Informative Speech

Title: Marijuana abuse

General purpose: To inform about the ill effects of Marijuana and alcohol.
Specific purpose: To inform the audience of Marijuana’s effects and risks compared to alcohol,
emphasizing that alcohol is an inherently riskier substance.
Thesis Statement: Students can lead a better life without substance abuse

Introduction
I. Attention Material/Clicher: To start things off I want to have a quick survey.
How many of you attended a college party? Keep your hand up if alcohol was
served at that party. Alternatively, how many have been to a party where
marijuana was involved? Odds are, the ones with alcohol exceed those with pot,
likely because weed is illegal in Iowa. Now, this distinction of legal vs. not could
lead you to believe that alcohol is safer than marijuana, but this isn’t necessarily
the case.

II. Tie to the Audience: Now all of you, the ones who’ve been to parties and may still
go in the future, deserve to know what you’re facing when you take a shot or
smoke a joint.

III. Credibility statement: As someone who has looked into these substances,
including extensive studying, interviews with health officials, and more, I feel
comfortable sharing my findings with you all.

IV. Thesis: And it’s through my findings, the main point I want to share with you all, is
that marijuana is relatively benign compared to widely consumed, legal alcohol.

V. Preview: To illustrate this, I’m going to point out some fundamental differences
between alcohol and marijuana in regards to their short term, and long term
effects

Transition: So now, before we get into long term damage, let’s first get into the short term,
immediate effects.

Body

I. Main Point: Imagine this – you’re at a party, things are getting exciting, the music
is out of control when someone decides it’s time to bust out the shots and joints.
From here, you have the option to try one, the other, or both. But in the span of this
one night, in the short term, what can you expect from using either?
A. So let’s begin our thinking with what happens after the party, namely
driving home.
1. Starting things off with alcohol – it’s a no-brainer that alcohol is
involved in a massive amount of crashes – there’s no question. But
if you want a number, according to Tom Price’s 2012 article in the
CQ Researcher, “Excessive drinking killed 10,228 people on
American roads in 2010…”
2. Now let’s contrast this with marijuana. In Steve Fox, Paul
Armentano, and Mason Tvert’s 2009 book, Marijuana is Safer, the
trio express that unlike those affected by alcohol, often described
as overconfident behind the wheel, those who are high are often
aware of their impairment and try to compensate for it. This isn’t
to say there aren’t risks to driving high – decreased special
awareness and inhibited reaction time to name a few – but a
multitude of studies found that the increased risk is still *far*
below that of alcohol.
B. So now let’s say you’re home. You’ve driven home, avoided the cops, and
now it’s just you and whoever has the joy of living with you. The question
is now – how are you likely to act under the influence?
1. If we reference back to Steve Fox, Paul Armentano, and Mason
Tvert’s 2009 book, Marijuana is Safer, we see a stark contrast
between the two substances. Alcohol, for one is a major
contributing factor in deliberate self-harm, domestic accidents,
or bouts of violence.
2. By contrast, the trio say of marijuana in their book, “Despite
decades of anecdotal claims, no credible research has shown
marijuana use to be a casual factor in violence, aggression, or
delinquent behavior. As concluded by the National Commission on
Marijuana and Drug Abuse, ‘[M]arihuana us not generally viewed
by participants in the criminal justice community as a major
 contributing influence in the commission of delinquent or criminal
acts.’
Transition: So now, having elaborated on what you can expect in the span of a single night, let’s
move on to what you can expect in the long term.

II. Main Point: So now, let’s push forward a little and look at the long term. Say
you got a taste for booze or weed now – what can you expect in the future should
you continue to use either?
A. Let’s start off with one of the more pertinent points – how likely you
are to get addicted. For this topic, I feel it’s best to express in numbers.
1. Let’s start off with alcohol. In Tom McKay’s 2014 article,
published in H.W. Wilson’s book, ‘Marijuana Reform,’ he explains
that in 1994, the National Institute on Drug abuse surveyed 8000
people between ages 15 and 64 on their drug habits. When they
came to address the drinkers, they found that around 15% fit a
dependence diagnosis.
2. So let’s compare this to marijuana. In the same study, when
addressing marijuana users, they found that only 9% fit a
dependence diagnosis. But despite the rate of dependence being
lower than alcohol, marijuana is currently classified as a schedule 1
substance, which is defined as the most dangerous drugs with a
severe risk of psychological or physical abuse.
3. For the sake of comparison, 17% of cocaine users showed
dependence, 23% of heroin users, and 32% of cigarette users.
B. Now, moving on, let’s address a common concern, namely that
marijuana use will get you hooked on harder substances.
1. Returning back to Tom McKay’s 2014 article in Marijuana Reform,
marijuana lacks any particular chemical component that makes it
particularly dangerous, nor acts as a ‘Gateway’ to harder
substances. In reality, the correlation between marijuana use and
that of harder substances is more fully explained by drug dealers,
 while selling their product, have incentive to push said harder
drugs on their buyers.
2. If there’s anything that could support this point, it’s that the
National Institute on Drug Abuse confirmed on their website
(drugabuse.gov) in 2019, that the majority of marijuana users do
not go on to use harder drugs. They, respectively, point the finger
to social environments.
C. To wrap up the long term – let’s look at perhaps the most pertinent point:
Mortality.
1. Returning to Tom Price’s 2012 article in the CQ Researcher,
the CDC reports that excessive drinking alone is responsible for
the death of 80,000 Americans per year.
2. Now, contrast this 80,000 with the National Institute on Drug
Abuse’s statement on drugabuse.gov in 2019. Despite having been
founded all the way back in the 1930’s, the institute has never once
documented a case of death by marijuana overdose. There can be
uncomfortable side effects, of course, but it’s crucial to point out
that no one has ever died by marijuana alone.

Transition: So now, having explained what you can expect in the long term, lets wrap this all
up with the main takeaways.

Conclusion

I. Final Review: In the short term, marijuana has a lesser impact on your driving and
your tenancy for extreme behavior than alcohol. In the long term, you’re less
likely to be dependent on marijuana, get addicted to harder substances, or even
wind up dead compared to alcohol

II. Tie back to audience: It is for these reasons that when compared to the more
widely available alcohol, marijuana is a clearly more reasonable option.

III. Concluding Remarks/final clicher: Please take the information I’ve

shared with you as you progress with the rest of your college career.
 References

Armentano, P., Fox, S., & Tvert, M. (2009). Marijuana is safer. White River Junction, VT:

Chelsea Green Publishing

Marijuana. (2019). National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved September 17, 2019, from

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana

McKay, T. (2014). 8 lies we have to stop telling ourselves about marijuana in america. In H.W.

Wilson (Ed.), Marijuana Reform (p. 33-37). Ipswich, MA: Grey House Publishing

Price, T. (2012, June 8). Alcohol abuse. CQ Researcher, 22, 501-524. Retrieved September 17,

2019 from http://library.cqpress.com/