Marijuana as a Gateway Drug the Causal Fallacy Essay Example

Marijuana as a Gateway Drug: the Causal Fallacy Paper Marijuana as a Gateway Drug: The Causal Fallacy The marijuana plant, perhaps the most widely-used illicit drug in the world, was once demonized by authorities and the media. In the 1936 film Marijuana: Weed with Roots in Hell, director Dwain Esper portrayed teens smoking marijuana and then engaging in perceived evils such as nude bathing and unchaperoned partying, with one girl becoming pregnant. The film went on to further depict the characters becoming addicted to marijuana and committing serious crimes including a police shootout and kidnapping for ransom. These claims are based on the type of faulty casual analysis that has given rise to anti-marijuana myths that have endured over the years, but they are fortunately starting to abate. While the Western world has lightened up, some misconceptions persist, particularly those based on casual fallacy. An example of such a fallacy can be found in the argument that marijuana is a â€Å"gateway drug† which causes users to eventually progress to hard drugs, when that’s not actually the case. The correlation between marijuana and other illegal substances is not in dispute, nor is the chronology in that marijuana use typically precedes other drug use. We will write a custom essay sample on Marijuana as a Gateway Drug: the Causal Fallacy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Marijuana as a Gateway Drug: the Causal Fallacy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Marijuana as a Gateway Drug: the Causal Fallacy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Studies show that a hard drug users’ first experience with an illicit drug is likely to be marijuana, and that nearly every hard drug user has tried marijuana at least once. Furthermore, studies also show that marijuana users are more likely to try hard drugs than non-users. But correlation and chronology doesn’t imply causation, and it’s causation that is at the crux of the â€Å"gateway drug† argument. The reason marijuana use typically occurs before other illicit drug is because it’s readily available and accessible, especially for youth. Instead of having to venture to a store and provide photo ID as a young teens would with liquor and tobacco, they might be able to buy marijuana without having to leave school property or even their own home. Acquiring it may involve only placing a quick phone call to a drug dealer and having it delivered like a pizza. The primary reason for this is marijuana’s illegality. By outlawing marijuana it’s driven to the black market where there is no age restriction or code of ethics. Furthermore, a marijuana dealer may also introduce customers to their harder product lines, or at least connect them with someone who can. Dealers tend to be more cautious of selling harder drugs since the penalties, if caught, are much stiffer. Once trust is gained through the sale of marijuana, they might be more comfortable progressing to more serious transactions. Because of this, the first experience people may have to illicit drugs is likely to be marijuana, putting it in the position where it appears to cause other drug use simply because of chronological order. The lack of objective evidence showing a casual link between marijuana and hard drugs was discussed in the scientific literature as early as 1999. In the book Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, published by the US Institute of Medicine, researchers wrote that â€Å"because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people encounter† and that â€Å"not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs have used marijuana first† (Joy et al. 6). However, â€Å"there is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs† (Joy et al. 6). Subsequent research has similarly been unable to establish casual links. While most hard drug users started with marijuana, and most hard drug users have used marijuana, it’s important to note that most marijuana users don’t actually use hard drugs. If marijuana caused hard drug use we would expect the rates of marijuana use to be consistent with the rates of hard drug use. The rate of marijuana use is nearly six-times higher than the five major types of hard drugs combined, according to Canadian government statistics. Health Canada’s 2010 â€Å"Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Surveyâ€Å" reported that 10. 7% of respondents 15 years of age or older admitted to using marijuana in the past year, while only 0. % used crack, 0. 5% used speed, 0. 7% used ecstasy, and 0. 7% used some type of illicit hallucinogen (excluding salvia). The total reported usage for these other drugs is 1. 8%, nearly one-sixth that of marijuana. Another factor is that marijuana users tend to be more prone to using hard drugs simply because they have t he personality traits conducive to substance abuse. These traits include the attitudes, feelings, responses, and behaviours that contribute to a person’s psychological makeup. In the 2002 article â€Å"Are Personality Traits Familial Risk Factors for Substance Use Disorders? researchers explain that â€Å"longitudinal studies have implicated personality characteristics as predisposing vulnerabilities for the subsequent development of substance-related disorders† (Swendsen et al. ). In this sense, marijuana and crack users have something in common; they are all willing to alter one’s mind to the chagrin of the law. Casual fallacies abound when we humans attempt to understand the world around us. It’s tempting to conclude that causation is established because there is a correlation or chronological order of events, but that’s not a logical approach. There are a multitude of factors to consider when establishing a causal link, and this is no exception. While marijuana is correlated with hard drugs, and marijuana use typically precedes hard drug use, it does not actually cause hard drug use. Like the other fallacies before it, the â€Å"gateway drug† fallacy is yet another marijuana myth that can hopefully be put to rest. Works Cited Canada. Health Canada. â€Å"Canadian Alcohol and Drug Use Monitoring Survey: 2010. † Ottawa: Health Canada, n. d. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. http://www. hc-sc. gc. a/hc-ps/drugs-drogues/stat/_2010/summary-sommaire-eng. php. Joy, Janet E. , et al. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. Washington, DC: The National Academic Press. 1999. Print. Marihuana: Weed with Roots in Hell! Dir. Dwain Esper. Perf. Harley Wood, Hugh McArthur, Pat Carlyle, and Paul Ellis. Roadshow Attractions Inc. , 1936. Film. Swendsen, Joel D. , et al. â€Å"Are Personality Traits Familial Risk Factors for Subs tance Use Disorders? Results of a Controlled Family Study† The American Journal of Psychiatry 159. 10 (2002): 1760-1766. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

