Medicinal and recreational marijuana is taking our nation by storm. I am particularly interested in the legalization of medicinal marijuana because my grandmother suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Recently, she has moved south to live with me so that I can take care of her as her health slowly deteriorates.  When she lived up north, she was able to receive medicinal cannabis as treatment for her disability. Now that she has moved south, she is having more difficulties handling her symptoms (restless legs, depression, etc.) This is causing her to resort to "traditional" medicines, that cause her to have other negative side effects. Although I have never personally used marijuana, I am fully aware of its abilities as a medicinal drug. Additionally, I feel like the sales can highly benefit not only state economies, but our national economy. As a republican, this research topic can definitely be a slightly controversial one. My values tend to conform to those shared typically shared by other republicans. Although it may cause others to doubt my values, I know that I can stand firm in my beliefs. I feel that since I have first hand experience with the benefits of the medicinal use of marijuana, I am qualified to discuss my opinions and research with others. 

The source by M. Rylander, MD, is not an article but a study. Rylander and her team researched the correlation between medicinal marijuana use, assessed by the number of medical marijuana registrants and the number of completed suicides for each county in Colorado. They found no correlation between the number of registrants and completed suicides. Taking into consideration that this study was completed in Colorado, a state with a suicide rate well above national average and legal medicinal marijuana, this study can contain some bias plainly by location. For the medical professionals that completed this article, there could be additional monetary benefits if "no correlation is found." Certainly that may not be a common issue, it may be a possible one. Rylander gains her credibly by being a psychologist in Colorado. She has the ability to write prescriptions for medicinal cannabis, so since she reserves that right, she is highly educated on the subject. She shows no bias in her study.

Marczyk's article "Worth Repeating: Suicide Rates Fall in Medicinal Marijuana States" contains a large portion of informative information from studies completed by American Independent and a study completed by "Toke of the Town." Marczyk is a reporter for "Toke of the town" a news webpage that is solely for the purpose of informing the public of the "news, views, humor, and rumor" of marijuana. For Marczyk, he is promoting not only the use of marijuana, but himself in his articles. He is clearly an advocate for the use of cannabis. By relying on solely on the positive outcomes of medicinal marijuana, his article contains a certain amount of bias. Although this is the case, he gains his credibility by using the research of other credible doctors and organizations to support his claim. He is very skillful about his placement of graphs and links to other research.

Pursell, a columnist for PBS, reviews a study completed by the American Public Health Journal. In his article titled " Studies claim medical marijuana may reduce suicide rates, traffic fatalities"  he summarizes the study which goes into detail about the suicide rates of marijuana users in our American population. Their research shows that suicide rates have dropped 5% across the board. More specifically, rates have dropped an astonishing 10% in men alone. Additionally, vehicular fatalities have decreased by 8-11% in the first year of legalization. For this author, there is no major "values" at stake.  Finally, this author shows no bias as he is simply writing a summary of a study completed by the APHJ. He even uses a link to "outdated marijuana PSA's" to show the comparison of the "old" and the "new." Although he may not have specific credibility, his use of others research and proper citations allows him to gain respect from his readers.

I feel as if my research question is highly arguable, as depression takes an impact on a very large portion of Americans. Different sources can contain a large variety of bias, for example, a report completed by an "anti-marijuana" organization, is going to work against legalization causing outsiders to be swayed to the publisher's opinions. This topic shows very little "grey area." Most research and opinions are either for it, or against the use of marijuana. I have discovered that older research contains more negative effects of the use of marijuana, where as modern research has more positive effects. I have found no research that has changed my perspective on this topic.

