From Reefer Madness to legal purchase at the corner storeWith long-time legal and social barriers to marijuana falling across much of the United States, the time has come for an accessible and informative look at attitudes toward the dried byproduct of Cannabis sativa. Marijuana: A Short History profiles the politics and policies concerning the five-leaf plant in the United States and around the world.Millions of Americans have used marijuana at so...

Presidential earmarks? Perhaps even more so than their counterparts in Congress, presidents have the motive and the means to politicize spending for political power. But do they?In Presidential Pork, John Hudak explains and interprets presidential efforts to control federal spending and accumulate electoral rewards from that power.The projects that members of Congress secure for their constituents certainly attract attention. Political pundits still chuckle about the...

The uncertainty and inconsistency surrounding federal and state laws for medical marijuana use, distribution, and research is placing unnecessary obstacles in the way of suffering patients, their families, and the people trying to help them.In The Medical Marijuana Mess, senior fellow John Hudak illustrates the extreme dysfunction of medical marijuana policy through two different narratives: the Collins’, who make the painful choice to split up their family in order to tre...

This ebook is now available from Bloomsbury Academic. Bloomsbury Academic publish acclaimed resources for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as the general reader, across a broad range of subjects including Archaeology, Art & Visual Culture, Biblical Studies, Business & Management, Drama & Performance Studies, Economics, Education, Film & Media, History, Linguistics, Literary Studies, Music & Sound Studies, Philosophy, Politics & International Relations, Psychology, Religious ...

This "perceptive and concise" history chronicles humanity's relationship with the AIDS virus ( Publishers Weekly, starred review).From the Castro bathhouses to AZT and the denial of AIDS in South Africa, this sweeping look at AIDS covers the epidemic from all angles and across the world. Engel seamlessly weaves together science, politics, and culture, writing with an even hand—noting the excesses of the more radical edges of the ACT UP movement as well as t...

It is high time to think sanely about marijuana.Reefer Sanity offers a solution to the long-had debate about marijuana—one that steers clear of policy extremes, challenges assumptions, and shifts the emphasis to education, intervention, and common sense.A former Senior Advisor in President Obama's drug policy offer, Kevin Sabet conscientiously examines the socio-economic consequences and the intractable "myths" concerning marijuana that essentially p...

Pain touches sensitive nerves in American liberalism, conservatism, and political life.People in chronic pain have always sought relief—and have always been judged—but who decides whether someone is truly in pain? In this history of American political culture, Keith Wailoo examines how pain and compassionate relief define a line between society's liberal trends and conservative tendencies. Tracing the development of pain theories in politics, medicine, law, and soc...

Should we legalize marijuana? If we legalize, what in particular should be legal? Just possessing marijuana and growing your own? Selling and advertising? If selling becomes legal, who gets to sell? Corporations? Co-ops? The government? What regulations should apply? How high should taxes be? Different forms of legalization could bring very different results. This second edition of Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know® discusses what is happening with marijuana poli...

William J. Bennett, former director of the National Drug Control policy under President George H.W. Bush and bestselling author of The Book of Virtues, and co-author Robert White provide strong societal and scientific arguments against the legalization of marijuana.Marijuana, once considered worthy of condemnation, has in recent years become a "medicine," legalized fully in four states, with others expected to follow. But the dangers are clear. According to...

An unflinching analysis of one of the major issues of our time — the shift from criminalization to regulation of recreational drugs.The “war on drugs” has failed. The cost of trying to control the production, sale, and use of recreational drugs through the criminal law is too high: unjust incarceration, illicit markets, tainted substances, exploited children, and an untaxed industry.But there is an alternative.The watchwords for governments controll...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY“Succinct, humane, and politically astute . . . Sachs lays out a detailed path to reform, regulation, and recovery.”—The American ProspectIn this forceful and impassioned book, Jeffrey D. Sachs offers a searing and incisive diagnosis of our country’s economic ills, and an urgent call for Americans to r...

This concise guide to cannabis delves into pot culture and history, from Herodotus to the hippies and beyond. It also covers the essentials of using, cultivating, and cooking with weed; identifying pot varieties; and understanding legal and health issues. Handy and to the point, The Little Black Book of Marijuana gives you "the dope" on pot, from possible side effects and risks to medical uses and their efficacy. Learn about cannabis history and the issues around its legalization. Includes ...