’s support for legalization. Furthermore, law enforcement with regards to marijuana has been unequal, inconsistent, and full of negative impacts such as racism, that can be avoided by legalization. Legalization will also have a huge positive impact on the economy through additional government revenue and employment opportunities. As presented, legalization has its negative impacts, however, there are practical measures to overcome these disadvantages. Legalization will have more benefits than negative effects.
Works Cited
Anderson, D. M., Hansen, B., Rees, D. I., & Sabia, J. J. (2019). Association of marijuana laws with teen marijuana use: new estimates from the youth risk behavior surveys. JAMA pediatrics, 173(9), 879-881.
Compton, Wilson M., Nora D. Volkow, and Marsha F. Lopez. “Medical marijuana laws and cannabis use: intersections of health and policy.” JAMA psychiatry 74.6 (2017): 559-560.
Hart, C. L., & Hart, M. Z. (2019). Opioid crisis: Another mechanism used to perpetuate American racism. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 25(1), 6.
Keyhani, Salomeh, et al. “Risks and benefits of marijuana use: a national survey of US adults.” Annals of internal medicine 169.5 (2018): 282-290.
Marijuana Legalization Rough Draft
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Marijuana Legalization Rough Draft
For decades now, the debate regarding the legalization of marijuana has been heating overtime with different parties taking varying sides. There have been parties that are dedicated to fighting against the criminalization of marijuana in their state of residence while others have taken strong positions deeming marijuana as the source of all evils in the society. However, marijuana is not evil, and as well it has not been known to cause any evil related event in the society, and therefore those opposing the legalization of marijuana are just doing it on the basis of shear rumors with no evidence to back their concerns. Even though every good thing is known to be associated with both benefits, there are always some bad aspects of the topic at hand. Regarding the issue of marijuana, numerous benefits result from the use of marijuana than the negative effects that accrue from consumption.
Marijuana in most parts of the united states have remained to be criminalized due to the association of the drug with criminal activities, but as it has downed, the need to legalize marijuana is rising forcing most of the countries to decriminalize the use as well as the possession of marijuana. Despite the decriminalization, there has been raised the need to control the use as well as the possession of the drug in the same way alcohol has been controlled for decades. Marijuana has numerous benefits and the efforts to legalize it will reduce the black market business and in turn reduce the rate of incarceration in the United States. States, therefore, should weigh the benefits that result from the legalization of the drug such as economical, medical hence improving the health of the user, as well as social benefits and make independent decisions in the policy formulation against the criminalization of marijuana for the benefit of the State and its residents.
Lesson Planning in SIOP From Theory to Practice
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Lesson Planning in SIOP: From Theory to Practice
Abstract
It cannot be disputed that the teaching and learning process is usually a complex procedure that requires effective preparation. Lesson plans give teachers a chance to organize the course content and ensure that it captures the diversified needs of the learners. The SIOP model in particular has proved to be effective in teaching language to a diverse population. This is because of its multifaceted nature that enables it to employ diversified and complementary methods of instruction. Notably, these capture the varied classroom needs and enhance the effectiveness of the teaching process. This is undoubtedly at the center stage of the teaching and learning goals and objectives. The purpose of this study is to evaluate lesson planning in SIOP.
Introduction
Effective instruction at all levels tends to be determined by various factors that range from a clear understanding of the student’s individual needs to the consideration of their intelligence levels. Active participation of all parties is critical as it gives both students and educators a chance to enjoy the teaching and learning process. In order to attain optimal results, instructors ensure that the learning process is organized. This is usually attained through the employment of a lesson plan that underscores all the aspects of the lesson. This paper provides an explicit evaluation of the SIOP lesson plan. In detail, it comprehensively explains the language lesson and highlights how it incorporated different features of SIOP in order to meet its goals and objectives. In addition, it provides a rationale for the learning theories that were employed during the lesson.
SIOP Lesson Plan
The lesson was an introduction to different genres in oral literature with special focus on poetry. The purpose of the entire unit is to enable students to identify different styles employed in poetry. In addition, the lesson seeks to enhance engagement with the material using cognitive, Meta cognitive and affective approaches to learning. The basic aim it to enable students to understand and appreciate the styles as well as identify how they employ the same during their conversations and creative writing. Also, students would be expected to relate the styles to other pieces of literary art and be able to use their critical skills in identifying how they usually use the concepts both knowingly and unknowingly in the home and school environment.
The students will be allocated different poems from renowned poets such as Langston Hughes and will carry out discussions accordingly. In this, they will be expected to not only identify the styles but also compare the styles with those employed by other poets. They will be expected to relate the different concepts to those that have been learnt in previous lessons.
The theme of the lesson is poetry and specifically stylistic devices employed in this. Poetry is an important genre that gives the artists a chance to communicate to the audience through compressed language (Hill & Flynn, 2006). Apart from delivering the content to the audience, artists employ a wide range of styles that spice up their work and enable the audience to deduce meanings accordingly. Thus understanding the different styles is requisite for effective interpretation of the message contained in the poems.
