After Legalization: Understanding the Future of Marijuana Policy

After Legalization: Understanding the Future of Marijuana Policy is a groundbreaking new book examining how legal marijuana will likely be treated in the United States 20 years from now.According to Gallup 58% of Americans support ending marijuana prohibition, and Colorado and Washington State have already passed historic ballot initiatives to tax and regulate pot. When it comes to marijuana in the United States, it is no longer a question of when, but how it will be legalized.After Legalization is a creative exploration of one likely future for legal marijuana that will give readers a sense of the coming battles, relevant players and political dynamics which will dominate the issue in the coming years.How will it happen, and what will America look like after legalization? What should be the age limit? Will we tightly restrict its sale to only a few specialty stores, or will it be allowed on the shelves at every shopping market in the country? Should we give individuals free rein to grow as much as they want, or will we limit production to a few licensed farms?If you care about the answers to these and other questions concerning the future of marijuana policy, this is a pivotal moment to join the conversation; the decisions made now will likely define the industry for decades to come. PRAISE FOR AFTER LEGALIZATION:GLENN GREENWALD, JOURNALIST: “Jon Walker has established himself as one of the most diligent, insightful and important young policy writers in America, and this new book cements that status. America is finally coming to terms with the stark irrationality and destructiveness of its criminal prohibitions on marijuana, rendering legalization inevitable. Walker’s hard-earned expertise is vital for understanding how this process can be accelerated and most effectively implemented. It’s a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in drug policy and reform.”RYAN GRIM, HUFFINGTON POST DC BUREAU CHIEF: “The history of American drug policy shows that it does not move in one direction only. At the turn of the century, drugs were legal before being prohibited, followed by liberalization in the ’70s, followed by the crackdown of the next several decades. Gains made today could be wiped out tomorrow, which is what gives Jon Walker’s remarkable book its unique importance.This is the clear-eyed look around the corner that is urgently needed.”

Jon Walker is a senior policy analyst for Firedoglake.com, where in 2009 he helped guide the progressive conversation on health care reform. In 2010, he helped launch FDL's Just Say Now campaign to support marijuana legalization efforts across the country. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University.