Letter of Intro: Decending Fasshion ( Source Based, Inquiry Based and Research Essay)

Tools and Techniques that helped me to improve over the course:

This letter explains the learning outcomes that I have learned after coming to CCNY. To keep the reading short for you, I will only point out the main results of my significant assignments: the Inquiry, Source, and Research Essay, in this same chronological sequence. 

Looking back on my writing, I can see a clear difference between the amateur me and now. I notice a smoother introduction that flows effortlessly from generalization to narrow points. Speaking of that, writing a proper introduction was one of my main challenges. ( I am posting all my work on the next page, you can see my improvements if you’d like). 

These are some of the major writing techniques I have improved on over the course of this semester:

Thesis: In my first significant assignment, the Research Essay, I had difficulty narrowing it down to my thesis. As I wrote, ” Thus, notwithstanding Marijuana’s few advantages, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits by a substantial margin and have the potential to lead the current generation to a significant downfall.” This thesis could’ve been much more narrow that included more specific details about the effect of Marijuana. Later, however, I started implementing the triangle method, where I started with more generalization and slowly narrowed it to a much more efficient thesis. 

Synthesis:

 In the past, I was never taught the importance of Synthesising different author’s from another field to make a firm ground for myself for my claims. Looking back to my past writing assignments, I never used two foreign experts’ opinions on the same matter to prove my claim. To highlight my own experience, where I didn’t synthesis my writing, I received a failing grade for my Sourced-Based Essay. However, where I was given a chance to revise my paper, I received a decent quality just by making a better connection between my evidence. As I wrote: “Angelosante also states that symptoms like self-criticisms, academic decline, and substance use are signs of depression. Dr. Anhelosante’s tone is like Dr.Pefferbaum’s, was serious as she pointed out the specific symptoms the parents must look out for and immediately visit a medical professional in seen any.” In this example, I connected the tones of two different authors to portray their feeling on the same matter. I learned that when more than one expert believes the exact causation, my work is more credible and trustworthy. 

Author Credibility: 

Author credibility was another essential part of my writing that I missed out on, which potentially led me to a low grade in the beginning. For instance, at the beginning of the semester, I would quote from an author and site without giving much thought to its credentials. Later, however, I realized that the higher the author’s credentials, the more I could stand by my claim. This shows in my grades for the assignments, and my step went from an 80 to a 90 when I started using more credible authors and synthesized their opinions. For instance, ” …YU News Hub published on February 2021 Checking In on your Teenager’s Mood, During Covid-19 Pandemic, by Doctor Aleta G. Angelosante at Hassenfeld Child’s Hospital at NYU Langone, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatric Department”. This quotation is part of my Resource-Based essay; I started the author’s credentials and proves that Dr.Angelosante is suitable for my subject matter.

Research Based-Essay:

          Cannabis has been making the news headlines and has been controversial on social media platforms about its legalization, recreational and medical use, as well as benefits and drawbacks associated with Cannabis. Unfortunately, the “Magic Plant,” commonly associated with Cannabis or Marijuana, is consciously leading the modern generation worldwide to a shadowy and deadly hole; as of 2017, 11.8 million young adults were involved in consuming Cannabis. Marijuana is dried leaves derived from Cannabis Sativa or Cannabis Indica; it contains a chemical called THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), which can alter the mind and body when mixing in the bloodstream through the lungs or digestive system—resulting in a “High” experience. Furthermore, recent research has proven death-causing diseases linked to consumption of Marijuana, as well as severe effects on social life, accidents, crimes, and more notable issues. Thus, notwithstanding Marijuana’s few advantages, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits by a substantial margin and have the potential to lead the current generation to a significant downfall. 

