Persuasive speech PDF

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A+ speech for professor Engquist...

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PERSUASIVE SPEECH OUTLINE Topic: Marijuana Legalization Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience on marijuana legalization. Thesis Statement: The times have changed, and the prohibition period needs to come to an end. I. INTRODUCTION A. Attention material/Credibility Material: Hello my name is Alex Loeffler, patient number P572822-190701. Today I’m here to persuade the legalization of recreational marijuana, to speak for medical patients, and recreational users who risk ruining their lives because of a plant that grows in the dirt. Growing up we were always told its bad for you and it kills brain cells and makes you a dumb, stupid, idiot. The year before I started, a teacher told my mother in a parent teacher conference that he didn’t think I could get A’s. I would never suggest that kids use marijuana, but when I first started smoking my grades did improve. I went from having D’s to achieving A’s and B’s. I am here on a full ride scholarship and I am a daily medical user. But this was a personal choice, I always told myself I would not let stereotypes define me. B. Tie to the audience: You should be insulted by the lies and false “facts” the government has been spoon feeding to the public for years. It’s time these laws change. C. Thesis and Preview: The times have changed, but the prohibition period needs to officially come to an end. First, I will talk about the history of why marijuana is illegal, second how the Government is wasting resources without valid cause, and finally the benefits of legalization. [Transition into body of speech]: I’ll begin with some history as to why it was outlawed in the first place.] II. BODY A. Most of us believe it’s because some scientist, somewhere, decided that it is more dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes then told the Government. But that is not the case. 1. In 1929, near the end of alcohol prohibition, a man named Harry Anslinger was deemed the head of the Department of Prohibition in Washington, D.C... a. Initially, Anslinger had no problem with marijuana until alcohol prohibition was over. Then, with nothing to do, he announced a new purpose for his department, public enemy number one. Marijuana. b. Anslinger can be quoted as saying “First, you will fall into a delirious rage. Then you will be gripped by the dreams of an erotic character. Then you will lose the power of connected thought. Finally, you will reach the inevitable end-point: “Insanity.”” 1) Anslinger was referring to Victor Licata, a boy who murdered his family with an axe in Florida. Reading further into the Victor Licata case on Timeline.com, I found there was a petition filed by Tampa police to have him institutionalized for mental illness a year prior. Though mental illness was clearly cause, Anslinger used this case as leverage claiming that is what would happen if you smoke the devil’s lettuce. Prohibition continued into WW II, where peaceful protestors against the war became targets for Anslingers department. 2. Studies to test claims such as brain cell loss or psychosis, are challenging to accomplish because marijuana is a schedule one drug. Because of its category, Marijuana is classified as having no known medicinal value. Despite this in 2018, 29 states have already legalized marijuana for medical use and 3 more will vote on it. a. Because of the fact it is a schedule one drug, testing must be approved, funded, and published by the government. b. The Heath/ Tulane was a Government study endorsed by Ronald Reagan in 1974 and he states, “the most reliable scientific sources say permanent brain damage is on e of the inevitable results of the use of marijuana ”. 1) Sorry to anyone against testing on animals. The study said monkeys were to receive 30 joints a day, through a gas mask, every day for one year. It was revealed 6 years later these Monkeys were pumped with 63 Columbian strength joints a day in five minutes for 90 days. Brain cell loss was determined by comparing to monkeys who had not been subjected.

2) According to First Aid Guide, “the brain starts to shut down after four minutes without oxygen, brain damage may result”. Without adding oxygen into the gas masks, they were suffocating the monkeys. The government then went on to associate suffocation with cannabis use and amplified prohibition. [Transition: Not only are government studies like this outlandish, but so is the amount of tax payer money put into enforcing these laws.] B. While Donald Trump was running for office he wanted to leave regulation of marijuana up to the states. President Trump also claimed he was pro-medical marijuana. Post winning presidency, Trump has given reign on the war to Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, who is still anti-marijuana. Jeff Sessions is now rescinding a year-old act under Obama that said they would keep hands off states who have legalized marijuana. Not only has Donald Trump changed his stance on how marijuana should be dealt with, he gave reign to Sessions who has been more focused on upsetting the pro-marijuana community than protecting the President and nation from deep submersion. 1. According to the Washington Post, more people were arrested in 2016 for marijuana than murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery-combined. According to the Huffington post, the US will spend $20 billion in tax payer money this year on the war against marijuana . 2. Though it is medicinally legal in Michigan, and spite President Trump saying he would leave regulation to states, just th e last month over 40 dispensaries were raided in Lansing and all the way up I-75. a. Though these dispensaries followed the state laws and had proper licensing, the DEA still came to the door. b. In states like Colorado and Alaska, they have declined to accept federal eradication funds to conduct their own enforcement efforts because they are legal. [Transition: You can see that it is difficult for the government to make up their minds. Now let’s look at what may happen if marijuana was legalized.] C. States like Colorado and California for example are past legalization and are thriving tremendously from the outcome of it. New jobs are being created, taxes are being collected, and the industry shares the wealth which improves the overall economic state. 1. Legalization mean hundreds of thousands of jobs created in the industry under Donald Trump with tax money from employers going to the federal government as well. 2. Not only are employers required to withhold federal taxes, but sales tax is where the majority comes from. According to Colorado.gov, last year alone $247,368,473 were made in tax money alone. The state has made an industry which thrives and funds projects like schools, education programs, homelessness, mental health programs in jails, agriculture and the list goes on. III. CONCLUSION: A. Brakelight/Transition: As you can see, the times have changed, and it is time these draconian laws come to an end. B. Summary: In conclusion, I have talked about the ridiculous history of why marijuana is illegal, the government resources wasted, and given you a look into the world of legalized marijuana. C. Tie Back to the Audience: Now that you know what we have been told as kids was a lie, my only hope can be that I have persuaded you to vote yes on the ballot this fall. D. Concluding Remarks: Thank you for listening....