I intend to discuss the issue of whether marijuana should be legalized or
             not. My audience will be college students. Because all issues related to
             marijuana are emotional as well as logical, I have to assume that
             individuals within my audience, a college class, will hold a wide variety
             of opinions. I expect that some will be opposed to the idea on various
             moral or practical grounds, that others will be in agreement based on
             logical or practical grounds, and that some will be in favor of it for
             personal reasons, most likely because they like to use it and would like to
             be able to do so without fear of being arrested, having a serious black
             market on their record, or of having to deal with illegal drug dealers in
             My own view will be that marijuana for personal use should be
             legalized but regulated in much the way we do alcoholic beverages. I can
             make several arguments for this view. One that at first seems very
             persuasive is that people are discovering legitimate medical uses for
             marijuana. AIDS patients report that when they use marijuana their appetite
             returns, supporting their general health. This can be lifesaving with a
             disease like AIDS. It has also been shown to help with the nausea that can
             come with chemotherapy, to help combat glaucoma, and even to get people
             with multiple sclerosis out of wheelchairs and walking again (Cella, PAGE).
             Those are all very serious illnesses and all can have devastating
             consequences, but because marijuana is classified federally as a drug with
             abuse potential only by the federal government, it can be very hard for
             these people to get the marijuana that they say helps them so much.
             However, this would not release marijuana to be used, for instance, in
             the way alcohol is -- legally with some important restrictions and
             safeguards. Even if approved for medicinal use, recreational users would
             still risk being charged with felonies and deali...