          As of recently, Marijuana has been easy access for the most part, just next to Tobacco and Alcohol. Additionally, with the new easily accessed THC-infused vaping products, students from 8-12th grade consuming Marijuana have only increased, as 4% of High School seniors said to be high on Marijuana during school days regularly. This phenomenon of young adults consuming Marijuana raises the questions of their health risks and career. Additionally, Nora Volkow, the National Institute of Drug Abuse director, published an informative article with data from the headquarters on December 24, 2019, located in 6001 Executive Blvd, N. Bethesda, Maryland. The data reveals that 14.8% of 8th graders, 33% 10th graders, and 43.7% of the 12th graders consumed Marijuana; that is roughly 24 million active users of Marijuana in the USA from age 11 and up. Volkow’s worried tone about kids as young as 11 years old getting exposed to Marijuana shows that she is concerned about the young generation, having to inform the guardians or parents to be aware of these circumstances. As a result, students continuously show a strong correlation between Cannabis use and decline in cognitive abilities, which lowered educational achievements.

Furthermore, Anne Schuchat, the Director of Central Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, released their study of the adverse effects on Marijuana and overall well-being on April 13, 2017 “Unlike adults, the teen brain is actively developing and often will not be fully developed until the mid-20s. Therefore, Marijuana use during this period may harm the developing teen brain, including difficulty thinking, problem-solving, problems with memory and learning, impaired coordination, and difficulty maintaining attention.” Thus, students have been shown to achieve lower grades and higher chances of dropping out; CDC also believes that the use of Marijuana leads to choric depression and anxiety, leading to a higher suicide rate in the US. (CDC)’s defiant tone against the use of Marijuana shows they do not advocate Marijuana legalization and want parents to beware if their teens show any sign of depression and anxiety because it can be due to Marijuana. 

Besides psychological factors, Marijuana use has raised the concern of cardiovascular diseases and potential heart attacks. Immediately after the use of Marijuana, a person increases the chance of arterial fibrillation or ischemic stroke. Dr. David H. Roberts, the owner of Harvard Medical Publishing, wrote their prolonged research on cardiovascular diseases linked to Marijuana use, January 2021. He states that smoking Marijuana releases a chemical named Cannabinoid, which increases heart rate by up to 50%, dilates blood vessels, and makes the heart pump harder, thus increasing the chance of cardiac arrest. With Dr. David from Harvard Medical Center, Ersilia DeFilippis, MD/ Cardiology Department at Columbia University, have similar results on the study of Marijuana. As Dr. DeFilippis stated, “We noted that 10% of patients in a registry of young heart attack patients had used Marijuana.” Dr. DeFilippis is highly inquisitive and further raises awareness on young teens getting their hand on Marijuana; and how to make the use of Marijuana to a conclusion. As National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey states, since 2020, 2 million young adults have passed away due to chronic heart disease; unsurprisingly, they were all Marijuana consumers.

Moreover, the effect Marijuana has on the respiratory system is creating awareness to stop its legalization as soon as possible. Harold Wimmer, the Director of the American Lung Association (ALA), in October 2019, revealed the most recent cause of death after Tobacco concerning lung infections is Marijuana. As Director of (ALA), from his lab research, stated that when Marijuana is inhaled into the lungs, the combustion releases the same toxins as Tobacco, such as carcinogens and irritants. These chemicals create large air bubbles/ air pockets on both sides of the lungs; death is inevitable when these air bubbles travel to the arteries, and a person experiences the following: stroke, cardiac arrest, or respiratory failure. (ALA), has also seen the correlation between consuming Marijuana and Immune System; their lab results have shown a significant decrease in the ability of a person’s body to fight infections, such as HIV and other health-related issues due to smoking Marijuana.

          Despite all the health concerns related to Marijuana, why is the government still legalizing it? First, government agencies play a significant role in grouping drugs into specific categories and creating restrictions on who may or may not be eligible to use them in social and medical terms. For example, even though the government restricts tobacco use for ages under 21, 31.2% of non-adult High Schoolers regularly manage to get their hand on Tobacco. Consequently, even after the government’s restriction on Marijuana use, teens will have more access to this life eradicating drug if legalized. It turns out, the rationality behind legalizing Marijuana is due primarily to the economic factor of the nation.  

Currently, only 18 states in the USA have legalized Marijuana and yet have shown a visible contribution to the economy, including employment, business expansion, and economic diversity. In January of 2014, Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana. A substantial increase in tax revenue on Marijuana from Colorado influenced states like California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Maryland to legalize Marijuana by 2016, and following the tails of these states, more and more states are advocating this disastrous law. Unfortunately, like Tobacco, the government purposefully kept their eyes blindfolded despite all health concerns simply for higher tax revenues. The young generation is encouraged to live under hallucination; as much as it sounds unethical, it is immoral.  

