This paper argues that Marijuana (read drugs) should be legalized.

which are drugs that the law has been able to regulate. Further, it is contended that the use of marijuana is immoral just like it is for alcohol and tobacco and therefore should be criminalized (Wilson & Desre, 2001). In addition, the fact that the use of marijuana is sometimes associated with violent behavior makes a case for its continued prohibition. Opponents of legalization have also used comparative examples to prove their point. For instance, it is contended that most countries in Europe have dubbed in legalization while it is in no way the best option (European Monitoring Centre, 2008). Alaska is said to have quickly moved to re-prohibit drugs following earlier decriminalization. The reversal was necessitated by an abnormal rise in youth abuse of drugs as compared to the country at large.

The anti-legalization arguments are however easy to discount. For one, over three decades of the war on drugs is a period long enough to show that prohibition of drugs has not worked, at least in the U.S. The way forward would be to legalize and then regulate how they are used. Netherlands is an example where legalization has served to reduce addiction rate to considerable levels. Moreover,

News media bias is most profound when news media sources take on very specific political perspectives. Yet, most Americans choose only news media sources that match their own political perspective. This creates what many call “the echo chamber.” For this assignment, you must choose two news media sources with very different perspectives. There are several political perspectives; the two most common are conservative (right leaning) and liberal (left leaning). It is up to you to figure out the political perspective of the sources you are considering. (Here are some links to help get you started: http://www.allsides.com/about-bias (Links to an external site.);

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp01/2014/10/21/lets-rank-the-media-from-liberal-to-conservative-based-on-their-audiences/?utm_term=.551a19b03773 (Links to an external site.)

There are several formats from which to choose your sources; these include print (newspaper, magazine), radio, television and the internet. You may choose your sources from any combination of these formats (i.e. two internet sources OR one television source and one internet source).

You will then critically analyze, by comparing and contrasting, how your two news media sources relay the information concerning the topic you have chosen. You MUST use this site to help explain main areas of analysis/BIAS http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/types-of-media-bias/ (Links to an external site.). Choose a MINIMUM of 3 main points of bias from this site and use these to develop an in-depth analysis of just how biased your sources are and how these biases affect you AND our political process. Support these points! When looking for specific examples to support your points, look for both verbal and non-verbal clues. Look at the visuals, the headlines, catchy or loaded words/phrases, placement of article, whether each side (or various sides) are discussed, look at the length devoted to each side. Look to see if names, events, places, organizations, etc. are explained in depth (i.e. is there enough background information to understand the topic). Re-read or re-listen to the articles/broadcasts/websites. Look for even the most subtle factors that might affect the reader/listener. The deeper your analysis, the better it will become (and the higher your grade!).

FACT-CHECKING
Check your two news sources for a variety of points each presents as “truthful” or as “fact.” The obvious examples include actual numbers, but these can also be embedded into sentences and/or assumed. They can appear as though they are supporting major points or they can appear as the major points themselves. You will need to again critically listen to/read your two news media sources used above and find at least two “facts” or “truths” from each of your news media sources. You will then need to try to fact-check these! This isn’t easily done, so take your time and state whether each fact is true, mostly true, mostly false, or false. You must support this with some credible evidence. A major part of this assignment is to have you search and find credible sources.

ANALYSIS
Remember that this paper is an analysis. As such, you must present your findings and then use them to analyze our political process. Without this important analysis, your paper is incomplete! With your findings (biases, fact-checking), examine both the short and long term effects on our political system. Be sure that your concluding analysis (more than one paragraph) goes beyond the obvious (i.e. “all news media is biased”). You might start by summarizing your findings (discuss and explain whether or not the reader/listener could make a rational decision after reading/listening to both of these articles/broadcasts). But you MUST also bring in information you have learned about our political process AND examine how your findings uncover the relationship between news media and our political process. Be specific by making a few points and support each point with a thorough explanation.

For example, examine what part the media plays in “polarization?” Examine how polarization affects our process and analyze if polarization enhances our political process (i.e. political candidates, voting) or not.

HINTS FOR WRITING YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Your assignment should be well-constructed, should support a strong thesis and should logically lead to your conclusion

Your assignment should begin with an introduction that states your topic, news media choices and your thesis. This introduction should be clear and concise, but no longer than 1 paragraph.
The body of your assignment should be an analysis constructed around
the 3 or more points (biases) you have chosen to use to analyze your sources. Be sure that you
introduce the main point, (i.e. “bias by omission”)
explain it in your own words, (“bias by omission means that……”)
support it with specific examples from BOTH of your news media sources (cite your sources)
and explain how/why the source is biased and how it affects the reader/listener.
Be sure to use (and quote/cite) specific examples from your news media sources to support your points of analysis. You should not use any additional sources or your own opinion for this portion of your paper.
the two facts/truths you fact-checked. Be sure that you
state the fact/truth you fact-checked and in which source you found it
state what source(s) you used to fact-check and why these sources
rate the fact/truth as true, mostly true, mostly false, or false.
The concluding paragraphs should be your examination of your findings. Be sure that you
Provide a few points and
Provide an in-depth explanation of each of your points.
dont forget the citations page.