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Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America
The legalization of marijuana is the next great reversal of history. Perhaps the most demonized substance in America, scientifically known as Cannabis sativa , simply a very fast growing herb, thrived underground as the nation's most popular illegal drug.
Now the tide has In 1996 California passed the nation's first medical marijuana law, which allowed patients to grow it and use it with a doctor's permission. By 2010, twenty states and the District of Columbia had adopted medical pot laws. In 2012 Colorado and Washington state passed ballot measures legalizing marijuana for adults age 21 and older.
The magnitude of the change in America's relationship to marijuana can't be measured in only economic or social There are deeper shifts going on here - cultural realignments, social adjustments, and financial adjustments. The place of marijuana in our lives is being rethought, reconsidered, and recalibrated. Four decades after Richard Nixon declared a War on Drugs, that long campaign has reached a point of exhaustion and failure. The era of its winding down as arrived.
Weed the People will take readers a half-step into the future. The issues surrounding the legalization of pot vary from the trivial to the profound. There are new questions of social Is one expected to offer a neighborly toke? If so, how? Is it cool to bring cannabis to a Super Bowl party? Yea or nay on the zoning permit for a marijuana shop two doors down from the Safeway? Plus, there are the inevitable conversations between parents and children over exactly what this adult experiment with marijuana means for them.
Now the tide has In 1996 California passed the nation's first medical marijuana law, which allowed patients to grow it and use it with a doctor's permission. By 2010, twenty states and the District of Columbia had adopted medical pot laws. In 2012 Colorado and Washington state passed ballot measures legalizing marijuana for adults age 21 and older.
The magnitude of the change in America's relationship to marijuana can't be measured in only economic or social There are deeper shifts going on here - cultural realignments, social adjustments, and financial adjustments. The place of marijuana in our lives is being rethought, reconsidered, and recalibrated. Four decades after Richard Nixon declared a War on Drugs, that long campaign has reached a point of exhaustion and failure. The era of its winding down as arrived.
Weed the People will take readers a half-step into the future. The issues surrounding the legalization of pot vary from the trivial to the profound. There are new questions of social Is one expected to offer a neighborly toke? If so, how? Is it cool to bring cannabis to a Super Bowl party? Yea or nay on the zoning permit for a marijuana shop two doors down from the Safeway? Plus, there are the inevitable conversations between parents and children over exactly what this adult experiment with marijuana means for them.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2015
45 people are currently reading
605 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Barcott
10 books14 followersBruce Barcott is an American editor, environmental journalist and author. He is a contributing editor of Outside and has written articles for The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Mother Jones, Sports Illustrated, Harper's Magazine, Legal Affairs, Utne Reader and others. He has also written a number of books including, The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier (1997) and The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird (2008). In 2009 he was named a Guggenheim Fellow in nonfiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
December 18, 2015
In 2012, voters in Colorado and the author's home state of Washington voted to legalize marijuana. One of the main reasons Barcott voted for the initiative was racial profiling-- a huge number of black men were being jailed for long prison terms for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Even though similar numbers of black and white men use marijuana, law enforcement officers were arresting many more black offenders. Not only is this a heartbreaking loss of years of a person's life, but it is also a huge expense to imprison people that pose no risk to society.
Medical marijuana for patients with cancer, AIDS, seizures, PTSD, and other maladies is also important. Unfortunately, the government allows very little research on marijuana. There is only one strain of federal authorized marijuana that can be used for research purposes, a low dose variety grown at the University of Mississippi. The government should be promoting medical research of both high THC strains (the psychoactive ingredient which gives a high) and the high CBD strains (which reduce inflammation and anxiety) so people and their doctors can make educated choices. It should also be evaluated since it is now classified as a Schedule 1 drug (along with addictive, dangerous drugs like heroin and morphine). I am not a pot smoker, but the subject interests me after working in healthcare for many years.
Barcott discussed how the teenage brain is still refining the neural pathways. There is a higher incidence of schizophrenia in young people who smoke dope, although genetic predispositon plays a large role. Marijuana use seems to be safer after age 25, but people with diagnosed schizophrenia should not use it at all.
Barcott also interviewed pot growers, sellers, and marketing people. Setting up a legal marijuana shop required quite a bit of startup money, as well as luck in a lottery. Even people that voted for legalization often did not want a shop in their neighborhood, and some towns changed zoning regulations. Safety is also a concern, especially in edibles, since it may take an hour for the THC to reach the bloodstream, and an inexperienced person may have ingested a large dose. With smoking or vaporized use, a person gets feedback right away so they are less likely to have a bad trip.