Essay on Leadership For College

Essay on Leadership For CollegeYou may be wondering, how do I write an essay on leadership for college? A great way to think about is asking yourself a number of questions and deciding what is important to you in terms of college. After that you can work backwards from there to come up with an essay on leadership for college.The first thing to consider in terms of writing an essay on leadership for college is what it is that you would like to get out of college. Does the whole purpose of college to get a good job? Or would you like to get a degree that would give you a better future?What kind of career will you have when you are finished with college? Would you like to stay home and raise your children? Or would you like to go out and start a new career?Leadership is something that everyone can take from school. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat; everyone can find leadership lessons from their school. In fact, leadership is something that we can all take from the things that we have done in school.When it comes to the topic of leadership, you should read about the subject as much as possible. Watch movies with the theme of leadership. Read books that talk about leadership.You should not just listen to what other people say but you should also put yourself in the position to think about your own thoughts about leadership. Start by taking a look at the people around you who have leadership qualities.Are they your friends or are they your neighbors? What do you notice about them?Take a good look at yourself. Is your home life good enough that you could step into the shoes of a leader? If not, then you should look at your career choices and figure out how you want to go about it.

Custom Writing Services

Custom Writing ServicesMost of the time, when we talk about Private Placement Memorandum or simply PMM, it is associated with business loans. But many business owners prefer to use this strategy for the promotion of their business to attract new clients.Generally, the number of clients that will be attracted by a particular private placement memorandum depends on several factors. One of the main factors is the writing style of the writing firm that is hired by the company to write the PMM. The other important factors are the pitch and format of the content.The writing firm that is hired by the company to write the PMM should first present the copy written by the company to the clients. This way, the client gets an idea on the product and service offered by the company. This in turn helps the company to determine how successful they are in attracting the clients and can improve their marketing strategies.Copywriters or content writers who work for the company usually write the content based on the needs of the company. For example, a lot of information related to a particular product and services is provided in the copy. However, there might be times when the content becomes boring, heavy and not really helpful to the readers. This is where the content writer comes in.When it comes to the content of the copywriter, he or she needs to come up with an original and creative content that is targeted to the specific audience. In this case, a content writer might need to have in mind that the copy should be able to promote the product and services well and yet at the same time keep the reader's interest intact. To make sure that the client gets the results he or she wants, it is important to create a PMM that is original, informative and entertaining at the same time.Writing for a PMMis not easy and is more complicated than writing for a blog post. It requires a lot of research and creating good content. All content writers and copywriters should look for and consider the market they are writing for before going into a job.It is a good idea to look for copywriters who have many clients working for them. Another thing to keep in mind is that it is important to get the copy written by a professional. A copywriter or a content writer can do this job well, but it still depends on how good they are at this.It is a fact that writing for a PMM takes a lot of expertise and writing skills. It is not only that a writer must be able to provide interesting content, but he or she also has to be able to edit and proofread it properly. Because of the detailed nature of the writing, it is important that the client gets it right and the copywriter knows what he or she is doing.

Adding an External Citation to Your Text Citation

Adding an External Citation to Your Text CitationIf you want to give your research paper an extra edge, consider including an additional external citation in the text citation. The simple addition of an 'external' citation to the text citation makes it a strong and effective way to add reference citations to your research paper. By creating this additional citation, you can both add structure to your research paper and show that your paper has proven its worth to a reputable institution.You can include this citation as long as you do it at the end of the text citation, as it is known in the field. You can also put it at the beginning, but I would advise against it because it may be very hard to read or may cause the reader to skip the text citation. This will make the whole process much more difficult and tedious, which defeats the purpose of your effort.In addition to including the external citation as part of the text citation, you will need to make sure that the paper itself conta ins an extra external citation. Make sure that the introduction of your paper has this additional citation included in the first paragraph. This will help to drive home your idea to your readers and will enhance the impact of your research paper. Your readers will not only have the idea of the research paper, but also the usefulness of the research paper.If you are writing your own research paper, you will have to research the relevant institutions and see if they require the inclusion of this citation. To my knowledge, only the OCR department in the University of Michigan does require such citations and can lead to serious consequences if they do not. The authors and editors of the OCR department will not want to put too much attention on your paper, which is why they do not require such citations in your research paper.Please keep in mind that these citations will appear in the actual paper and should be cited for information purposes only. It is not always possible to have them p laced in the text, although if you really want to include them, it should be easy enough to do so and it will be considered helpful.Including these citations in your research paper is important to the scholarly reputation of your research. These citations are very important because they are a strong indication that your paper is worth reading and is worth your time. If your paper is submitted to the academic journals that you are seeking funding from, then you will want to make sure that the research paper has been reviewed and accepted by the appropriate journals.The more external citations you include in your research paper, the more attention you will receive from a variety of sources. In the end, including such citations is a major step in boosting your reputation and will increase the number of people who read your paper. When you are preparing your next research paper, you should make sure that you take this step now.