How earnest hippies, frightened parents, suffering patients, and other ordinary Americans went to war over marijuana
In the last five years, eight states have legalized recreational marijuana. To many, continued progress seems certain. But pot was on a similar trajectory forty years ago, only to encounter a fierce backlash. InGrass Roots, historian Emily Dufton tells the remarkable story of marijuana's crooked path from acceptance to demonization and back again, and of the thousands of grassroots activists who made changing marijuana laws their life's work.
During the 1970s, pro-pot campaigners with roots in the counterculture secured the drug's decriminalization in a dozen states. Soon, though, concerned parents began to mobilize; finding a champion in Nancy Reagan, they transformed pot into a national scourge and helped to pave the way for an aggressive war on drugs. Chastened marijuana advocates retooled their message, promoting pot as a medical necessity and eventually declaring legalization a matter of racial justice. For the moment, these activists are succeeding--but marijuana's history suggests how swiftly another counterrevolution could unfold.
Emily Duftonholds a PhD in American Studies from George Washington University. She lives outside of Washington, DC.
Grass Rootsis worth the time for anyone interested in the evolution of American drug laws. It's organized effectively, the writing is clear and crisp, and you can read it all in maybe two long flights, assuming your head is clear.
Wall Street Journal [An] even-handed chronicle... As
Grass Rootsexpertly shows, the dialectical struggle over this most politically charged of products is far from over. We can put that in our pipes and smoke it.
Portland Oregonian Americans may now walk by medical marijuana dispensaries on their streets and encounter full legalãÆ
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