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Mitch Earleywine,
«Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence»
Oxford University Press | ISBN: 0195138937 | 2002-08-15 | 344 pages
| CHM

Marijuana is the world’s most popular illicit drug, with hundreds of
millions of regular users worldwide. One in three Americans has
smoked pot at least once. The Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that
Americans smoke five million pounds of marijuana each year. And yet
marijuana remains largely misunderstood by both its advocates and
its detractors. To some, marijuana is an insidious “stepping-stone”
drug, enticing the inexperienced and paving the way to the
inevitable abuse of harder drugs. To others, medical marijuana is an
organic means of easing the discomfort or stimulating the appetite
of the gravely ill. Others still view marijuana, like alcohol, as a
largely harmless indulgence, dangerous only when used immoderately.
All sides of the debate have appropriated the scientific evidence on
marijuana to satisfy their claims. What then are we to make of these
conflicting portrayals of a drug with historical origins dating back
to 8,000 B.C.? Understanding Marijuana examines the biological,
psychological, and societal impact of this controversial substance.
What are the effects, for mind and body, of long-term use? Are
smokers of marijuana more likely than non-users to abuse cocaine and
heroine? What effect has the increasing potency of marijuana in
recent years had on users and on use? Does our current legal policy
toward marijuana make sense? Earleywine separates science from
opinion to show how marijuana defies easy dichotomies. Tracing the
medical and political debates surrounding marijuana in a balanced,
objective fashion, this book will be the definitive primer on our
most controversial and widely used illicit substance.