Smoke Signals
A Social History of Marijuana - Medical, Recreational and Scientific
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
A bestselling author of Acid Dreams tells the great American pot story— a panoramic, character-driven saga that examines the medical, recreational, scientific, and economic dimensions of the world’s most controversial plant.
Martin A. Lee traces the dramatic social history of marijuana from its origins to its emergence in the 1960s as a defining force in a culture war that has never ceased. Lee describes how the illicit marijuana subculture overcame government opposition and morphed into a dynamic, multibillion-dollar industry.
In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Similar laws have followed in more than a dozen other states, but not without antagonistic responses from federal, state, and local law enforcement. Lee, an award-winning investigative journalist, draws attention to underreported scientific breakthroughs that are reshaping the therapeutic landscape. By mining the plant’s rich pharmacopoeia, medical researchers have developed promising treatments for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, chronic pain, and many other conditions that are beyond the reach of conventional cures.
Colorful, illuminating, and at times irreverent, this is a fascinating read for recreational users and patients, students and doctors, musicians and accountants, Baby Boomers and their kids, and anyone who has ever wondered about the secret life of this ubiquitous herb.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this accessible and well-researched analysis, Lee (Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond) offers a cultural reckoning of cannabis in its many incarnations, spanning from its first recorded utilization in 2700 B.C.E. to the present, but focusing primarily on its societal reputation and legal history in the U.S. Lee illumes the current hyperbolic political rhetoric surrounding cannabis against the backdrop of its status a century ago when one could order hashish candies from the Sears-Roebuck catalogue. His account proves to be unapologetically pro-legalization, tending to exonerate cannabis as being a solution devoid of any side effects or repercussions. When discussing the disparity between positive scientific or medical findings concerning cannabis and its modern vilification, Lee cites factors such as puritanical value systems, vested pharmaceutical and liquor lobbyists, and the economic profit of "drug seizures" by law enforcement. At times, Lee s zealous championing of the legalization of cannabis as a panacea feels jejune and skewed, and his use of folksy prose can sometimes be distracting. Nevertheless, the book remains a compelling read and an excellent source of information on the topic.
