Can you find any holes in my Marijuana Presentation?

I'm doing a presentation on legalizing marijuana tomorrow and I was wondering if any of you would want to take a quick look at it and see if there are any points in there that can backfire. I know this is definitely not scholarly material, but it doesn't need to be. It just needs to get me an A for this presentation tomorrow. Anyway, there is a part at the end where you have to answer questions and of course there are always the smartasses in the class. Can you look for any holes or give me any comments/constructive criticism? Here's the file --

http//www.megaupload.com/?d=H9AWBG3O
(only 4MB)

Thanks guys. (Maybe if you guys give me a lot of help I'll show you the video of my presentation liwink winkli)
[bd3f253a350]
liEDITli

No need to download it anymore. The presentation is done. Thanks. [/sized3f253a350][/bd3f253a350]

Talked to you on AIM.

"file temp unavailable" (

[quote59bd5584b7="guelah75"]"file temp unavailable" ([/quote59bd5584b7]

http//www62.megaupload.com/files/43501a63b4cf122236691f7083fd39e0/Legalizing_Marijuana1.ppt

You can also mention a little bit about the benefits of hemp to society and how the federal government has made it illegal (something that our forefathers would be outraged about today if they were still alive).

... and while you're bringing up hemp, mention the fact that George Washington grew hemp at his residence in Mount Vernon and also mention some of his writings

[quote5c5510c2df]"The artificial preparation of hemp, from Silesia, is really a curiosity." - a letter written to Dr. James Anderson in 1794[/quote5c5510c2df]

[quote5c5510c2df]"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere"[/quote5c5510c2df]

[quote5c5510c2df]"began to separate the male from the female plants" - a journal entry made on August 7, 1765[/quote5c5510c2df]

The first quote is clearly a reference to hashish, where as the last quote certainly gives the impression that George Washington was growing seedless bud (also known as sinsemilla) which is more potent and yielding than female plants that have been pollinated.

[quote5c5510c2df]Dr. Burke, president of the American Historical Reference Society and a consultant for the Smithsonian Institute, counted seven early presidents as cannabis smokers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce. "Early letters from our founding fathers refer to the pleasures of hemp smoking," said Burke. Pierce, Taylor and Jackson, all military men, smoked it with their troops. Cannabis was twice as popular among American soldiers in the Mexican War as in Vietnam Pierce wrote to his family that it was "about the only good thing" about that war.[/quote5c5510c2df]

[quote5c5510c2df]Burke asserted that Washington & Jefferson were said to exchange smoking blends as personal gifts. Washington reportedly preferred a pipe full of "the leaves of hemp" to alcohol, & wrote in his diaries that he enjoyed the fragrance of hemp flowers. Madison once remarked that hemp gave him insight to create a new & democratic nation. Monroe, creator of the Monroe Doctrine, began smoking it as Ambassador to France & continued to the age of 73.[/quote5c5510c2df]

Thomas Jefferson also grew hemp (and smuggled hemp seeds from his visit to China) and Benjamin Franklin had a paper mill that he used to make hemp paper.

Some of the medicinal benefits of cannabis is mentioned in an American medical journal as early as 1843 ("Pereira, J. Elements of Materia Medica & Therapeutics. Lea & Blanchard) and in the beginning of the 20th century, you could buy Cannabis Extract for medicinal purposes until the Second Prohibition took effect.

So, as you can see... Cannabis is as American as apple pie ;)

[quotee1e3efcfc3="h3x"]


[quotee1e3efcfc3]wrote in his diaries that he enjoyed the fragrance of hemp flowers.[/quotee1e3efcfc3][/quotee1e3efcfc3]

Who DOESN'T like the smell?

+KMA h3x, never knew about those last two quotes.

I'll take a look at it during my lunch break, but there are thousands of points and counterpoints to the benefits of pot, you should be fine.

[quote70561982cd="tylerc"]Who DOESN'T like the smell?[/quote70561982cd]
Well it all depends on what kind you get..

Swag and Mids aren't really that great but if you get some good Headies or even Beaster, taking a whiff of the bag is the first thing I do D

Alright thanks guys. I changed a few grammar things and I was also wondering about something -

Am I correct when I say -

The risks of getting cancer when SMOKING marijuana are significantly decreased because marijuana is natural and the smoke is no where near as harmful as cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke has many man-made chemicals/carcinogens added that are way more likely to cause cancer.

(One of my points in the presentation is "you won't get cancer from smoking marijuana" - I don't want any smartasses asking me if the smoke from marijuana will cause cancer.)

1 joint equals 4 cigarettes

What class is this for?

You don't want to say "way more", that's slang.

