Part 1:
In part one of the memo, I expect to see details from the TED Talk work days. These details should include the roles/responsibilities for each group member, the topics you discussed over the meeting days, the research you found, and a plan for how the work will be divided as you move forward to complete the video.
Group Member roles/responsibilities:
- Katie Uchneat: Goal Keeper: keeping us motivated and setting goals for each meeting
- Mary Wilson: Scribe: writing down meeting notes and typing up memos
- Jamys Solosky: Park Ranger: keeping us on track at meetings
Research:
Background (History and Court Cases):
- Use of cannabis as herbal medicine likely began in Asia around 500 BC
- Hemp grown in early American colonies for rope and textiles
- Marijuana effectively criminalized in 20th century due to Marijuana Tax Act of 1937
- Controlled Substance Act of 1970 repealed the Marijuana Tax Act and added marijuana to the list of Schedule I drugs
- Legalization vs. Decriminalization: “Legalization of cannabis is the process of removing all legal prohibitions against it. Cannabis would then be available to the adult general population for purchase and use at will, similar to tobacco and alcohol. Decriminalization is the act of removing criminal sanctions against an act, article, or behavior. Decriminalization of cannabis means it would remain illegal, but the legal system would not prosecute a person for possession under a specified amount. Instead, the penalties would range from no penalties at all, civil fines, drug education, or drug treatment.”
- Gonzales v. Raich (2005)- Supreme Court rejected (6-3) Raich’s claim https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-1454.ZS.html
– Using marijuana for medical use
- The marijuana plant contains more than 100 different chemicals called cannabinoids. Each one has a different effect on the body. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the main chemicals used in medicine
- Cannabinoids are similar to chemicals the body makes that are involved in appetite, memory, movement, and pain
- Reduce anxiety, reduce pain, control nausea caused by chemotherapy, kill cancer cells and slow down growth of tumors
- Issues:
- Marijuana is a relatively common gateway drug, people become dependant on it
- the FDA doesn’t oversee medical marijuana like it does prescription drugs. Although states monitor and regulate sales, they often don’t have the resources to do so.
- the strength of and ingredients in medical marijuana can differ quite a bit depending on where it is purchased; people will not always be truthful about how much is in an edible (for example)
- Different ways to use marijuana, i.e. dab rigs/pens, edibles, bud (joints, blunts, bowls)
- Current standings in the US on marijuana use and other controversial points (for example does religion come into play?)
- 1996, California became first state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes
- 2012, Colorado became first state to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, soon followed by Washington
- As of 2019 marijuana is legal for medicinal use in 29 states and Washington DC and for recreational use in eleven states and Washington DC
- After the 2020 election, those numbers rose to 36 and 15
- Gallup Poll released Nov. 9 indicates 68% of people approve of legalizing weed
Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/crime/history-of-marijuana
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-legalization-is-defying-the-partisan-divide/
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-1454.ZS.html
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/11/12/texas-marijuana-legalization-legislation/
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/medical-marijuana-faq#1-2
Timeline
Nov 22 through Nov 29- Over Thanksgiving Break, obtain more research and look into the work involved for each individual part.
Nov 30- Come prepared with more research, really nail down all aspects of our topic.
Dec 2- Start gathering images and videos, begin writing script
Dec 4- Put the video together, finish script.
Dec 7- Begin video editing and narration recording.
Dec 9- Clean everything up and double check all the work.
Dec 11- Present videos in class
Dec 14- Final video cuts by noon
Day 1 (Monday)
- We brainstormed various topics such as Taxing the 1%, Defunding art and music programs, Legalizing marijuana, Death Penalty, Universal Basic Income
- We decided on our topic which is legalizing marijuana
Day 2 (Wednesday)
- We set up a google doc with the basic outline of our video
- We began talking about framing questions
- We listed all the tasks that will need to be done
- We divided up who will research which section of the outline and individually we began research on the topic
Day 3 (Monday)
- We discussed again what parts of the research each of us will do again
- We discussed whether or not we should do an interview in our video
- We discussed what parts of our research we should focus on, and in the end we decided our main focus should be on recreational use
- Continued research
Day 4 (Wednesday- Today)
- We prepared to submit RCL 9
- We outlined what we should do each day until the project is due
- Discussed image/audio/etc. choices
- We discussed narration (whether we should each narrate a portion or have one narrator)
- Continued research
Portioning out the work:
- Katie: finding key sources for marijuana legalization on a state level
- Mary: researching how marijuana legalization affects things on a national scale
- Jamys: compiling the video and additional research
All will contribute to finding images and writing the script
Part 2:
As a group, write one to two paragraphs describing your multimedia project. In this description, you will explain what makes the issue you’ve chosen a public controversy and identify a set of framing questions (5-7) you will want to explore.
You will also explain how you will historicize the controversy. Lastly, you will explain the media (image choices, audio, sourcing) you plan to use to present your topic and why you’ve made those choices.
For our public controversy, the group decided to focus on the legalization of marijuana in many states across the U.S. and its impacts on society. The group has decided to focus upon the recreational usage of marijuana rather than medical marijuana, as society as a whole typically accepts the usage of it medically, yet some people do not deem it acceptable otherwise while others are fine with its use no matter the purpose.
Framing Questions:
- What are the facts about marijuana’s contents and effects?
- What exactly is the controversy surrounding legalizing marijuana?
- Why is there a difference in how controversial legalizing marijuana for recreational use and medical use is?
- Is it actually a gateway drug as we have been told?
- How serious is the effect of smoking marijuana on someone’s physical health? Is it worse than cigarettes or nicotine devices such as juuls?
- Once legalized, could people smoke marijuana anywhere, or only in specific places such as one’s home/property?
- Ending question for the audience: Should marijuana be legalized for recreational use?
For the history surrounding this issue, we will briefly touch on marijuanas use through the 1930s when the first law was passed against it, and then we will talk for a short time about how the topic started becoming controversial in the 1970s when new laws were passed.
In regard to the media we will be using, the photos will primarily be from online sources and we’ll make sure to cite the sources adequately when we use them. We plan on using the WeVideo software to compile and edit the video. We plan to present the content in this way so that we can work together