Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana—Medical, Recreational, and Scientific

?Smoke Signals is an important, serious-minded look at the role cannabis has played in American history. He tackles the hard issues of marijuana prohibition with keen insight and righteous indignation. I agree with Lee?s central premise that our marijuana laws are draconian. Every American should read this landmark book!? -- Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History at Rice University and author of Cronkite & American Moonshot.

This is the great American pot story, a dramatic social exploration of a plant that sits at the nexus of political, legal, medical, and scientific discourse. From its ancient origins, to its cutting-edge therapeutic benefits, to its role in a culture war that has never ceased, marijuana has evolved beyond its own illicit subculture into a dynamic, multibillion-dollar industry. Since 1996, when California voters approved Proposition 215, dozens of state and local governments across the country have circumvented federal authority to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Mining the plant?s rich botanical properties, medical researchers are now develop?ing promising marijuana-based treatments for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer?s, diabetes, chronic pain, and many other conditions. Martin Lee, an award-winning investigative journalist, examines this complex landscape where legal ambiguity meets scientific breakthrough in a panoramic, character-driven saga.

An American Cannabis Classic---signed by the author.

Item Weight : 15 ounces
Paperback : 528 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1439102619
Product Dimensions : 5.5 x 1.3 x 8.38 inches
Publisher : Scribner; 7/14/13 Edition (August 13, 2013)
Language: : English