[quotee16d92df07="tylerc"]You don't want to say "way more", that's slang.[/quotee16d92df07]

Yeah I wasn't going to say that exact thing in the speech; although that's probably how it's going to come out anyway. oops

[quotee16d92df07="good2speed"]What class is this for?[/quotee16d92df07]

Speech.

[quotee16d92df07="O4F-Manofice"]1 joint equals 4 cigarettes[/quotee16d92df07]

http//paranoia.lycaeum.org/marijuana/facts/mj-health-mythology.html#myth3

__________________


Thanks for the info h3x. I IM'd you last night but you signed off after I sent a message or something. Sorry if I was disturbing you. oops

Also, thanks for hosting the powerpoint Chris. )

I'll try to get everyone who is helping some +karma.

You are right about cancer, I've heard rumors about radioactive materials being used to help grow tabacco plants that are supposedly not harmful but are said to cause much more significant growth..Not sure the validity of this but you might want to research it...

Also, "smoking" through the use of new technology, specifically vaporizers, will SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the effects of smoking it, tar and black lungs are a thing of the past

EDIT
I was reading this powerpoint and page 13 seems to be biased, which is never good in making a solid agrument IMO...

"Nobody has ever died from smoking pot."
The website that you mentioned showed that even though pot has never been a direct cause of death, it has been indirectly linked to accidents, specifically motor vehicle accidents. Just wanted to let you know that you should consider stating it has never been a direct cause instead of boldly saying it has never caused death.

I would consider getting your information from reliable websites if this is a school project and not just a PowerPoint you made to convince your friends to smoke pot. The increased potency of what is smoked compared to Jefferson and Washington as you claimed is huge. The argument of it being safe remind me of the days when people thought cigarettes were safe, and, like today with cannabis, there were conflicting opinions. If your presentation is supposed to be an opinionated persuasion then you have a good presentation, if you are supposed to show facts, then you may have some problems.

-------- To Help You Out -----------

"Although the active ingredients of the cannabis plant differ from those of the tobacco plant, each produces about 4000 chemicals when smoked and these are largely identical." -John A Henry, professor (British Medical Journal)

"Compared with smoking tobacco, smoking cannabis entails a two thirds larger puff volume, a one third larger inhaled volume, a fourfold longer time holding the breath, and a fivefold increase in concentrations of carboxyhaemoglobin." -UCLA School of Medicine

"'A 15 year follow up of an adult community sample of 1920 participants in the United States showed that use of cannabis increased the risk of major depression at follow up fourfold.'" -Joseph M Rey, professor (British Medical Journal)

"Studies comparing the clinical effects of habitual cannabis smokers versus non-smokers demonstrate a significantly higher prevalence of chronic and acute respiratory symptoms such as chronic cough and sputum production, wheeze and acute bronchitis episodes." - British Lung Foundation

"3-4 Cannabis cigarettes a day are associated with the same evidence of acute and chronic bronchitis and the same degree of damage to the
bronchial mucosa as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day." - British Lung Foundation

"Research linking cannabis smoking to the development of respiratory cancer exists although there have also been conflicting findings. Not only does the tar in a cannabis cigarette contain many of the same known carcinogens as tobacco smoke but the concentrations of these are up to 50% higher in the smoke of a cannabis cigarette. It also deposits four times as much tar on the respiratory tract as an unfiltered cigarette of the same weight. Smokers of cannabis and tobacco have shown a greater increase in cellular abnormalities indicating a cumulative effect of smoking both." - British Lung Foundation

"The increased potency of the cannabis smoked today compared to the cannabis smoked twenty - thirty years ago suggests that earlier studies may underestimate the effects of cannabis smoking." - British Lung Foundations

It was supposed to be for persuasion. So yeah, stating those things would not have been good. It went well though. )

I've been giving karma to the people who helped. Oh and thanks for hosting my powerpoint, Chris. D

[quote0afe18bed8="Gigante"]I would consider getting your information from reliable websites if this is a school project and not just a PowerPoint you made to convince your friends to smoke pot. The increased potency of what is smoked compared to Jefferson and Washington as you claimed is huge. The argument of it being safe remind me of the days when people thought cigarettes were safe, and, like today with cannabis, there were conflicting opinions. If your presentation is supposed to be an opinionated persuasion then you have a good presentation, if you are supposed to show facts, then you may have some problems.