Another concern is that United States federal law still outlaws marijuana use, even though state law legalizes it in several states and permits medical marijuana use in some additional states. Federal law overrides the state law. We now have a liberal President who is choosing not to enforce federal law in those states to see if this experiment in legalization works. But we don't know what the next election will bring.
This was an interesting, well-researched book. It did bounce around a bit from subject to subject--legal, medical, historical, and entrepreneurial. But that is the reality of marijuana legalization where things are being tried for the first time, and fine-tuning of the process will come later.
Medical marijuana for patients with cancer, AIDS, seizures, PTSD, and other maladies is also important. Unfortunately, the government allows very little research on marijuana. There is only one strain of federal authorized marijuana that can be used for research purposes, a low dose variety grown at the University of Mississippi. The government should be promoting medical research of both high THC strains (the psychoactive ingredient which gives a high) and the high CBD strains (which reduce inflammation and anxiety) so people and their doctors can make educated choices. It should also be evaluated since it is now classified as a Schedule 1 drug (along with addictive, dangerous drugs like heroin and morphine). I am not a pot smoker, but the subject interests me after working in healthcare for many years.
Barcott discussed how the teenage brain is still refining the neural pathways. There is a higher incidence of schizophrenia in young people who smoke dope, although genetic predispositon plays a large role. Marijuana use seems to be safer after age 25, but people with diagnosed schizophrenia should not use it at all.
Barcott also interviewed pot growers, sellers, and marketing people. Setting up a legal marijuana shop required quite a bit of startup money, as well as luck in a lottery. Even people that voted for legalization often did not want a shop in their neighborhood, and some towns changed zoning regulations. Safety is also a concern, especially in edibles, since it may take an hour for the THC to reach the bloodstream, and an inexperienced person may have ingested a large dose. With smoking or vaporized use, a person gets feedback right away so they are less likely to have a bad trip.
Another concern is that United States federal law still outlaws marijuana use, even though state law legalizes it in several states and permits medical marijuana use in some additional states. Federal law overrides the state law. We now have a liberal President who is choosing not to enforce federal law in those states to see if this experiment in legalization works. But we don't know what the next election will bring.
This was an interesting, well-researched book. It did bounce around a bit from subject to subject--legal, medical, historical, and entrepreneurial. But that is the reality of marijuana legalization where things are being tried for the first time, and fine-tuning of the process will come later.
May 23, 2020
Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America by Bruce Barcott (Time Books 2015) (362.295). Marijuana has, according to the scribes and pundits, been America's favorite illegal drug for many decades, but it has also been its most heavily vilified intoxicant as a matter of policy. A major reversal began in 1996 when California approved the nation's first medical marijuana law, which allowed patients to grow it and use it with a doctor's recommendation. By 2010, twenty states and the District of Columbia had passed medical marijuana laws. In 2012, Colorado and Washington passed laws legalizing marijuana for adults over the age of twenty-one. Author Bruce Barcott argues that the long war against drugs is now out of steam, has been a failure, and is now winding down. This is a most insightful and enlightening volume and helps the reader come to terms with the insanity of the cannabis laws in the twentieth century. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 10/16/15.
August 11, 2015
I am so intrigued by this book. There was so much information that was new and exciting to me, and some information infuriated me. Whatever your stance on weed, you should read this book. You should definitely read this book if you are against legalizing marijuana. There is so much research and science that proves that it is not a dangerous drug, yet so many people of power portrayed it as a schedule 1 drug that would lead to heroin and cocaine. Instead of accepting what the government and anti-marijuana moguls are saying, read this book, get educated, and make a difference in the future of America, where marijuana can become legal and help thousands of people with diseases that modern medicine cannot cure.
I highly recommend this book! Enjoy!
I highly recommend this book! Enjoy!
June 1, 2015
At first I thought I wouldn't get this book. But seeing as I know nothing about marijuana and it's all the rage in Colorado and Washington it was really interesting to learn some things about it. The most interesting part to me was how banned it is in some states and how you can get incarcerated for years because of it. But I didn't really know how helpful it can be to some people and I thought even I could benefit from it (not that I would though because it's illegal in pa). I'd heard some about the industry and how big it could be, but didn't know that there were so many different kinds of it. I wonder if it'll ever be legal in all the states or at least half of them?
