My final for Economics is a debate. There was a wide range of topics. But I thought, shit... might as well pick the one I know most about, so I picked Legalization of Marijuana. Could anyone that has done a debate on this topic help me out? Tell me what they said, etc. I'm debating that it SHOULD be legalized. I would like to know what the people that are against me going to say? And what I should say to counter them? We are doing this in groups of 4. So me and 3 others against 4 others. My group doesn't do shit, so its basically me against 4 others. And the 4 other people are those preppy girls. I'm going to flat out say it here... I want to win. lol. So any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Make sure you have retaliations against the outrageous claims abovetheinfluence.com has to offer, it shouldn't be too hard because all that site does is lie. Make sure you know a little info on the uses of hemp, and make sure to use granny storm crow's list for the medical benefits. Watch the union, too, that has some good arguments.
I would definitely mention that there are NO deaths EVER recorded from marijuana. Compare this to alcohol and cigarettes. No sane person would think that marijuana should be illegal over two drugs that kill hundreds of thousands (or millions in the case of cigarettes). Also, I know it's an economics class, but I would focus on the health/social aspects of marijuana, and use facts to show how safe it really is. Then, once you've convinced them that it should be legalized, mention all of the great economic benefits that would result in its legalization. Also, I think the most serious argument against legalization is that marijuana is a "gateway" drug. Very recently there was a scientific study proving otherwise. Until then, it was subjective. So I would find those studies (it shouldn't be hard on Google) and have those ready for retaliation. Also, if someone mentions the negative effects of smoking.... tell them about vaporization and edibles Good luck!
Last time I gave a pro-pot speech, I started by hitting the crowd hard with details of innocent people who'd been killed in bogus drug raids. Kind of a sleezy tactic, and not necessarily relevant to economics, but very effective. drug war victims
Wow all those deaths are fucking ridiculous. I'm sure there were at least 100,000 more related deaths. Those bastards.
Make sure to mention Rick Simpson as well as shit about Industrial Hemp. And Also add this: Granny Storm Crow's List
It's economics so make economic arguments. Stick only to things that can be quantified, and if they make emotional appeals ask them "how is that quantified?"
I'd get figures on: - How much money is estimated to be spent on illegal drugs annually - The amount of money spent arresting, trying and imprisoning people for possession - I believe Warren Buffet or George Soros had a study where they predicted the amount that taxing cannabis would bring in for a state - How a crop like hemp would help save trees and be used for many, many purposes And although you said you wanted purely economic arguments, I'd get some solid facts about how much the drug use rate changed in Amsterdam, maybe one or two credible studies about health effects, and something about the gateway theory. The key is to get good, credible sources. You can't really argue against a study from Harvard or the Mayo Clinic. I'd steer clear of stuff like "It cures cancer!" and "The paper industry conspired to make it illegal!"
Talk about alcohol vs pot. They better understand how a legal drug is worse than an illegal drug. Talk about how it could help the economy. Hemp can be used to make ALMOST anything. When they say "it causes cancer" cite studies that prove that's nonsense. When they say it kills brain cells, tell them different. Basically just read these parts of the forum. Medical Marijuana - Grasscity.com Forums General Marijuana News from around the World - Grasscity.com Forums Legalization and Activism - Grasscity.com Forums And check out NORML. Another way to be a master debater ey is to scope out the enemy. Marijuana Facts (Pot, Weed) | Drug Facts | AboveTheInfluence.com# They'll probably find alot of their arguments there. Pretty much every marijuana myth is there. Good luck, let us know how you do! And remember, everything you argue needs to be backed up by a medical study. If I were you, I'd go all out. Print off studies done by credible sources for the class to read and highlight your points in it. I just read on ATI that marijuana worsens depression. If it did, why would they prescribe it to patients with history of depression? ^^^^ Make them think.
And don't forget this:Granny Storm Crow's List. Granny has spent a ton of time putting this list of scientific studies on Cannabis together to educate people; use it to your advantage.
alcohol related deaths: somethin like 80,000 a year in the US tobacco related deaths: somethin like 450,000 a year in the US (both legal) marijuana: zero although you might get somebody arguing that plenty of people might have been in car crashes cause they were high.