-------- To Help You Out -----------

"Although the active ingredients of the cannabis plant differ from those of the tobacco plant, each produces about 4000 chemicals when smoked and these are largely identical." -John A Henry, professor (British Medical Journal)

"Compared with smoking tobacco, smoking cannabis entails a two thirds larger puff volume, a one third larger inhaled volume, a fourfold longer time holding the breath, and a fivefold increase in concentrations of carboxyhaemoglobin." -UCLA School of Medicine

"'A 15 year follow up of an adult community sample of 1920 participants in the United States showed that use of cannabis increased the risk of major depression at follow up fourfold.'" -Joseph M Rey, professor (British Medical Journal)

"Studies comparing the clinical effects of habitual cannabis smokers versus non-smokers demonstrate a significantly higher prevalence of chronic and acute respiratory symptoms such as chronic cough and sputum production, wheeze and acute bronchitis episodes." - British Lung Foundation

"3-4 Cannabis cigarettes a day are associated with the same evidence of acute and chronic bronchitis and the same degree of damage to the
bronchial mucosa as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day." - British Lung Foundation

"Research linking cannabis smoking to the development of respiratory cancer exists although there have also been conflicting findings. Not only does the tar in a cannabis cigarette contain many of the same known carcinogens as tobacco smoke but the concentrations of these are up to 50% higher in the smoke of a cannabis cigarette. It also deposits four times as much tar on the respiratory tract as an unfiltered cigarette of the same weight. Smokers of cannabis and tobacco have shown a greater increase in cellular abnormalities indicating a cumulative effect of smoking both." - British Lung Foundation

"The increased potency of the cannabis smoked today compared to the cannabis smoked twenty - thirty years ago suggests that earlier studies may underestimate the effects of cannabis smoking." - British Lung Foundations[/quote0afe18bed8]

Marijuana is definitely more potent today... Even compared to the 60's and 70's. But is it comparable to methamphetamines, freebase cocaine, inhalants, and other hard drugs? Is it worth jail time and the billions of taxpayer's money every year?

Yes, marijuana smoke contains carcinogens. Thats no surprise since anything you smoke will contain hundreds of carcinogens regardless of what the substance is. But there are alternative methods of consuming cannabis (such as vaporization which is used by medical marijuana patients or by adding the ingredient in foods and drinks).

Its definitely not harmless, and neither is alcohol (which clearly poses a greater danger to society than a joint)... Some people may get depressed if they smoke constantly, the exact same holds true for alcohol except some chronic users of alcohol who have a mental deficiency can become extremely violent (just recently a man in the Philippines got drunk and went into a violent rampage with a knife, hacking 10 people to death (including children as young as 3 and a baby as young as 1, and a 32 year old woman who was 8 months pregnant).

http//newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=69154

Marijuana is far less harmful to the user and society compared to other legal substances (such as alcohol).

As I've said before, I'm all for decriminalization and regulation but I'm firmly against legalization.

Get rid of the 'revolving door' effect in prisons, save the $10+ billion dollars that the government wastes every year on their war against marijuana, tax it and put the money towards Drug Free Educational Programs. Be sensible and conscious to society.

^ That's pretty much how I put it in my speech. I don't really get what you mean about being against legalization though.

Yeah, you lost me too on the decriminalization yet not legalization part. I would have thought those would be the same.

We could always stop the revolving door with a firing squad which would save all that money. Obviously joking...or am I?

[quotedca015541b]Legalization is a process often applied to what are now regarded as victimless crimes, such as the consumption of illegal drugs. It should be contrasted with decriminalization, which removes criminal charges from an offence but still has laws and regulations on it.[/quotedca015541b]

Basically, a system needs to be put in place that prevents minors from obtaining it (such as alcohol) and set laws that would punish those that purchase marijuana for a minor and punish establishments that sell marijuana to a minor.

Then set fines for those that smoke in public (public indecency).

Then you would tax it, sell it in establishments where minors don't have access (the medical co-ops in California is one example), and you put the tax money and indecency fines towards Drug Free Education Programs in schools and Drug Rehabilitation Programs for drug addicts that need rehabilitation and if there is enough money left over, put it towards a socialized medical program.

Diden't DL It but, I reccoemdn you put in your power point the fact that it is not the governments "place" to tell someone what they can and cannot do to THEIR own body. If someone says "But it's harmful!" You can point out, Cigs and alchohol are also harmful, but they aren't banned. You then point out the benefits of legalizing marijuana / Drugs by pointing out that doing so would eliminate crime, and increase safety.

[quotecec03a240a="KnightTrader"]Diden't DL It but, I reccoemdn you put in your power point the fact that it is not the governments "place" to tell someone what they can and cannot do to THEIR own body. [/quotecec03a240a]

opinion

[quotec1037c6003="Gigante"][quotec1037c6003="KnightTrader"]Diden't DL It but, I reccoemdn you put in your power point the fact that it is not the governments "place" to tell someone what they can and cannot do to THEIR own body. [/quotec1037c6003]

opinion[/quotec1037c6003]

What's yours?