THE MARIJUANA DEBATE

VOCABULARY

1- Lexicon to understand the article

l.4 to allow To permit

l.14 to walk past Passer devant
l.14 sniffer dog Chien renifleur
l.17 to search Fouiller
l.18 a locker Un casier
l.25 randomly / at random Au hasard
l.30 meanwhile At the same time
l.31 to rush over Se précipiter/se ruer
l.34 a neighbourhood un quartier
l.36 to warn / a warning Avertir /avertissement
l.41 to increase = To decrease Augmenter = décroître
l.41 a spokesperson Un porte parole
l.55 to rob To steal/I stole/stolen
l.64 a gateway An entrance
l.69 insanity Madness
l.66 evil Not morally good
l.67 to tempt tenter
a temptation Une tentation
l.89 lung disease Maladie des poumons
l.102 to supply fournir
Supply and demand L'offre et la demande

2- Drug lexicon Give the translation of the words underlined

a- Nouns
Cannabis/marijuana/grass/pot/pot-head/a joint/dope/a doper/a dope fiend/a junkie/

drug abuse/drug addict/an addiction/ adrug dealer/a supplier/a health hazard

b-Adjectives
soft or hard drugs/addictive/dependant on/harmful/
c-Verbs and expressions
To be on drugs/To be addicted to//to get high/to be stoned/to deal/to supply sb with /

to give up/to get off/to stay off/to legalise/to decriminalize/to get a fix/

withdrawal symptoms/to kick a habit/to break the habit/

3- Semantic fields of drug, health and law (Quote the lines)

DRUG HEALTH LAW

 THE MARIJUANA DEBATE
COMPREHENSION

A- PRESENTATION OF THE ARTICLE

Using the required vocabulary, show that this text is a magazine article

B- PLAN OF THE TEXT

Summarize the introduction and the three parts of the text in a few words.

C- GENERAL COMPREHENSION

a- Introduction

1- What was the argument given by David Blunkett to justify the reclassifying of
cannabis as a less dangerous drug?

2- What were the political reactions to his announcement?

3- What was the police authority's position on the issue?

4- What kind of measures were being taken in British schools?

5- What happened to the British teenagers who were arrested?

6- Is the situation similar in American schools?Explain

b- Second part:The Brixton experiment

1- What did the government choose Brixton for?

2- What happened to people found in possession of cannabis?

c- Third part:Fact and fiction

1- What is the common argument given by people who think marijuana is dangerous?

2- To what extent is that argument valid?

3- Is the marijuana found on the market today similar to the one that could be bought
in the 60's and 70's?

4- Is marijuana a heath hazard?

d- Fourth part:right decision

1- What are the arguments given against decriminalizing canabis?

2- What are the risks taken by heavy users of cannabis?

3- What is the journalist's conclusion?

D- DETAILED COMPREHENSION
Say whether the following statements are.right or wrong.Justify your answer by
quoting the text

a- Introduction

1- Cannabis is still classified as a dangerous drug

2- Blunkett's announcement entails a political concensus

3- The labour party and the police work hand in hand

4- Eleven teenagers were caught with cannabis in the street, last winter

5- Sniffer dogs are the only reliable method to detect drug users

6- Only suspicious teenagers can be tested in the USA

b- Second part:The Brixton experiment

1- The Brixton experiment was secretly run

2- Only people in possession of great quantities of cannabis were arrested

3- A legalisation of cannabis entails a diminution of dealers in the street

4- People are safer in Holland than in England

c-Third part:fact and fiction Is marijuana dangerous or not ( 2 columns YES/NO)

 THE MARIJUANA DEBATE

PRESENTATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE ARTICLE

« The marijuana debate » is an article taken from Speakeasy, volume 25 published

in November 2002, written by Elaine Mc Carthy.

The headline« The marijuana debate » is written inbold letters and covers the top of

the two pages, whereas the subheading, written in smaller black letters is found

just under a photo in colours.

The subheading raises the main issue:Is the UK losing the war against drugs or not?

This article is divided into four parts and illustrated by two photos.A big one on the

right, without any caption, focuses on a joint on the left, a big cup of coffee on the

right and probably a drug addict, just behind.A smaller picture on the left page shows

the police in Brixton searching a man for drugs.

This article is well structured.

* The first § introduces the debate suggested in the headline:  « The police should

spend more time fighting serious drugs such as heroine and cocaine instead of

cannabis considered as a soft drug

The second § entitled « the Brixton experiment » deals with the pros and cons of a

relaxed police attitude towards cannabis users.

The third § develops the previous one by asking the true questions.Is marijuana

dangerous or not? Should it be decriminalized?even legalised?

The last part sums up the article by showing the dangers of decriminalizing cannabis