Weed Rules: Blazing the Way to a Just and Joyful Marijuana Policy

by Jay Wexler

With full legalization seeming inevitable, it's time to shift the conversation—from whether recreational cannabis should be legalized to how .
 
Weed Rules argues that it's time for states to abandon their "grudging tolerance" approach to legal weed and to embrace "careful exuberance." In this thorough and witty book, law professor Jay Wexler invites policy makers to responsibly embrace the enormous benefits of cannabis, including the joy and euphoria it brings to those who use it.
 
The "grudging tolerance" approach has led to restrictions that are too strict in some cases—limiting how and where cannabis can be used, cultivated, marketed, and sold—and far too loose in others, allowing employers and police to discriminate against users. This book shows how focusing on joy and community can lead us to an equitable marijuana policy in which minority communities, most harmed by the war on drugs, play a leading role in the industry. Centering pleasure and fun as legitimate policy goals, Weed Rules puts forth specific policies to advocate for a more just, sensible, and joyous post-legalization society.

287 pages, Hardcover

Published April 18, 2023

About the author

Jay Wexler has taught at the Boston University School of Law since 2001. He studied religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School and law at Stanford, and worked as a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He has published numerous academic articles, essays, and reviews, as well as over three dozen short stories and humor pieces in outlets such as The Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Mental Floss, the New Yorker, Newsweek, Salon, Slate, Spy, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Wexler lives in Boston.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned so much from this book! It provides a comprehensive overview of marijuana law in the U.S., including the history of our laws on marijuana, which is quite startling, and the current status, as well as providing healthy recommendations for regulations and laws going forward. The book provides a great deal of information, synthesized in a clear and comprehensible manner, with the wit and knowledge of a constitutional law and marijuana expert who clearly has a great sense of humor and perspective. A must read for those who want to be “in the know” regarding issues pertaining to the legalization of marijuana.

[Arya Oveissi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really insightful book. Wexler shares his thoughts surronding cannabis policy at both a federal and state level. Wexler also highlights the inherent racism and wealth class disparity issues that surround legalization. I found his writing to be fair and informative. This was a good look into the pros and cons of legalization.