March 13, 2021
This is a interesting book that, in my opinion, outlined a very fair and balanced look at the politics, negotiations and history of the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington state. The author himself, got himself a medical marijuana card and did actually use the cannabinoids in both the THC and CBD varieties. This is a very accessible book -- the author does touch to some degree on the neurobiology of the brain, the receptor biochemistry and how the various substances work. The legalization of marijuana, though, seems less about the substance itself and more about the systemic racial biases that the criminalized laws perpetuate.
June 16, 2015
Well written and well documented, this novel traces the turbulent history of legal recreational marijuana use in Colorado, and Washington states. Definitely pro-pot. I was surprised to find the link between early pot use and early on-set schizophrenia. That really gave me something to think about.
June 8, 2015
A very good read, covering a number of angles regarding the topic of legal marijuana. I especially liked the author's open honest conversation concerning his own personal journey in opinion with the subject.
April 11, 2015
Like it or not, the era of legalized weed is upon us. Four states and DC have passed recreational marijuana laws by popular referendum, while medical marijuana is legal in so many states, I can't find an accurate up-to-date count. Some people like this, some hate it, and I still struggle. Regardless of your position, though, the changing climate is real. Seattle-area journalist Bruce Barcott decided the time was right to investigate what that means.
Barcott admits initially having dim opinions about legalized marijuana. Despite college experimentation, his opinion of pot, and pot smokers, was largely based on ONDCP leaflets, DARE seminars, and Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No." Then Washington Initiative 502 crossed his electoral view. Unlike Colorado's "pot is safer than liquor" bill, Washington's referendum turned on issues of justice. Ham-handed enforcement of federal and state drug laws unfairly targeted Hispanics, African Americans, and white trash, with Orwellian consequences.
Like many fair-minded citizens before him, Barcott realized he didn't know enough. Not just enough facts, but enough people. He confesses thinking medical marijuana was for "just late-stage cancer patients or pain-faking stoners." When he actually met the well-scrubbed lawyers pushing Initiative 502, the nerdy entrepreneurs spearheading commercial pot, or the remarkably ordinary people using--professional dancers with aching joints, AIDS sufferers, decorated soldiers with PTSD nightmares--he found a very different, more nuanced story.
It wouldn't be unfair to compare Barcott's narrative to Homer's Odyssey. We could compare his discovery of cannabis creams (that don't induce highs) for his aching joints to Circe's island, or Colorado's Cannabis Cup 2014 to the Lotus Eaters. But more than metaphors, what matters is that Barcott traveled a world that, amid changing laws and ethics, is hardly recognizable, even to anyone who visited Denver just five years ago. The people drive Barcott's journey.
People like Tripp Keber, a Colorado entrepreneur who hopes to become America's first marijuana billionaire. Unable, by Federal law, to store pot proceeds in chartered banks, he instead invests his profits in increasingly sophisticated marketable products. His intricate plans, forward thought, and technological savvy make pot-peddling almost respectable. Tripp's transition from buying sketchy weed beneath sketchy kitchen tables, to spearheading massive marijuana trade shows, forms a thread weaving throughout the Colorado leg of Barcott's journey.
People like Dennis Peron, Barcott's most memorable interview, despite only featuring in one chapter. Back in 1990, Peron's partner, like many Castro District homosexuals, required intensive AIDS drugs that caused vomiting, making keeping the drugs down impossible. Smoking weed bypassed the spewing, but procuring weed landed Peron in jail, so his allies managed to pass America's first medical marijuana referendum. Thus today's two great upheavals, same-sex marriage and legalized pot, emerged from the same chrysalis.
People like Kevin Sabet, a leading voice defending status quo drug enforcement and advocating tough marijuana interventions. His lucrative nationwide speaking tours have made him legendary in anti-drug circles. Yet Barcott describes him lecturing a roomful of Seattle drug cops, who roll their eyes as Sabet rehashes anti-drug propaganda decades out of date. As Barcott writes: "When confronted with new evidence that challenged the beliefs of those in power, those in power dismissed the evidence."
This book overlaps with Johann Hari's Chasing the Scream. They draw similar conclusions that most current anti-drug rhetoric is driven more by moral umbrage than scientific facts. They both pin responsibility for this hysteria first on founding drug enforcer Harry J. Anslinger, then on successor politicians scared of being called "soft." They agree that current knowledge, coupled with changing social attitudes, means the time has come to change America's approach to drugs, and drug patients.
