Originally I entered into this project traveling the path of the controversy behind medicinal marijuana legalization. My original focus grew from my major in pharmaceutical sciences. Working in as a pharmacy technician has peaked my interests in different medications. Thus medicinal use of marijuana became my topic. However since beginning my research I have shifted my focus onto the business of marijuana. Specifically the focus is on the struggles legal marijuana dispensers face. Before starting my research I did not understand much regarding the legalities of the marijuana industry, other than the fact that it was regulated by state governments. Although the decision of whether or not to legalize marijuana use is handled at the state level, the federal government continues to view the production, use, and distribution of marijuana as illegal. For this fact, serious issues arise for marijuana dispensers and their patrons. 

The first article of my research lacked the density I had hoped for. It focused on the story of a young girl named Harlow who suffered with epilepsy since her birth. Essentially the author's recap of her time spent with Harlow and her mother is covered in the article. Harlow suffered for years with epilepsy with no sign of medication aiding her seizure problem. Change occurred whenever she was introduced to medical cannabis. The medical cannabis lowered the rate of Harlow's seizures by almost 80 percent. This source provides an argument in favor of the use of medical marijuana and it inherently cannot avoid bias because its basis built off of someone's firsthand experience. The bias in this article stems from the time that the author spent with Harlow before and after she began the use of the medical marijuana. This time caused the author to form an emotional connection to Harlow and thus led her to form a bias in favor of the positive results that Harlow showed after the use of the medicine. Since this article focused on a specific scenario with specific people it only shows part of the argument because it does not provide any counter arguments that are against medical marijuana use. 

Next I researched more into the business side of the marijuana industry. In Hawaii when marijuana was first legalized for medicinal use it was heavily regulated. The government ruled that patients could grow their own marijuana only and the distribution of it was illegal. Hawaii became known for its excellent marijuana production because of these regulation. The new regulations on the use of medical marijuana in Hawaii opened the door for people to get licensed for the commercial production of marijuana. It was predicted that the business would gross substantial amounts of money in 2016. The author Debra Borchardt provides a credible source because of her several degrees in both business and economics. Bias in this article is not very visible because it is fact based and used solely to inform the reader of Hawaii's changes to the marijuana industry.

The final article details the issues marijuana dispensers face when it comes to securing their money.  Since marijuana is state regulated and not legal at the federal level, banks are put at risk of losing their insurance with the FDIC if they take money made from the sale of marijuana. Banks aren't willing risk their FDIC insurance which forces pot dispensaries to "hide" their money as best as they can. This lack of security contributes to safety issues for dispensers and leads government officials to fear raised crime rates. However this banking issue could change in 2016 because multiple states are predicted to legalize marijuana for recreational use; when states can band together, the government has no choice but to take action. The article cited a credible source, Vice News, while providing an accurate representation of the argument Vice presented. 

The research question of how much can the legal marijuana business withstand before it can no longer survive provides an arguable topic. Controversy shows through these 3 articles as well as other articles I have looked at since starting this project. Most articles, including 2 and 3 in this analysis, agree that marijuana proves to be a profitable business. The articles I have read position me strongly on the side in favor of the dispensers. I feel like my research questions needs to be tweaked once I research into more issues that marijuana dispensers face.  
