Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
Introduction: Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States and public
policies regarding legalization continues to remain a controversial issue. Progress in the marijuana
field in the last two decades has led to the discovery of various physical and psychological benefits
such as healing migraines and facilitating nausea caused by chemotherapy. Marijuana’s growing
reputation of being a safe and harmless drug has led to increased support amongst Americans as a
lucrative business providing economic value and medical benefits, instead of a drug that one
should be punished for. Although recreational and medicinal marijuana use has been legalized in
21 states in the US, the DEA classified, Schedule I drug continues to remain illegal at a federal
level, which raises concerns to the social and economic implications that may arise from marijuana
legalization. For example, how would the American youth be affected? Various factors are
involved and there should be more to consider than just the benefits of marijuana.
This article is written by a group of Public Health professors at the University of Maryland
and it discusses the indirect and direct effects of marijuana use on the academic
performance of college students. The results of the article were evaluated by taking a
college engagement and drug usage into account. The article shows the correlation between
marijuana use and poor academic achievement and overall academic satisfaction. This
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article will be used to demonstrate and support the fact that marijuana use can hinder
Boffey, Philip M. “What Science Says About Marijuana.” The New York Times, The New York
marijuana.html.
Philip M. Boffey is the former deputy editor of The New York Times and editorial page
writer, focusing mainly on the impacts of science and health. Boffey’s article on marijuana
begins by comparing the health effects other hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine would
implicate on an individual. The article includes the effects of marijuana use on youths and
is supported by a case study in which daily marijuana usage with high frequencies and
amounts would drop a persons’ IQ. The reduction in IQ can bring on adverse effects such
as cognitive degeneration and developmental decline. This article will be well suited to my
research paper as it provides relevant insight on the harms of marijuana and the effects of
its consumption.
Caulkins, Jonathan P., et al. Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford
This book, written by three American drug policy researchers and public policy professors,
internationally. It provides a neutral yet detailed explanation on what marijuana is, the
risks and the benefits of using marijuana and its usage demographics without bias. This
from legalization and details any gray area option between prohibition and commercialized
production. It also takes the probable impacts of marijuana legalization such as social and
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economic effects into consideration. The book includes analyses and graphs based on
surveys taken to illustrate and support its claims. There are ample footnotes provided with
Dierker, Lisa et al. “Depression and marijuana use disorder symptoms among current marijuana
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.08.013.
This article was written by a professor of psychology at the Wesleyan University and
compares marijuana use with depression. The study evaluates whether marijuana usage
article uses data from the six annual surveys of the National Survey of Drug Use and Health
to draw its conclusion which shows that marijuana users with depression were more likely
to experience marijuana use disorder symptoms. This article is relevant to the issue of
legalization and mental illnesses and proved that excessive marijuana use may actually
Gundy, Karen Van, and Michael S. Staunton. Marijuana: Examining the Facts. ABC-CLIO,
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csun/detail.action?docID=4922909.
This book is written by Karen Van Gundy and Michael Staunton, sociologist and doctoral
student in sociology respectively at the University of New Hampshire sheds light on the
scope and impact of marijuana use and abuse in the United States. The authors begin by
organizing their content around the main topics of marijuana such as its risks and benefits,
consequences criminalization and public policies. The book examines usage and substance
abuse trends among multiple demographics and subpopulations and debunks the claims
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about medical risks that are associated with marijuana. The book is relevant towards my
research paper as it inspects causes and consequences of marijuana use from a social and
interpersonal perspective and also includes a section whereby the past and the future of
legalization is discussed.