       In addition to the economy, some medical professionals and a few government activists believe Marijuana can positively impact cancer patients and help improve cognitive functions in ordinary people. The medical therapeutic use of Marijuana was not recognized until 1970 when President Richard Nixon passed the law Substance Act 1970. This law classifies specific drugs in several categories for medical use and as well as social abuse. Some Cancer Organizations believe that when smoked, Marijuana can help ease neuropathic pain, which is due to damaged nerves; additionally, it helps with nausea and vomiting. Based on the American Cancer Society (ACS), director Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, Ph. D., located in New York, have recently investigated that THC and other forms of Cannabinoids such as CBD may delay the death casing cancer cells to develop, and it has shown in many studies that Cannabis slows down the cancer cell divisions. As clearly, seen in the positive and supportive tone of (ACS) on Marijuana, they are a strong advocate for this use of Cannabis for medical patients. This study is done for cancer patients who are curious whether Marijuana will do any help than harm.

On the other hand, the public who are not diagnosed with cancer may also experience some benefits from consuming Marijuana. As Sunil Kumar Agarwal MD, Ph.D., and psychiatrist/scientist, mentioned a book on “Howcast” written by a famous doctor named Andrew Weil, “The Natural Mind,” published in 1972, it referred that smoking Marijuana helps a person to “Stone Thinking,” this phenomenon refers to a more profound and creative way to think which cannot be accomplished in a linear mind. As Dr. Agrawal further explains, people may develop new ideas and inspirations and may help concentrate on a task for as long as Marijuana has its effects. Finally, Carlo DeAngelis, PharmD at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto, disagrees with this idea of using both medical and recreational Marihuana. He believes there is not enough research on to what extent Marijuana is helpful, as he believes that there are legalized prescription drugs such as Xanax and Vicodin that may help these patients. On all scales, the drawback of using Marijuana outweighs the benefits; it can cause Schizophrenia and low weight birth babies. 

          Consequently, Marijuana users are risking their own lives and the public simultaneously. For example, in Colorado, 19% percent of Driving Under Influence (DUI) is on Marijuana; in Colorado, people with THC or CBD in their system increase their chance of a fatal accident by 44%. Over the past decade, and since the legalization of Marijuana in the states, they have increased deaths of innocent drivers because of someone else’s impairment on Marijuana. Marijuana has been shown to impair motor coordination, judgment, and reaction time. A European study shows similar results in Colorado; it states that people with THC in their blood increase the chance of fatal crashes by two times. On “Newsweek,” published on June 6, 2021, stated that “Our latest research makes it clear that legalizing Marijuana for recreational use does increase overall crash rates, that is obviously something policymakers, and safety professionals will need to address as more states move to liberalize their laws.” Newsweek’s warning tone clearly should raise questions in Congress about its legalization, as death rates of innocent death are only increasing. This news expressly indicated to the policymaker and the people in Congress who are constantly advocating or legalizing Marijuana. 

          Unfortunately, drugs are becoming more familiar to the younger generation as the decades pass. Junior High and High School students are constantly being exposed to Tobacco, Alcohol, and recently, Marijuana which is taking a massive toll on their lives. In addition, students on Marijuana show lower motivation to achieve higher education and higher death rates due to cardiovascular or respiratory dysfunctions. If Congress fails to withdraw this law, the nation will see only increasing deaths due to diseases and road accidents. In addition, the integrity of this nation will suffer, as the law allows people to be hallucinated and impaired to the last seconds of their lives. Equal justice is a demand for innocent citizens living in the United States of America. It is a fundamental right. No family should worry about their family not returning from the roads, nor any innocent drivers on the road should live their lives short due to impaired drivers’ irresponsibility. No young life should be at risk due to immoral and unethical justification by the government.

Resting this case by not considering the negligible benefit Marijuana has on people, it can lead the current society into a reality of only depression, anxiety, death, and suffering.