But these books aren't essentially interchangeable. Hari addresses the entire global Drug War, from Anslinger to today; Barcott focuses on America, pot, and mainly the present. Hari is synoptic; Barcott is specific. Hari strives, sometimes unsuccessfully, to maintain journalistic dispassion; Barcott jumps into the story, samples the product, and, Boswell-like, helps create the story by asking dangerous questions. Hari and Barcott aren't doing the same thing. Read both together to better understand the entire controversy.
Society's changing drug standards are real, happening right now. History stands still for nobody. And whether you advocate more and broader legalization, or prefer strengthening today's drug laws and enforcing them rigorously, you need serious facts. Anybody who's smoked a doobie, seen they didn't turn maniacal, and thereafter stopped trusting propaganda, knows why the debate is turning. Rather than political camouflage, we need factual transparency. This debate will happen, and we mustn't get left behind.
Barcott admits initially having dim opinions about legalized marijuana. Despite college experimentation, his opinion of pot, and pot smokers, was largely based on ONDCP leaflets, DARE seminars, and Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No." Then Washington Initiative 502 crossed his electoral view. Unlike Colorado's "pot is safer than liquor" bill, Washington's referendum turned on issues of justice. Ham-handed enforcement of federal and state drug laws unfairly targeted Hispanics, African Americans, and white trash, with Orwellian consequences.
Like many fair-minded citizens before him, Barcott realized he didn't know enough. Not just enough facts, but enough people. He confesses thinking medical marijuana was for "just late-stage cancer patients or pain-faking stoners." When he actually met the well-scrubbed lawyers pushing Initiative 502, the nerdy entrepreneurs spearheading commercial pot, or the remarkably ordinary people using--professional dancers with aching joints, AIDS sufferers, decorated soldiers with PTSD nightmares--he found a very different, more nuanced story.
It wouldn't be unfair to compare Barcott's narrative to Homer's Odyssey. We could compare his discovery of cannabis creams (that don't induce highs) for his aching joints to Circe's island, or Colorado's Cannabis Cup 2014 to the Lotus Eaters. But more than metaphors, what matters is that Barcott traveled a world that, amid changing laws and ethics, is hardly recognizable, even to anyone who visited Denver just five years ago. The people drive Barcott's journey.
People like Tripp Keber, a Colorado entrepreneur who hopes to become America's first marijuana billionaire. Unable, by Federal law, to store pot proceeds in chartered banks, he instead invests his profits in increasingly sophisticated marketable products. His intricate plans, forward thought, and technological savvy make pot-peddling almost respectable. Tripp's transition from buying sketchy weed beneath sketchy kitchen tables, to spearheading massive marijuana trade shows, forms a thread weaving throughout the Colorado leg of Barcott's journey.
People like Dennis Peron, Barcott's most memorable interview, despite only featuring in one chapter. Back in 1990, Peron's partner, like many Castro District homosexuals, required intensive AIDS drugs that caused vomiting, making keeping the drugs down impossible. Smoking weed bypassed the spewing, but procuring weed landed Peron in jail, so his allies managed to pass America's first medical marijuana referendum. Thus today's two great upheavals, same-sex marriage and legalized pot, emerged from the same chrysalis.
People like Kevin Sabet, a leading voice defending status quo drug enforcement and advocating tough marijuana interventions. His lucrative nationwide speaking tours have made him legendary in anti-drug circles. Yet Barcott describes him lecturing a roomful of Seattle drug cops, who roll their eyes as Sabet rehashes anti-drug propaganda decades out of date. As Barcott writes: "When confronted with new evidence that challenged the beliefs of those in power, those in power dismissed the evidence."
This book overlaps with Johann Hari's Chasing the Scream. They draw similar conclusions that most current anti-drug rhetoric is driven more by moral umbrage than scientific facts. They both pin responsibility for this hysteria first on founding drug enforcer Harry J. Anslinger, then on successor politicians scared of being called "soft." They agree that current knowledge, coupled with changing social attitudes, means the time has come to change America's approach to drugs, and drug patients.
But these books aren't essentially interchangeable. Hari addresses the entire global Drug War, from Anslinger to today; Barcott focuses on America, pot, and mainly the present. Hari is synoptic; Barcott is specific. Hari strives, sometimes unsuccessfully, to maintain journalistic dispassion; Barcott jumps into the story, samples the product, and, Boswell-like, helps create the story by asking dangerous questions. Hari and Barcott aren't doing the same thing. Read both together to better understand the entire controversy.
