Thread: Dissertation/thesis help. 3 weeks to go not started

Hi guys, I would like some of your input or help on my undergraduate politics dissertation. It is due for the 25th of April, so 3 weeks pretty much. I have not started, and have done a very limited amount of reading(however I do now have LOADS of books, articles and journals) . I am starting today, and I hope to get it done in time. The dissertation is 10,000 words. I also have another 7,000 words in other essays to do! As you can probably tell, I am starting to worry.

The title I have come up with, which is not yet set in stone is something along the lines of this:

The US has been loosing Nixon’s War on Drugs since 1971. It is time to consider a policy of decriminalisation of cannabis in the US to end this futile war

This may be reworded to make it more sophisticated etc.

My plan for the chapters is to focus upon

1) The economic benefits of decriminalisation
2) The public health benefits of decriminalisation

I am struggling to think of some other appropriate chapters to include. I had thought of the argument surrounding personal liberties, and the control that the government holds over the people may be viable as a chapter.

The structure of my dissertation is also something I am not completely certain upon. Should I include a history of prohibition of cannabis in the US?

For some reason, after I typed my title in bold, the rest of the post came in bold

Any help would be great!

Originally Posted by wesson124

For some reason, after I typed my title in bold, the rest of the post came in bold [/B][B]

Any help would be great!

If you clicked the Bold button again (or typed Ctrl-B) then that would turn bold off.

Oh, not help with that....

How about something on the effectiveness (lack of) of the the "war on drugs". Is there any evidence it has done any good at all? What approaches have been tried in other countries; are they more or less successful.

And the side effects of criminalization. You drive it underground and ensure that everyone involved is a criminal and therefore possibly involved in other things like organised crime and terrorism.

Also, and this might come under the economic benefits, the fact that tax revenue cannot be generated from the trade.

Some good suggestions there. I find the argument surround criminalisation particularly interesting, given the effects witnessed currently in the US, and the pressure put on the correctional system due to these 'criminals'.

Portugal is a fine example of how decriminalisation positively effects crime and health. around 50% reduction in heroin use since decriminalisation.

What approaches have been tried in other countries; are they more or less successful.

In Singapore they have a very strict drug policy and very harsh penalties for drug offenders.

Drug trafficking in more than the following specified quantities: 1200 grams of opium 30 grams of morphine 15 grams of heroin 30 grams of cocaine 500 grams of cannabis 250 grams of methamphetamine 4 tablets of Xanax If found guilty of any of these offences the guilty are HANGED! The crime rate in Singapore is one of the lowest in the world.There are reports of petty crime such as pickpocketing and street theft which occurs at airports, tourist destinations, hotels and on public transport. Incidents of violent crime are rare in Singapore. There is an increase in credit card fraud in the nation.[3] Mobile phones have in the past been the main target for robbers and snatch thieves. But according to the Singapore Police Force (SPF), mobile phone related crimes have decreased because of public education and stricter law enforcement.[4] Due to aggressive law enforcement efforts, drug abuse is limited in the country.[citation needed] However, as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, as a venue for money laundering. According to the 2007 Global Economic Crime Survey by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), approximately 19% of the companies in Singapore have been victims of economic crime over the past two years which was an increase from 16% in 2005. Among the different types of economic crime, there was an increase in IP infringement, money laundering and corruption and bribery.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...Z89DIffAMB7vuA

Good point, cosmic. It is definitely worth providing examples from both sides of the coin. There are cultural factors that make Singapore different from western nations, and perhaps the USA in particular. It is socially conservative with a strong reliance of family and Confucian/religious values, etc.

I assume that quote is from Wikipedia, but it is not obvious which page (not Singapore)?

Interesting to see the different quantities required for hanging for different drugs. I wonder how that effects different social sectors of society.

I added the link, sorry , thanks for the reminder.

William F. Buckley Jr. on Marijuana on National Review Online

“Marijuana never kicks down your door in the middle of the night. Marijuana never locks up sick and dying people, does not suppress medical research, does not peek in bedroom windows. Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.”

–William F. Buckley, Jr.*

I presume others might have done this before but running it as a parallel to the prohibition of alcohol in the US might be illuminating.

What were the problems that led to prohibition.

What happened during prohibition.

Why was it repealed.

What happened afterwards.

