9. Beating The Drug War

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/15/beating_the_drug_war/

Russ Belville writes and article for The Salon on September 15th on his Marijuana usage and gives tips on how "not to get busted." Belville opens the article by telling a bit about his relationship with marijuana: he's a user for the past twenty years, and has never been caught. He acknowledges most people who are regular pot users are never caught either, and provides some statistics, comparing people who get annually arrested for marijuana usage and how many people actually use the drug. Being extremly satirical, Bellville begins to give a list of several things one could do to avoid being busted. The list is full of ludicrous and ironic components, such as "be white; be middle-aged; look squared." Composed of seven well-described items, the guide provided to the reader helps him to freely "smoke a joint" without ending up in the jail or with his record stained. The author closes the article by stating his opinion on the legalization of marijuana and how he think's its prohibition is a complete joke.

Belville's intentions while writing this article are clearly to state his opinion on the issue and persuade the reader on how this whole marijuana being considered illegal is a complete waste of time. Satirizing the American pattern to find marijuana users and using a large amount of irony, the author gives clues on what he really thinks about regarding the issue, until he finally states his honest opinion on the last sentence of the article: "If you think being young, black, counter-culture or careless is a lousy justification for police harassment, then help me to end this stupid prohibition on marijuana."