I am interested in answering this research question because I believe marijuana legalization would financially benefit the United States of America; also, it is a safer alternative to many other substances, including alcohol and tobacco, which are already legal. This research question does not affect my values, but I believe that there is a small downside to it, if any. Marijuana is proven to be useful in a medical sense, safer than alcohol and tobacco, and would benefit the United States financially. I have no personal experience regarding this topic. I am qualified to write about this because I have done the research for both sides of the argument, for the legalization of marijuana and against it, and I believe that I have become well-informed regarding this topic. 

My first article, "Year after Colorado Legalizes, Advocates Say: It's all Good in Potland", written by Lauren McCauley, is an informative article because it states facts in a clear and concise way without persuading the reader to be on the writer's side of the argument, so there is no bias from the author; also the author is credible because she is a staff writer for a .org company, and she cites her sources, which I glanced at, and they are also credible. The article really has no central claim because there is no opinion coming directly from the author. The main evidence is that the state of Colorado has experienced a decrease in traffic fatalities, a decrease in crime, the crimes that have decreased includes violent crimes, property crimes (i.e. vandalism), and a decrease in marijuana-related arrests. The state has also experienced an increase in tax revenue and an increase in jobs. 

 My second article, "This is why marijuana should be legal everywhere" is argumentative, which means that the author's purpose is to persuade the reader into agreeing with her, so there is definitely a bias. The author is credible because she is a writer for The Huffington Post, a reliable and trustworthy source, and she cites her sources. The article's central claim that is marijuana should be legalized everywhere because there are so many positive effects from marijuana. This article uses many pieces of evidence, such as marijuana is a safer alternative to alcohol and tobacco, no one has ever been the victim of a marijuana overdose, marijuana has a very low risk of drug abuse and dependence, and marijuana is helpful for many medical conditions. Marijuana can be used legally to treat pain, also. Marijuana legalization has a lot of positive outcomes, but there are also some potential negative effects to it as well.

 My third article is "The Implications of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado", which is a source that shows the potential negative effects of marijuana legalization. This source will be used as a counter-argument for my research paper. I chose this source because there is no bias; the source clearly states its facts with no opinion behind it, and no reason to directly persuade the reader. The source is credible because it cites doctor reports and comes from a medical journal. This text from 2015 discusses what implications Colorado will face from the legalization of marijuana. The three main pieces of evidence are from doctor's offices reports such as "Pediatric marijuana exposures in a medical marijuana state" and "Cannabinoids as novel anti-inflammatory drugs", and "Legalization of marijuana and incidence of opioid mortality". There has been unexpected adverse health effects such as marijuana related burns and vomiting induced from edible marijuana products. However marijuana has positive health effects for medical use such as reducing pain, help with seizures, and anti-inflammatory effects for people with bowel inflammation. There have also been fewer opioid-related deaths and hospitalizations. These are all disputed because there have been an increase of negative effects such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and diaphoresis from edible marijuana products. The major values at stake are that there are a few negative health effects, and there is a higher use in children. 

This research question is arguable because there are two clear sides to the argument, for the legalization of marijuana and against the legalization of marijuana in the United States. I have seen some sites that say there are absolutely no negative health effects, some sites that say there are a lot of potential negative health effects, and some sites that say there is inconclusive evidence for it. The perspectives of the sources I have been researching have affected my own because they have influenced me to be more on the side that thinks marijuana should be legal. I do not think I should revise my research question; I believe it is good enough for this assigned project.

