Should Marijuana be legalised in Australia? PDF

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SHOULD CANNABIS BE LEGALISED IN AUSTRALIA? (TOULMIN ANALYSIS) S5122568 KASIDIT MUAENRODDEE,

1011CJJ CRIMINOLOGY SKILLS, ASSESSMENT FOUR

Good Morning/Afternoon My name is Kasidit Muaenroddee and today I will be displaying a PowerPoint presentation on the topic “Should personal use of Cannabis be legalised in Australia?” utilising the Toulmin model

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OVERVIEW 1.

Article

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Analysis (Utilising the Toulmin model)

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Conclusion

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ARTICLE • Retrieved From: Daily Mail Australia • Talks about the benefits for the legalization of Cannabis in Australia.

The article I have chosen was retrieved from Daily Mail Australia and was published on the 17 April 2018. This article accentuate the economic and social benefits for legalising cannabis in Australia.

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CLAIM Claim: Cannabis should be legalised in Australia, as it can assist the economy, community and law enforcement. “A controversial Green Policy would allow people to smoke dope recreationally” “ The Greens’ plan to legalise cannabis could bring $2Billion a year high into government coffers”

The claim the article is expressing is the various benefits for legalising cannabis in Australia. The benefits includes; economy, society and law enforcement.

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ANALYSIS Ground 1: Legalisation of Cannabis can increase revenue and improve society Evidence? • The Parliamentary Officer calculates that the drug legalisation can raise up 3.6 Billion over the next four years • The Greens aim to help the community with proper on “funding of drug education and treatment programme and give a boot to the health system” • The Australian Cannabis Agency aims to “issue licenses for production and sale of cannabis, monitor and enforce license conditions and review and monitor the regulatory scheme to ensure it is functioning properly” This allows opportunity for jobs and also guarantees that the cannabis will be produced at a good level.

The first ground for this article is that the legalisation of Cannabis can increase revenue and improve society. The evidence can be seen from the Parliamentary Officer, as it calculate the possible increase of revenue due to the legalisation. This revenue can later be funded on drug education, treatment programme and provide more to the heath system. Furthermore, the Australian Cannabis Agency aims to regulate and monitor the production and sale, which allows opportunities for jobs and also guarantees that the cannabis will be produced at a satisfactory level.

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ANALYSIS Ground 2: Legalisation of Cannabis can assist law enforcement Evidence? • The legalisation of Cannabis can “reduce the cost for the Australian Federal Police” and further reduce the efforts for law enforcement to track down Cannabis users. • The Australian Lawyers Alliance's Greg Barns summarized that with the legalization of Cannabis, cost can be funded for drug and mental health programs. • Senator Di Natale stated that “the plan to create a legal market for cannabis production and sale will reduce risks, bust the business model of criminal dealers and syndicates, and protect young people from unfair criminal prosecution” • Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation President Dr Wodak stated “ Banning cannabis hasn’t reduced its use or availability, yet it distracted police from following up more serious crimes”

The second ground for this article is that the legalisation of Cannabis can assist law enforcement agencies. This is evidence from statement from the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, summarises that banning cannabis hasn’t reduced its use or availability and by legalising it can assist police officer in focusing on more serious crime. Furthermore, the legalisation of cannabis may protect young offenders from unfair criminal prosecution.

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WARRANT/BACKING Warrant: Legalisation of Cannabis should be implemented but with effective policies and regulation. This will strongly assist the community, economy and law enforcement. Backing: • The Australian Cannabis Agency plan to place in “'strict penalties' for the sale of unlicensed or black market cannabis or the sale to under age consumers” • The Australian Lawyer Alliance’s Greg Barnes stated that the legalization of Cannabis “ Would reduce crime in the black market and will clear out court of hundreds of thousands of cases”

The warrant and backing are that cannabis should be legalised if there is an effective policy or regulation. The Australia Cannabis Agency plans to impose harsh penalties for sales of unlicensed or black market cannabis or prohibits the sales of cannabis to under age consumer.

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REBUTTAL • Cannabis can cause significant health issue • Legalising cannabis may reflect negatively on Australian’s society. Australia Medical Association Vice President Tony Barton express his disagreement towards the legalisation of cannabis, summarised it negative impact towards individuals health “The chance of psychosis in the young brain is significantly risky ... young people are very vulnerable to its effects” A conservative commentator Andrew Bolt raised a concerned on the legalization of cannabis would send a “wrong message” and society will not be willing to work but just “spend days in complete gaze, smoking dope”

The article offers a rebuttal perspective on the legalisation of cannabis in Australia. Australia Medial Association Vice President, Tony Barton states the negative impact of cannabis towards individuals, especially young people. Furthermore, it is expressed that by legalising cannabis it reflect negatively on Australian society and it is sending a “wrong message” to other countries.

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CONCLUSION • The grounds are mainly focused on statements from official agency group and government • The warrant is logical but mainly focused on anecdotal evidence • Rebuttal is included and its sources from an official agency ( Australian Medical Association) • The article highlights more on the reasons for legalisation of Cannabis rather than reason against. The article effectively portrayed the claim to a certain extent, as it mostly presented anecdotal evidence but lacks statistical evidence.

Now we will conduct an analysis on the article and its claims. Firstly, I strongly believe the ground “ Legalisation of Cannabis can improve revenue and society” is valid, as calculation and various statement made have come from a reputable organisation. I believe this ground could be stronger, if there were more statistical evidence to emphasise the ground. The second ground “Legalization of Cannabis can assist law enforcement” is valid and logical, as these statement are from a reputable source such as Senator Di Natalie and Australia Drug Law Reform. It could be stronger with more statistical evidence such as a vote, poll or survey. Secondly, the warrant is logical, as it is very clear that the legalization of cannabis should be monitored and controlled with appropriate polices and regulations. This would benefit the society, as individual are aware of the side effect and are able to use the product responsibly. The regulation would reduce crime, free up cost of criminal justice system and law enforcement agencies. Thirdly, the backing used in this presentation is from reputable and respectable organization to emphasis the claim and warrant. Therefore, it is seem more trustworthy and reliable towards the society.

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Fourthly, the rebuttal is logical, as it is commonly known that the excessive use of cannabis can have an immense impact on individuals health. The negative image is further portrayed through the statement made by the Australian Medical Association. By legalizing cannabis it reflect negatively on Australian society and it is sending a “wrong message” to other countries.

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MY PERSONAL OPINION ON THE ARTICLE I AM PERSONALLY NOT CONVINCED OF THE CLAIM THAT THE ARTICLE IS MAKING

Personally, I am not convinced that this article has effectively claim the reason for the legalisation of cannabis in Australia. I have made this statement because there are not enough statistical data or official statements to back up the possibilities of the success in legalising cannabis. In comparison, banning cannabis is effective in protecting the society and individual, as there are many researches and test conducted, which identifies that cannabis has a short, long term effect on individuals.

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REFERNCE • O’Shea, M, Daily Mail Australia (17 Apirl 2018) Greens’ cannabis plan could raise $3.6billion • Retrieved from: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5621127/Greens-radical-plan-legalisecannabis.html

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