Green Rush: The Rise of Medical Marijuana in the United States [Hardcover]

A state-by-state analysis of the expansion of medical marijuana access in the United States

As of 2023, thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized the medical use of marijuana. Twenty-three have legalized recreational use, supporting what is now a flourishing multibillion-dollar industry. InGreen Rush, Daniel J. Mallinson and A. Lee Hannah offer a fascinating history of cannabis legalization in America, highlighting the people, states, and policies that made these victories possible.

With sharp insight, Mallinson and Hannah explore the backdrop to this sea change in policy, including shifts in public opinion, growing opposition to the War on Drugs, the promise of new revenue streams, and more. They examine the complex web of state actorsand the steps they tookto chart a path forward for marijuana legalization, from grassroots activists and interest groups to elected officials and other key policymakers.

Mallinson and Hannah show us how states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia not only created, legitimized, and spread medical marijuana policy but also learned from each others successes and failures throughout the process. As marijuana legalization increasingly finds its way onto state ballots,Green Rushoffers fresh insight into how we got here as a country and where we are goingone state at a time.

Daniel J. Mallinson (Author)
Daniel J. Mallinsonis Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration at Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg.

A. Lee Hannah (Author)
A. Lee Hannahis Professor of Political Science at Wright State University.

A detailed examination of how public policy is made ... with insightful research, Mallinson and Hannah unravel the patchwork of marijuana policy across the country. What explains the rapid shift in pro-cannabis public sentiment and state policy in a country that has spent billions of dollars on thlãÈ