Society's changing drug standards are real, happening right now. History stands still for nobody. And whether you advocate more and broader legalization, or prefer strengthening today's drug laws and enforcing them rigorously, you need serious facts. Anybody who's smoked a doobie, seen they didn't turn maniacal, and thereafter stopped trusting propaganda, knows why the debate is turning. Rather than political camouflage, we need factual transparency. This debate will happen, and we mustn't get left behind.
February 12, 2017
I really enjoyed that this book mixed anecdotes, interviews, history, fact, fiction, science, data, etc. into an easy to read and informative book about something that many people use, yet is still considered extremely taboo in the United States (and most countries). Sometimes the author tried too hard to seem hip, cool, youthful (insert other cliche adjectives) but what do you expect from a middle-aged white man, and to be fair, even the author acknowledges that. There are so many interesting chapters in this book, but the ones that stood out to me were the relationship between marijuana and incarceration of people of color, the relationship between the gay community and marijuana, how marijuana found itself to be the United States' public enemy number 1, and how the author spoke to his children about marijuana. Sure, a more open-minded person is more likely to pick up this book, but I think, even if you're skeptical, you should pick it up.
November 9, 2015
Barcott did a great job laying out pros, cons, myths and medial use and how each came about. It gave me insight how THC and cannabinoids work. I learned so much from this book.
It is an interesting and enlightening history of cannabis. I was surprised at how "the shaming and stigmatization of pot users has gone hand and hand with draconian sentencing laws and mass incarceration." I had no idea about the civil rights and criminal justice issues associated with marijuana.
Federal studies over the years, starting in the 1950s, have in a nutshell, found pot smokers "generally are mildly intoxicated, giggle, laugh, bother no one and have a good time." What's so bad about that? Pot is a drug, but so is caffeine, tobacco and alcohol and they aren't as stigmatized and in some cases (alcohol) is significantly more deadly.
If you are at all interested in legalization or keeping the drug illegal, I highly recommend Weed the People no matter which side of the pipe you're on.
It is an interesting and enlightening history of cannabis. I was surprised at how "the shaming and stigmatization of pot users has gone hand and hand with draconian sentencing laws and mass incarceration." I had no idea about the civil rights and criminal justice issues associated with marijuana.
Federal studies over the years, starting in the 1950s, have in a nutshell, found pot smokers "generally are mildly intoxicated, giggle, laugh, bother no one and have a good time." What's so bad about that? Pot is a drug, but so is caffeine, tobacco and alcohol and they aren't as stigmatized and in some cases (alcohol) is significantly more deadly.
If you are at all interested in legalization or keeping the drug illegal, I highly recommend Weed the People no matter which side of the pipe you're on.
June 14, 2015
Interesting read. Barcott discussed the current marijuana situations in Colorado and Washington as well as the criminalization history in the U.S. Author was largely biased in favor of marijuana legalization throughout all of U.S., but I still couldn't help but wonder why it has taken so long... Learned all sorts of things I had never heard of...dabbing, budtenders, the variety of edibles... I also wasn't aware of all of the non-hallucinogenic parts of the marijuana plant and the medical benefits. Anyway, glad to have read! Especially as CO and WA are serving as models for what may eventually take place in Ohio.
May 22, 2015
This is an honest and illuminating account of the drug war against marijuana and its reversal, as witnessed by the legalization of the substance in Colorado and Washington. "Weed The People" is a groundrbeaking work, as the movement to legalize weed will expand to other states; and may soon lead to a change in the way the Federal Government classifies marijuana, if not an actual legalization. The author is not an advocate, but he does look at the civil liberties issues involved. NY Times review
July 6, 2015
Perfect timing! Effective July 1, 2015, possession of marijuana became legal in OREGON. Bruce Barcott has written an illuminating book of marijuana's history, the present-- especially how things are rolling in Colorado and Washington with one year of legality, and trends for the future. So far Oregon has passed the most lenient law allowing people to grow up to four plants, be in possession of eight ounces in home or one ounce outside. The "black market" is shaking with fury, so we'll see how long things go well. A really well-written, interesting book!
