"Smoke 'em if you got 'em"--- What-t-t-t-t?

At a Glance

What: Article review
About: California, Marijuana and its economy
Why: Assignment


Californians are seeking to stimulate their failing economy by switching drug control tactics--if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Instead of spending millions of dollars locating, prosecuting and jailing marijuana growers, peddlers, and users, they are considering just taxing the whole process to increase revenues or, as Adam LaMascus says in the Commuter, "handle it like we handle alcohol and regular tobacco: regulate it, tax it and only track people down when they are being reckless and endangering others."

Those words signal frustration, desperation, and/or resignation--we have a problem, we have a problem we cannot solve or we have a problem we are tired of trying to solve.

I chose this item primarily because of its title and the picture that accompanied it. Since we began studying article writing, I started analyzing the way other reporters create the "hook" that draws a reader to a story, and this worked for me.

I was particularly intrigued by Adam LaMascus' statement, "I say go for it, and I don't even smoke." I would like to have had the further clarification of that statement closer to it than a full two paragraphs later. Had I written it, I would have followed my "go for it" statement with the part about living in a college town and being a first-hand witness....

That statement took my focus off the story and made me start skimming to see whether or not it was qualified later.

In the space allowed, LaMascus did a good job of presenting the basics of the pros and cons on the subject and makes you either want to run to California or get farther away from it.

It was interesting that the American Historical Reference Society has revealed that many of the founding fathers and other presidents smoked marijuana--that was an important addition. Good job!

(That kind of makes you wonder about those who are always yammering about the glory of the founding fathers--just a little bit.)