Alicia Ayala

Professor Massey/ENC1101
11/30/15
Annotated Bibliography
Editorial Board, The. Congress and Obama Are Too Timid on Marijuana Reform. The New
York Times 08 August 2015: SR8. Print.
The New York Times is a well-known newspaper across the country. In this periodical article, the
Editorial Board discusses the legal affairs involving marijuana. They mainly argue that President Obama
and Congress are not putting as much effort in to changing the nations absurd marijuana policies as
they should be. According to the article, scientific research has shown that a chemical in cannabis known
as cannabidiol has medical potential. Because of this, the editors claim that Congress should be working
harder to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, as it is in no way as harmful as Heroin,
Cocaine, or LSD, all of which have no medical value. They also argue that these policies have ruined the
lives of otherwise innocent civilians and wasted billions of dollars, mostly on their incarceration and
legal cases. I found this article to be a useful source because it talks about the legal side of marijuana. I
believe that the government should legalize marijuana one and for all, so they can move on to making
changes and fixing policies that really matter.
N.P. DrugPolicy.org. Drug Policy Alliance, N.D. Web. 20 Nov. 2015
The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is a nonprofit organization that supports the end of prohibition on
certain drugs, including medical marijuana. They are keenly involved in the legislative process and aim
to promote practical drug policy reforms that dont involve arresting, incarcerating and subjugating
millions of people (medical marijuana patients, for example) who would not otherwise be considered

criminals. In other words, they fight for the decriminalization of medical marijuana patients and
recreational users. They arrange rallies and protests to achieve their goals. Throughout the website, there
are links to different petitions involving marijuana reforms. This website contains information on the
drug policies in each state, economic issues/solutions, social injustices and discrimination upon people
for their drug use, and marijuana legalization and regulation. It is a useful website because provides
users with information, scientific research, and legal information involving marijuana.
Hosking, Zajicek. Therapeutic potential of cannabis in pain medicine. British Journal of
Anaesthesia 101.1 (2008): 59-68 BJA Oxford Journals. 17 Nov. 2015
This article was written by a neurological research group at a medical school. It focuses more on the
scientific aspect of medical marijuana by looking deeper in to the chemistry of cannabis, how
neurotransmitters released by the use of marijuana chemically alter the brain and body to relieve pain,
and how cannabis plant extracts can be chemically combined to make pain-reliving medicines. It was
useful because it was a study done on cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component of Cannabis. The
study contained actual scientific research approving the potential of medical marijuana to treat pain and
illnesses. It was mentioned in the article the cannabinoids kill cancer cells and treats epilepsy and
multiple sclerosis when consumed as a tincture, not smoked. (This is a common misconception about the
medical component of marijuana.) This article supports my belief that marijuana should be legalized for
the use of medicine.
Sandyk, Reuven, MD. MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org. ProCon of Controversial Issues, 12 Nov. 2015. Web. 25
Nov. 2015
ProCon.org is a nonprofit charity that explores the pros and cons of different controversial issues in the
country. They strive to provide civic education for students, educators, legislators, journalists and the

general public. The website encloses information on the medical value, medical risks, potency, legal
issues, and the chemical composition of marijuana. I found this to be a great source because it displayed
information on the effects marijuana has on different diseases such as AIDS, Alzheimers, Tourettes
syndrome, Glaucoma, Crohns disease, Epilepsy, and Cancer individually. Also, not only did it list the
positive aspects of marijuana, but also the negative. Its important to be aware of arguments from both
sides. After reading the articles on this website, I still stand by my opinion that medical marijuana
should be legal, but I am aware of the minimal risks it can place on ones health.
Wang, Collet, Shapiro, Ware. Adverse Effects of Medical Cannabinoids: A Systematic
Review, Canadian Medical Association Journal (June 17, 2008): Vol. 178, No. 13, pp. 166978. 21
Nov. 2015.
This article was written by a research group in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the
University of British Columbia. Their objective was to look over studies of medical cannabinoids that
were published in the last forty years and perform a systematic review to improve future studies. Out of
the studies they did, they found cannabinoids relieved multiple sclerosis, nausea, and urinary tract
infection-related pains. Also according to the researchers in this article, an estimated 10%20% of
patients with chronic non-cancer pain, HIV/AIDS and epilepsy in their study have turned to smoking
cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Based on their research, smoked cannabis has been found to be safe
and effective for HIV-associated disorders. Because this source is not biased and contains information
on real scientific research, I found this source to be beneficial. It supports my belief in the potential of
marijuana as a pain-relieving medicine.