Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence

Earleywine, Mitch

ISBN 10: 0195138937 / ISBN 13: 9780195138931

Published by Oxford University Press, 2002

About this Item

Gently used. May include previous owner's signature or bookplate on the front endpaper, sticker on back and/or remainder mark on text block.

Seller Inventory # 9780195138931-3

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195138937
• ISBN 13: 9780195138931
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: very good

About this title

Synopsis

Marijuana is the world's most popular illicit drug, with hundreds of millions of regular users worldwide. One in three Americans has smoked pot at least once. The Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that Americans smoke five million pounds of marijuana each year. And yet marijuana remains largely misunderstood by both its advocates and its detractors.
To some, marijuana is an insidious "stepping-stone" drug, enticing the inexperienced and paving the way to the inevitable abuse of harder drugs. To others, medical marijuana is an organic means of easing the discomfort or stimulating the appetite of the gravely ill. Others still view marijuana, like alcohol, as a largely harmless indulgence, dangerous only when used immoderately. All sides of the debate have appropriated the scientific evidence on marijuana to satisfy their claims. What then are we to make of these conflicting portrayals of a drug with historical origins dating back to 8,000 B.C.?
Understanding Marijuana examines the biological, psychological, and societal impact of this controversial substance. What are the effects, for mind and body, of long-term use? Are smokers of marijuana more likely than non-users to abuse cocaine and heroine? What effect has the increasing potency of marijuana in recent years had on users and on use? Does our current legal policy toward marijuana make sense? Earleywine separates science from opinion to show how marijuana defies easy dichotomies. Tracing the medical and political debates surrounding marijuana in a balanced, objective fashion, this book will be the definitive primer on our most controversial and widely used illicit substance.

About the Author

Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Clinical Science and Director of Clinical Training in Psychology at the University of Southern California. He has received nine teaching awards for his courses on drugs and human behavior and is a leading researcher in psychology and addictions. He is Associate Editor of The Behavior Therapist.