Peter McWilliams, both an aids and cancer victim, is a self-published, best-selling author. In July 1998 he was arrested and charged with being the ringleader of a conspiracy to grow and distribute medical marijuana. As a condition of his pre-trial release, he cannot smoke marijuana even though proposition 215 states that he can for his illnesses. The magazine article, detailing his dilemma in HighTimes, (June 1999), uses clever rhetoric shrouded in simplicity to instill the reader with a defensive stance against the government. He does this primarily by destroying the opponent's credibility and logic to increase his own.

The article is primarily directed toward the sub-culture audience of America. This is an audience that is constantly bombarded on by the mainstream. Although McWilliams was charged with the intent to distribute marijuana, it also happened to be his medication. Currently, he is prohibited to take his medication. Is it considered inhumane to deny the suffering the relief they so desperately need? Questions of this nature arise as well as the simple, gruesome facts of how Peter McWilliams is living a government-enforced life of

Often times, the subculture is averted and attention given strictly to the mainstream audience. The writer digresses to a scene that occurred during the O.J Simpson trial. There were some medicinal marijuana activists demonstrating outside of the courthouse and there was a camera crew and many reporters sitting idly on lawn chairs. The author invites them to cover the demonstration. However, the crew refused, stating they were waiting to hear Johnny Cochran speak about the double murder. By showing how the media completely disregards the opinions of the subculture, he connects with his audience resulting in building his ethos incredibly high.

In the race for selfishness, the media and the government seem to be running head-to-head. Woody Harrelson came to the court hearing to show McWilliams his support. The NBC correspondents soon took notice of him and "immediately rushed into the hall to make a phone call to their contact at the local NBC channel." The media promptly forget about Peter and persistently chase Harrelson through the streets with a running camera. This displays the obvious shallowness of the media. The author cleverly builds up his own ethos by downgrading and destroying his opponents. This is also evident when the author makes a reference to King George, the colonies oppressor during the revolution. "Judge George King, whos

Some common words found in the essay are:
Peter McWilliams, Johnny Cochran, HighTimes June, Woody Harrelson, King George, OJ Simpson, George King, Hall June, peter mcwilliams, federal law, opponent's ethos, king george,
Approximate Word count = 922
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)