What could we expect if we did the same for say, marijuana. Would it be much the same, a bit different, a lot different.

Just a thought.

Thank for your response, all of it is very thought provoking, and also very constructive. Prohibition of alcohol is a great example of how demerit goods are difficult to control in many ways under a prohibition.

As an example of the futility of drug prohibition, you might highlight the fact that we can not even keep drugs out of prisons. How can you possibly prevent people in a free society from obtaining illegal drugs when you can not even keep them out of the hands of people under lock and key?

The massive increase in crime during the prohibition era and the parallel to the current crime in our inner cities as well along the border and in Mexico is another obvious theme. Also, you might highlight the costs, both economic and social, of a policy that incentivizes criminal behavior and fills our prisons with nonviolent offenders guilty of a victimless crime.

I have read around the topic of drugs in prison, and it does present a very valid argument against prohibition. The structure which I am thinkning of taking forward is:

introducing the topic
-History of drugs/cannabis in US
-Prohibition and its failings

Economic arguments for decriminalisation
Social arguments surrounding criminality and race
Medical benefits and arguments
conclude

You're running out of time.

Stop planning. Start writing. ....

You never know how the process of writing itself will bring up ideas all by itself. You need to give yourself time to edit and modify some of your previous writing if that happens.

Originally Posted by wesson124

Hi guys, I would like some of your input or help on my undergraduate politics dissertation. It is due for the 25th of April, so 3 weeks pretty much. I have not started, and have done a very limited amount of reading(however I do now have LOADS of books, articles and journals) . I am starting today, and I hope to get it done in time. The dissertation is 10,000 words. I also have another 7,000 words in other essays to do! As you can probably tell, I am starting to worry.

The title I have come up with, which is not yet set in stone is something along the lines of this:

The US has been loosing Nixon’s War on Drugs since 1971. It is time to consider a policy of decriminalisation of cannabis in the US to end this futile war

This may be reworded to make it more sophisticated etc.

My plan for the chapters is to focus upon

1) The economic benefits of decriminalisation
2) The public health benefits of decriminalisation

I am struggling to think of some other appropriate chapters to include. I had thought of the argument surrounding personal liberties, and the control that the government holds over the people may be viable as a chapter.

The structure of my dissertation is also something I am not completely certain upon. Should I include a history of prohibition of cannabis in the US?

For some reason, after I typed my title in bold, the rest of the post came in bold

Any help would be great!

3. Criminal justice system benefits (cannabis cases clog Americas already overcrowded courts.)
4. Prison system benefits (cannabis convicted inmates take up prison space and let dangerous criminals out of jail early.)
5. crime benefits (cannabis offenders take police officers time away, from capturing dangerous criminals.)

6. Alcohol causes more harm to society than cannabis does (alcohol causes drinking and driving deaths, it causes violence, rape, and murder.)
An unbelievable percentage of violence, rape, and murders are committed by people under the influence of alcohol.

7. The drug war unjustly targets, harasess, and imprisons a disproportionate number on African Americans.
White Americans use more drugs than black Americans, yet more black Americans are searched, harassed, and imprisoned over drugs.

8. Cannabis has been used by other cultures for 1,000's of years without any negative health effects.
9. Most other industrialized countries have legal cannabis, or decriminalized cannabis laws.
And in countries like Amsterdam where cannabis is legal, less of their young people use cannabis as compared to Americans.

10. America gets a large percentage of its cannabis from South America, the money spent on this S. American cannabis finances S. American drug gangs, they do great violence in S. America.

11. Cannabis/hemp was a very useful crop in America, until it became illegal. Many of America's early presidents were very fond of hemp/cannabis. I believe one of our famous early presidents sent a letter to another famous politician, it said "I found some particularly good smoking hemp."

Also,

In the past the US government made propaganda films about the effects of cannabis, these public commercials said many false things about cannabis.
These films caused an unjustified fear of cannabis in the US population. (there was a tv commercial about boys killing their mothers, while under the influence of cannabis.)

California gets huge tax revenues from cannabis, and their loosened cannabis laws, created a whole new category of cannabis related businesses.

You also spoke of civil liberties. Is it justified to stop someone from using cannabis, when alcohol does more harm to society, and alcohol is 100% legal?

Have a good one,
Chad.