Legalizing Marijuana: Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics

by Gerber, Rudolph J.

• ISBN13: 9780275974480
• ISBN10: 0275974480
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-06-01
• Publisher: PRAEGER AGENCY ACCOUNT

Summary

This book is a frontal assault on the federal government's almost century-long campaign against marijuana in all its forms--cultivation, growing, selling, and recreational and medicinal use. Beginning with the anti-pot campaign of the first unofficial drug czar, Harry Anslinger, in the 1930s and continuing wiht only minor differences in emphasis through the recent Reagan, Clinton, and two Bush administrations, federal efforts to stamp out every form of marijuana use involve ignoring the independent reports of numerous federal commissions; supporting provably false claims about marijuana's effects; acquiescing to conservative law enforcement and religious groups' condemnatory agendas; generating a climate of fear in the electorate in order to cultivate messianic images for politicians; and ultimately governing in a way that does a disservice to all involved.

Author Biography

Rudolph J. Gerber is a retired appellate judge who served on the Arizona Court of Appeals until 2001 and he is also on the faculty of the School of Justice Studies at Arizona State University.

Table of Contents

Foreword by John Sperling	ix
Introduction	xv
1 History of Demonizing Drugs	1	(16)
2 Presidential Pot Policies	17	(44)
3 Enforcement Practices	61	(16)
4 Health Effects	77	(14)
5 Seeds of the Medical Marijuana Movement	91	(14)
6 The People's Counterattack	105	(16)
7 The Medical-Legal Conflict	121	(14)
8 Conclusion: Lessons in Political Unscience	135	(20)
Notes	155	(18)
Bibliography	173	(10)
Index	183