Mcintosh, Winston Hubert, aka Peter Tosh. “Legalize It”, Legalize It. 1976.
Peter Tosh seeks to rally the public to legalize marijuana. He makes his lyrics relatable and by discussing the different professions, he speaks to each of his audience on a personal level to have both tolerance for those who do and to His song uses logos by emphasizing the already rampant presence and use by people across different walks of life. In its second verse, it categorically speaks to the health benefits of using the substance abuse and subsequently in the third paragraph, he elaborates upon its natural origins and how animals use it as well. In this catchy song, Peter Tosh, who had just left his singing group “The Wailers” , he has identified every argument that the naysayers use to continue the ban on weed usage. The stigma that only homeless or purposeless people engage with this substance is counteracted and the idea of it being a natural substance and thereby more deserving of legal status than the manmade substances such as alcohol and cigarettes was reinforced. His chorus reinforces his main ideal and in its catchy nature attempts to normalize the concept. He also uses ethos because as a user himself, and creator of the music, he shows the world that one can be creative and successful while using it. It even begs to the thought of if this increases performance.
