Post #4: Pitch for Project 2

For Project 2, I will be looking at Initiative 502. 502 would require the legislature to change current law related to the possession, sale and use of marijuana. If passed, the initiative would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession for people over twenty-one; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it [the initiative] authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and reserve marijuana-related revenues. 

What intrigued me most about this topic when I researched it was the surplus of medial support for one side. There is a lack of media attempting to persuade the public against voting for 502. That being said, I did find 2 websites devoted to 502 opposition.These can be found at http://www.choicewellnesswa.com/resources/vote-no-on-prop-502 and http://www.nooni502.com/wordpress/. I also will examine an editorial from the Seattle Times,http://seattletimes.com/html/editorials/2019226547_edit502thelawxml.html.  The first webpage has links to other pages that might help one decide against this initiative; the second is an informative blog that, upon first glance, appears to make valid (backed by research) arguments against 502. The editorial contains opinion, and hopefully some research.

The supportive media was easier to find. Included in this category are a Seattle Times Editorial, http://seattletimes.com/html/editorials/2019087007_edit07marijuanalegalization502xml.html; an official-looking website,http://www.newapproachwa.org/; and an article from the Daily Evergreen, http://dailyevergreen.wsu.edu/read/If-Initiative-502-on-marijuana-passes,-legal-battle-in-Washington-state-will-ensue. I chose these resources because they seem to present their views in a clear fashion, with both opinion and research. I also particularly included the Evergreen editorial because it expresses a fellow students' view on the issue.

My project will be a webpage, or a series of pages, that will rhetorically analyze the opposing sides of the issue and the effectiveness of each resource. I will group the three newspaper articles close together and compare/contrast them. Next I will compare/contrast the 2 pro-502 sites with the against-502 website. Perhaps examining these texts will show that Washington is getting close to legalizing Marijuana, which could possibly explain the imbalance of support versus opposition.