August 7, 2015
I was so fascinated with the idea of something going from felony class crime to legal consumable in less than a decade. I mean, how is something like this managed? It is a surreal shift and the story of cannabis is as wacky and interesting as it gets. It's nose snortingly funny, and at other times stupidly tragic. Regardless of your opinion, legalization is more about societal change, social justice, entrepreneurship and the scientific method finally getting a chance to test this powerful substance for what it is and can do.
May 7, 2015
Fine un-hysteric treatment of this comparatively innocent plant so long unfairly demonized by the U.S. government...!
June 24, 2015
Very informative and looks closely at the pros and cons. Colorado seems like Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory to this old hippie.
July 13, 2019
“Weed the People” doesn’t just take the reader a half-step into the future; it takes them on a tour of marijuana legalization, both past and present. Barcott introduces the reader to pot-policy in the 36 paged chapter three, “How We Got Here,” which covers the history of use, the emergence of prohibition as well as its inevitable downfall.
From then on, Barcott details his personal journey with medical marijuana in his home state, Wash, and his trek through recreational cannabis in Colo and Wash.
The author doesn’t leave a single leaf unturned in his fact-driven, passionate documentation of marijuana reform. Throughout the book, Barcott diligently gathers arguments from both sides of the aisle, including the perspectives of cannabis activists, advocates and investors; those who have been the victim of marijuana injustice; medical professionals; and those who’re still adamantly against post.
For as factual and informative as “Weed the People” is, Barcott’s candid and often humorous perspective makes the book a delightfully riveting read.
I highly recommend everyone give “Weed the People” a read. Whether you’re in supportive of legal cannabis or not, this book is an eye opener and a very satisfying read.
Not to mention, Barcott is a clever and incredibly talented writer. Subject aside, the author will charm his way into your heart.
Overall? I give “Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America” five out of five pot leaves.
Full review: click here
From then on, Barcott details his personal journey with medical marijuana in his home state, Wash, and his trek through recreational cannabis in Colo and Wash.
The author doesn’t leave a single leaf unturned in his fact-driven, passionate documentation of marijuana reform. Throughout the book, Barcott diligently gathers arguments from both sides of the aisle, including the perspectives of cannabis activists, advocates and investors; those who have been the victim of marijuana injustice; medical professionals; and those who’re still adamantly against post.
For as factual and informative as “Weed the People” is, Barcott’s candid and often humorous perspective makes the book a delightfully riveting read.
I highly recommend everyone give “Weed the People” a read. Whether you’re in supportive of legal cannabis or not, this book is an eye opener and a very satisfying read.
Not to mention, Barcott is a clever and incredibly talented writer. Subject aside, the author will charm his way into your heart.
Overall? I give “Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America” five out of five pot leaves.
Full review: click here
October 14, 2019
4.5 stars
I greatly enjoyed this book. The author has read most of the books I've read about the war on drugs and a few of the books I've read about cannabis and health. His section on the history and effects of drug prohibition was brief, but thorough.
A majority of the book was speaking from the author's personal experience of being present when cannabis was legalized in Colorado and Washington State. The author interviewed a great many people involved in the (both illegal and legal) pot industry and even traveled to Louisiana to look into how draconian drug laws affect people compared to the laws in more lenient/accepting areas.
I was pleasantly surprised to find an entire chapter devoted to the small Seattle-area island where I grew up (Bainbridge Island). Apparently the author lives there, which was pretty neat! I know exactly where the locations he discussed are and his description of the attitudes on-island was spot-on with my experiences as well.
I hadn't previously known how the AIDS crisis in SF affected the progress of Proposition 215 in CA, so I enjoyed learning about that.
All in all this was a very informative book about the early days of cannabis legalization and anyone coming to the book with less historical knowledge than I had going into it will be well-briefed on the relevant history at the beginning.
My only real complaint is that it's not footnoted, but I also realize it's not trying to be THAT sort of a book so that's why I rounded up to 5 stars from 4.5.
I greatly enjoyed this book. The author has read most of the books I've read about the war on drugs and a few of the books I've read about cannabis and health. His section on the history and effects of drug prohibition was brief, but thorough.
A majority of the book was speaking from the author's personal experience of being present when cannabis was legalized in Colorado and Washington State. The author interviewed a great many people involved in the (both illegal and legal) pot industry and even traveled to Louisiana to look into how draconian drug laws affect people compared to the laws in more lenient/accepting areas.
I was pleasantly surprised to find an entire chapter devoted to the small Seattle-area island where I grew up (Bainbridge Island). Apparently the author lives there, which was pretty neat! I know exactly where the locations he discussed are and his description of the attitudes on-island was spot-on with my experiences as well.
