Research Paper Progress Report

It is easy to read lots of articles and take notes and do research using other people's research. But it is difficult to formulate your own argument based upon previous arguments. Editing the Wikipedia article was difficult because you had to make your argument in a precise, business like manner and support it with all the research you have done. It was helpful because it showed that areas that needed more research before it could be fully supported. For example i have found many arguments for and against the legalization of marijuana and also the decriminalization of marijuana, but not very many for leaving the prohibition of marijuana as it currently is. In order to present a well formed argument I need to understand the pros and cons of all three options. The You Tube discussion I found very fun. It tests your knowledge and how well you can defend "your position" (which should be any of them) against an actual person who has a opinion as well. Sometimes in a paper, especially for a class, you can get away with ignoring holes in your arguments. You definitely can't do that when you are actually presenting your argument to a live person. It prevents laziness when writing the paper. Our group has changed a little bit. I still feel like i am mostly in a coordination/leadership position, but we all contribute the same amount of work and effort. This unit is different because it is more important for us all to keep our word and get the work we were each supposed to done when we said we would because everyone else's part depends more on each of our individual parts. For example the You Tube discussion. If people do not contribute when they are supposed to, then others may not be able to build their arguments on time.

you tube video: Marijuana

Legalization of Marijuana Wikipedia Article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legalization_of_marijuana

At the end of the "United States" section of this article I began to add some of the arguments economist are making for the legalization of marijuana. More needs to be added such as the facts on how much the US government spends on enforcing the prohibition of Marijuana a year and the economic consequences of legalizing marijuana.

Resarch Update

The topic my group and I have chosen for our research paper is on the legalization of Marijuana. This is a very interesting topic, but does not affect me personally and I do not have a strong opinion on it either way. I know that both of my group members are very pro-legalization and have strong opinions on the topic and are more knowledgeable about it than me. Because of this, they have come up with many of the main ideas and arguments. In the group, I tend to be more of a coordinator and organizer, making sure that everyone does their part and we get it done on time. However both John and Lauren have more things to say about the topic of Marijuana than me. I think this is a good thing though because then I can argue from whatever point of view they do not want to argue from. I guess if I had to choose, I would probably lean toward not legalizing it (at least for everyday purposes) but depending on the research I do, I could easily be convinced of something different. One challenge of this topic is that it is very broad, but the economic and social aspect of marijuana seem less explored than the medical or health benefits.