The last edition to my blog

From doing these blogs I have understood that they are an easy way to communicate with each other and pass around our own thoughts and ideas to our other classmates so that we can be helpful and provide a direction that they may not be taking with their inquiry question already. By doing these blog assignments I have understood the different approaches that I have to take to do a thorough analysis on my inquiry question. These blog assignments have helped me keep track of my overall progress on my own inquiry question research that I done so far, and what I may still need to do to successfully produce a good paper later in the semester.

The main thing that I have gotten from the researching process is that you really have to do your researching at different angles to get the information that may need to help you in the writing stages of the semester with papers like our three sided essay. I have personally had some serious trouble trying to find credible sources that provide great knowledge on the field of study and that can contribute to helping me answer my inquiry question. I have had to really buckle down and try many different searches to find the information that I really want that could benefit me the most for the rest of our semester’s papers and essays.

For what I have really learned and gotten out of the whole writing process and my inquiry

question is that these are things that take quite a while to do. I have learned that there is much more to go, especially with my inquiry question. I know that there is so much more out there about my topic, but the main thing is just taking the time to go out there and find the most valuable information that could really help the most and be put to good use. It is absolutely the hardest and most time consuming part for me, and probably for most of my fellow classmates as well.

Post #3

The audience for my essay will be written for skeptical people who do not believe that Marijuana has some good medical value, and for the other group of people who do believe in legalizing Marijuana, but may not really know its true value or its bad side effects. My topic is timely because most people are either wanting to pass Marijuana as a medical option, or are trying to prevent it. So my plan for talking, researching and writing about this topic is to tell everyone if it is really good or bad, and if it should be considered for being a medical option for patients. Why I care about this topic is because I am quite interested about the true value of this natural substance, as I am sure many others are as well.

The reason that high school teachers want us to write objectively is because they want us to write from many different view points rather than our own.  They want students to think outside of their comfort zone or outside of the box. College professors want us to write about what we are interested in and care about in an effort to help us find the profession that we would be most suited and would enjoy doing for the rest of our life rather than something that may pay a large salary but that we hate doing each day. The different viewpoints that have been popping out through my research have been things like, Marijuana has good benefits to patients looking for a quick and effective pain reliever. They also believe that its benefits out weigh its bad side effects. Other viewpoints are that many scientists believe that it holds to many dangers and will cost too much to research on considering that it contains 400 or more compounds in it, and they are not sure what the real beneficial compound is in it that does relieve pain and terrible symptoms that patients get from illnesses and diseases.

The one thing that really interested me in reading more about, was that one of the things Marijuana reduces symptoms in, is in a migraine. I usually get some terrible migraines and I figured that I should take a look at what it really can do for people like me that get these often. The main thing I have learned about the process of researching my topic is that it is very hard to find what I am really trying to look for in mainly websites and articles. The main problem still that I am having trouble with is making sure they are credible sources that will benefit me in my paper.

I commented on Emily Caskadon's blog post, which was about the effects of Video games on children to adults.

Blog Assignment #2

The most interesting source that I have come across has been a book called “Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine” which was written by Lester Grinspoon and James B. Bakalar. This is an interesting source, because it gives much information to what Marijuana really does as a substance. This book does not tell people about all the harmful side effects that other writers try to tell their audience, but it gives an insight to its true value, especially in medical uses. These authors and their contributors are only trying to “reverse prejudices, relieve ignorance, and help prepare the way for that research by exploring the known and potential therapeutic uses of this remarkable substance”(Grinspoon xv). This book is trying to bring to light that Marijuana has some good potential uses and is something that could be a less harmful substance than some of the already harmful and addictive medicines out there being used today. This book has also given real life experiences from many different people that have taken Marijuana when they went through some terrible disease(s) to help reduce their condition, pain, etcetera.

              I have not revised or changed my inquiry question at all through my researching. I am however coming across many websites, articles, and some books that I would not deem reliable sources to use for my research paper. Mostly I have been trying to look towards more websites, articles, and books that have been written by individuals who have a PhD, or MD in that area of study. 

My Inquiry Question

My question is should Marijuana be used as a legal medical choice, and what are its pros and cons to using it? I decided on this topic, because it was one of few things that popped into my head, and I really wanted to find an alternative medical treatment from a natural source. The reason why I would like to find an alternative medical source is that a natural source should result in hopefully less side effects for the patients. I think it is a good time to come out and ask this question mainly because people are more open to accepting other medical treatments, especially natural ones. I expect to find many different viewpoints from different medical associates saying what the positives and negatives are of having this type of drug available for medical usage on patients. The research that I have done so far has been from reading books and Internet sources that have medical research and opinions on what Marijuana is and what it can do for people who are having medical problems. What I am seeming to find are that many of the scholars and doctors that I am finding information on are finding that Marijuana is prone to giving off good side effects for its users like helping reduce Alzheimer’s and problems like nausea and severe pain, but has also led to some unhealthy problems as well, such as the smoke that it gives off and puts into your lungs. The different viewpoints are good because they provide me with people’s insights to what Marijuana really does for someone. So far I am not set on having Marijuana being used as an option for medical purposes, but I believe that my viewpoint could change considering I have done some research already that has shown me that Marijuana has done some great things for people experiencing minor to huge health problems.