The Politics of Medical Marijuana

by Alan W. Bock

'This is from the author, so take the stars with a grain of salt. The main story the book tells is of California's halting and inconsistent efforts to implement Prop. 215, the 1996 initiative that allows patients with a recommendation from a licensed physician to possess, use and cultivate cannabis or marijuana. Some local jurisdictions moved quickly to set up patient registration systems in cooperation with local medical marijuana activists, while other local DAs opposed the initiative so strongly that they brought prosecutions designed to show it couldn't possibly work. As an editorial writer and columnist for the Orange County Register for 20 years I followed the controversy from the inception, attending several trials and interviewing most of the principals, from two California Attorneys General to patients all over the state. Eventually I had too much information for newspaper articles so I wrote the book. It also includes chapters on the socio-political forces that led to the passage of 215, on the scientific evidence for therapeutic uses of cannabis, on the history of the medical marijuana movement from the 1970s, on initiatives in other states and disputes among activists, and on why opposition is so fierce. A chapter analyzes the federal scheduling system for controlled substances, another sets up the U.S. Supreme Court medical marijuana case (I attended the oral arguments March 28), and another features pioneers on the frontiers of medicinal marijuana.

Among those kind enough to provide endorsements for the book are John Stossel, Milton Friedman, former San Jose police chief Joe McNamara, Chapman University president James Doti, Dr. Tod Mikuriya of Berkeley, Cato Institute vice president David Boaz, etc.'

Paperback - 286 pages