Marijuana Nation: One Man's Chronicle of America Getting High: From Vietnam to Legalization

by Roger A. Roffman

For Roger Roffman, a retired university professor, there’s nothing academic in the stories told in his memoir. It was personal when Roffman struggled with his own compulsive pot use and when he lost his younger brother to a drug overdose. It’s personal when he challenges those who say marijuana is harmless. It’s personal when he If criminal penalties have been ineffective in protecting young people and the public’s health and safety, might a well-designed and well-regulated legal market do better? For 45 years, Roffman has worn a multitude of hats, all related to his fascination with the first to survey soldiers about their pot use in Vietnam, activist working to reform the laws, federally-funded marijuana dependence researcher, addiction therapist, drug educator, and - for a while - even a dealer who helped cancer patients learn about pot. It began in Vietnam where, as an Army officer in 1967, he questioned the prison terms meted out to soldiers who got high, while at every military base in the country booze was cheap and readily available. Roffman has experienced the layered and complex relationship Americans have with marijuana first-hand. His stories offer all too rare balanced insights about a drug that directly or indirectly has affected virtually all of us living in Marijuana Nation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Drugs, Memoir, History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published April 20, 2014

Reviews

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is 420 friendly but not 420 naive.

Roffman writes a good basic book that anybody concerned over our draconian marijuana laws could support. And, he notes all the commonly accepted medicinal benefits. In fact, the retired professor served as a "mule" of sorts for a while, distributing marijuana gifted by a dealer to cancer patients.

At the same time, he doesn't pretend that marijuana doesn't have problems, and that these problems definitely include psychological dependence and may include some degree of physical addiction.

He also relates his personal history of pot usage, eventual dependence, and quitting. Related to that, he was Washington state coordinator for NORML in the 1970s, before it imploded.

That said, it's not quite 5-star. Roffman doesn't give us the latest research on just how much benefit medical marijuana offers, whether smoking vs. ingesting has any more benefits, or whether THC pills offer near enough benefit to undercut the cries for medical marijuana. He also doesn't address the question of just how much we do, or do not know, about its physical addictiveness and degree of that. Related to this, he doesn't give us an educated guess as to how much less physically addictive it may be than alcohol, and ditto on the psychological side.

This is a biggie because he has experience in counseling alcoholics as well as the marijuana dependent. If the NORML type folks want to say pot isn't as bad as booze, let's draw out all comparisons, all the way.

[Amy Raby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is written by a UW professor who chronicles his experience with the movement to decriminalize and ultimately legalize (in Washington state) marijuana. It begins in Vietnam in the 60's and continues to the present day. The part of this that I found most interesting was his experience in trying to hold a balanced view of marijuana: that it is NOT harmless, that people do get addicted to it and it can mess up their lives, but it should still be decriminalized because throwing pot smokers in jail is a case of the cure being worse than the disease.

However, most people lobbying to have it decriminalized and eventually legalized wanted to de-emphasize the dangers of marijuana and present it as a harmless drug. Makes me wonder, did the ends justify the means? Marijuana has been legalized, and I think that's a good thing (especially since it's being taxed and regulated), but a lot of misinformation has been spread about marijuana being harmless when it's not.

[Mie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed reading this book. Since I also live in Seattle area, marijuana is such a hot topic. Yet, I have limited knowledge on marijuana and I have been looking for some books on marijuana. And I found this book at UW bookstore. What makes this book more persuading and interesting is that the author Roger Roffman was the one who had profound 25-year-experience on counseling marijuana addicts and a professor at UW about drug addict. Yet he was the one who suffered the dependency on marijuana himself and recovered from it. He admits that marijuana has a risk for dependency. As far as I checked, there is 9% dependency, similar like alcohol. But living in Seattle, WA where recreational drug is legal, I do not hear risks on marijuana. I hear more optimistic views. Some of my friends enjoy marijuana every night and yet they do not think they are dependent and they are working as usual. And I do not know they are addicted to it. They say they need it for stress-release and for sleep aid. In spite of his professor title, he revealed his past in this book and I respect his courage in order to caution us the risk for marijuana dependency.
As a side note, I also enjoyed reading the various places he wrote such as pig war at the English camp and American camp at San Juan Island and the restaurant with great view, Ivar's salmon house and green lake etc. These familiar places to me also made this book feel closer to me.
My rating is 5 but actually I wanted to rate 4.5 stars. It's because this book does not contain much up-to-date research, and many different kinds of usage of marijuana and effects according to each usage. Yet it's really worth reading it!

[David Melbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My hat goes off to Roger Roffman for his lifelong dedication to the cause. And, I most especially liked his stance of being the voice of reason regarding the health risks involved with smoking marijuana. He was one of the innovators in counseling for adults who wanted to break their dependency and, although he doesn't state that marijuana is addicting, he does focus on the idea that every person is different and some of us have trouble with habits, that's all. I believe that addiction is simple something that you cannot stop doing. As long as you control it and not it controls you, you have got it licked!

I am not so sure that I agree with his fear that legalization will not bring down the cartels or serve to prevent criminal activity with sales, etc. If the feds only have regulation of the marijuana market to concentrate on instead of the failed "war," then I firmly believe that legalization can be as successful as when alcohol prohibition was lifted. Again, proper education and rehabilitation can be paid for by the tax revenue raised in sales of marijuana, so it would be a win-win situation. Maybe it will happen it my lifetime after all!

[Niffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

I was really impressed by this book. I've read a number of memoirs recently and about half of them are poorly written "oh something weird happened in my life, maybe I should write a book about it" books and the other half tend to be so full of egotistical drivel that I have to put the book down for a couple of days after each chapter just to make it through the book.

This book is well written, thoughtful and thought provoking.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started the book, but I definitely wasn't expecting something so full of internal debates, questioning the right and wrong of everything, exploring morally grey areas, and feeling so human in the process. I really felt like I could appreciate this author and the decisions he made, even if I'm not 100% I agree with all of them.

Really, I was just blown away by this one. Highly recommended.

[Ellen Shachter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading this book I thought it was going to be a survey of all the newest research about the effect of marijuana on the brain. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't and I didn't walk away feeling like I better understood the drugs long term impact. However, it was a really engaging story about one mans life journey that propelled him toward a life and career dedicated both to the decriminalization of marijuana and the treatment of marijuana dependence. I especially liked the early portion of the book when the author describes his life after he was drafted into the Vietnam Nam War as a social worker. Definitely worth reading for anyone interested in the topic of marijuana. A really balanced and intelligent approach to the topic.

[Shireen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an honest, transparent and interesting story that escapes the rhetoric of either side and helps the reader see the obvious flaws in both our draconian laws regarding marijuana possession/use as well the pitfalls of legalization. Like the author, I also weigh in on the side of legalization, knowing full well as he so thoughtfully reminds us, that marijuana is not entirely harmless. "Marijuana Nation" really is a must read if you are at all interested in understanding the finer points of a drug steeped in mythology.

[Curt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and interesting. I would have liked to seen more on his experience in Viet Nam even though I realize it is not the focus of his book. The trial was pretty much the way military trials go, the jury is composed of career men who don't want to rock the boat, very little chance of leniency. Guilt is generally assumed once charged.

[Vicki Curtis]

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[Dorothy Soest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read! A compelling memoir plus valuable information about marijuana policy. Two for one!