The objectives of the content are to enable students to recount the different poetic styles that were learnt in the previous lessons. With this information, they would be able to connect the use of different styles in the assigned poems. Also, the students would have a chance to compare use of styles by different authors and to identify how they also employ these in their day to day language use. Through discussions, students will be allowed to give their personal reports with respect to how they use the styles for different purposes. Also, they will be expected to make summaries of the poems in order to identify and appreciate the inherent meanings. To accredit this, they will be expected to cite different phrases from the poems that would support their ideas.
By the end of the lesson, they would be expected to write their own poems and employ the different styles. These would then be posted on the black board for peer review and relative analysis. The materials employed in the lesson would be web links and textbooks that would be sources of the poems to be used during the lesson and a video that would provide an introductory explanation to poetic styles. Graphic organizers would also be imperative for enabling the students to make various connections.
SIOP Features
With respect to preparation, this would entail adaptation of the content, incorporation of the learning strategies and identification of links employed in the previous lesson. Then, scaffolding would encompass guided practice, independent practice and comprehensible input (Gibbons, 2002). With respect to group options, learning would take place independently, between partners, amongst small groups and within the entire class (Echevarria, Vogt & Short, 2007). The integration process would be all inclusive entailing reading, listening, writing and speaking. The application process would equally be multifaceted and would incorporate promotion of engagement, hands on and linkage to objects. Finally, the assessment would take place at different levels and in different ways. In this regard, groups, partners and individuals would be evaluated orally and in written. All these features would be reflected in the sequence of the tutoring session.
Lesson Sequence
The instructor would begin by introducing the topic to the entire class. This would be followed by as short presentation of a video in which the speaker provides an introductory explanation of the stylistic devices employed in poetry. This would also be a recap of the previous lesson in which students were informed about the various poetic styles that are found in different genres of literature. The instructor would then group the students in teams of four of five students. In this, the students would be allowed to address the vocabulary that is used in the study. In addition, they would be able to share different experiences in which they have employed the stylistic devices in their day to day language.
In the group context, they will use their textbooks and web links to identify specific poems for review. After identification of the poems, one member would be allowed to read the poem to the rest of the groups who would then identify the surface and underlying meanings. Then, they would collaborate in identifying the stylistic devices that were used by the authors and why the authors employed the same. After this analysis, students would be expected to compare different poems and complete the graphic organizers by identifying connections between the poems and the stylistic devices that were leant in the previous lessons.
At this point, it is certain that they would have sufficient information with regard to the characteristics and attributes of a poem. Using this, they would be expected to write their own poem using the learnt stylistic devices. This would enable them to have a clear understanding with regard to why certain styles are employed in specific contexts. They would then be expected to share their experiences with the entire class and explain the lessons they have derived from their assignments.
Learning Strategies
In using the Meta cognitive approach, the students will use the think-aloud model that would be demonstrated by the instructor. This strategy will be used when the students are making connections between the stylistic devices learnt in the previous lessons and how they are employed in the day to day speech. They would be expected to closely relate the approach to the thinking process and in a bit to cite the poetic styles that are found in the respective poems under review.
The students would then be allowed to reflect on their daily use of the English language and how they can make any type of communication a learning process. Then, cognitive learning would be attained when the students identify the relationships and inherent connections between the identified styles and those that were learnt in previous lessons. Finally, social learning would be attained through use of team capacities to identify the different stylistic devices in poems and write a poem that has the identified features.
Rationale for Use of Different Learning Theories
The classroom that was being handles in this regard had learners with diverse intelligences. It was therefore imperative to employ different types of learning strategies and approaches in order to attain the goals and objectives. The employment of video at the beginning of the lesson was instrumental for motivating the students to participate actively in the process of learning. Essentially, this type of instruction enhances dialogue and triggers active and critical thinking that is fundamental in analysis of poetry.
Further, the use of web links in learning was also critical in preventing boredom that would undermine the process of learning. In this regard, research indicates that employment of a single medium of instruction likely culminates in boredom that compromises effective understanding of the course content (Echvarria et al, 2007). Group work also came in handy to enhance participation and ensure that students whom English is not their first language also have a chance to participate in the process of learning. In most instances, such children lack the confidence to participate actively in discussion sessions that would involve the entire class.
Conclusion
In order to enhance the teaching and learning process, the instructor needs to understand the diverse needs in the classroom. This enables the same to employ a method of instruction that would suit the specific needs and requirements of the learners. A lesson plan is imperative as it enhances organization of different aspects and ensures that all these are included in the lesson for optimal output. The SIOP approach provides an ideal method of teaching language as it puts in consideration the diverse needs of learners. The group and individual contexts enhance participation and evaluation enhances effectiveness of the study. Most importantly, the diverse instruction methods enhance not only enhances learning but also nurtures critical thinking skills that are fundamental for understanding poetry.
References
Echevarria, J.; Vogt, ME., & Short, D.J. (2004). Making content comprehensible for English
learners: the SIOP model, 2nd Ed. New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon.
Gibbons, P. (2002). Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning. UK: Heinemann
Hill, J. & Flynn, K. (2006). Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language. USA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.