I hadn't previously known how the AIDS crisis in SF affected the progress of Proposition 215 in CA, so I enjoyed learning about that.
All in all this was a very informative book about the early days of cannabis legalization and anyone coming to the book with less historical knowledge than I had going into it will be well-briefed on the relevant history at the beginning.
My only real complaint is that it's not footnoted, but I also realize it's not trying to be THAT sort of a book so that's why I rounded up to 5 stars from 4.5.
July 2, 2021
As someone who is beginning to form their opinion about Marijuana as a legal drug this book was extremely helpful. I was able to insert myself in the position of the author as he works through his questions and does a lot of research (historical and eye-witness).
Barcott is a self-proclaimed square with a negative opinion of marijuana at the onset of the book that changes. At the end he is still a square but has a much more profound appreciation and understanding of marijuana as a drug of the industry surrounding the substance.
If you want to learn more about this intoxicating topic this is a great place to start. Highly recommend!
Barcott is a self-proclaimed square with a negative opinion of marijuana at the onset of the book that changes. At the end he is still a square but has a much more profound appreciation and understanding of marijuana as a drug of the industry surrounding the substance.
If you want to learn more about this intoxicating topic this is a great place to start. Highly recommend!
January 25, 2018
This really kept me engaged and I didn't find it boring. I feel Bruce Barcott did a superb job discussing both sides of the Marijuana conversation (i.e. pro vs. anti). My takeaway-pot is a drug (just like alcohol) and it's o.k. (in moderation). It's not a gateway drug (alcohol takes that one), there are medicinal benefits (but the government smothers the ability to research advantages of Marijuana use), and there are no reported overdoses from smoking pot!
Before you totally shun Marijuana and its users, educate yourself and read this book.
Before you totally shun Marijuana and its users, educate yourself and read this book.
June 10, 2020
A great book with historic detail and great storytelling that adds to the build up how marijuana has gotten to the place it has up until 2020.
I appreciate Bruce’s vivid personal detail when telling stories because it gives you a true scope into what it was like living through the evolution of marijuana being criminalized, regulated, taxed, and then legalized in many places.
I would have loved more chapters like chapter 13, as it talks about drugs affect on the chemicals in the mind. I’m intrigued by neuroscience, neurology, and such.
I appreciate Bruce’s vivid personal detail when telling stories because it gives you a true scope into what it was like living through the evolution of marijuana being criminalized, regulated, taxed, and then legalized in many places.
I would have loved more chapters like chapter 13, as it talks about drugs affect on the chemicals in the mind. I’m intrigued by neuroscience, neurology, and such.
April 3, 2022
Coincidentally, I read this at the same time as one of Mary Roach's delightfully researched and written nonfiction books. This book has some similarities in that it is thorough and contains humorous asides. But unlike Roach, this author is clearly taking a side. If you are undecided about marijuana legalization, this book is likely to decide you. If you have never really researched marijuana, this book will educate you. And if you hate marijuana, you may still find the cautionary chapters appealing. An important read, in other words.
April 8, 2023
Great thorough history of the legalization movement and cannabis industry. Crazy to see what is happening nationwide. It was astounding to read about the criminalization of weed and the sheer number of arrests that are made. From recent attempts at reducing sentencing in our state, I know the bias is real and the reluctance to decriminalize is alive and well. There is a lack of knowledge surrounding cannabis, it is incredible to read about the pioneers paving the way for more comprehensive use.
November 18, 2017
Went through the history of marihuana (original spelling) criminalization and cover-up by US government on the harmless effects of it vs gateway drug etc. Looked at the Colorado and Washington states and outcomes there. Plus the journalists own feeling about the drug. No mention of CA. Good read overall.
May 3, 2020
Really informative read about the way pot came out of the '60's stoner stereotypes and into the scientific and medical world and so far beyond! Truly recommend this non biased history and the speculations for the future.
September 9, 2017
Fantastic.
September 15, 2017
Good, quick read. Some historical and political context. Definitely pro, but does present some drawbacks too.
February 4, 2018
I feel so much more informed. A good, balanced read that is essential if you are wondering what legalization means for your community or country.
February 10, 2018
This book opened my eyes to the world of cannabis and started me down a path of discovery
July 8, 2020
I grabbed this at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. I was impressed with Bruce’s background and I am interested in the topic. It was very well written and a quick educated read.
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