Overview

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. In Grass 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.

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9781549114212

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Grass Roots...shows not just the caprice of US drug policy but how quickly and dramatically the legal and social changes called for by the hippie generation were quashed, creating a backlash still felt today. -- New Republic Dufton has done an admirable job focusing on the activists, both pro- and anti-marijuana, who have helped steer the conversation. -- Larry Ratso Sloman, author of Reefer Madness Balanced, comprehensive, scrupulously researched, and vividly rendered. -- Martin Torgoff, author of Bop Apocalypse Dufton puts years of dedicated research, interviews, and social scrutiny to impressive use...The author's astute, well-rounded report spotlights the virtual tug of war of the movement and pays close attention to each side's setbacks and advancements...A lively, perceptive refresher course on the politics of pot. -- Kirkus Reviews Dufton makes a potent argument that, 'more than any other legal or illegal substance, marijuana is a drug that makes people care.' -- Publishers Weekly

Dufton has done an admirable job focusing on the activists, both pro- and anti-marijuana, who have helped steer the conversation. -- Larry Ratso Sloman, author of Reefer Madness Balanced, comprehensive, scrupulously researched, and vividly rendered. -- Martin Torgoff, author of Bop Apocalypse Dufton puts years of dedicated research, interviews, and social scrutiny to impressive use...The author's astute, well-rounded report spotlights the virtual tug of war of the movement and pays close attention to each side's setbacks and advancements...A lively, perceptive refresher course on the politics of pot. -- Kirkus Reviews Dufton makes a potent argument that, 'more than any other legal or illegal substance, marijuana is a drug that makes people care.' -- Publishers Weekly Grass Roots...shows not just the caprice of US drug policy but how quickly and dramatically the legal and social changes called for by the hippie generation were quashed, creating a backlash still felt today. -- New Republic

"Grass Roots...shows not just the caprice of US drug policy but how quickly and dramatically the legal and social changes called for by the hippie generation were quashed, creating a backlash still felt today. -- ""New Republic"" Balanced, comprehensive, scrupulously researched, and vividly rendered. -- ""Martin Torgoff, author of Bop Apocalypse"" Dufton has done an admirable job focusing on the activists, both pro- and anti-marijuana, who have helped steer the conversation. -- ""Larry Ratso Sloman, author of Reefer Madness"" Dufton makes a potent argument that, 'more than any other legal or illegal substance, marijuana is a drug that makes people care.' -- ""Publishers Weekly"" Dufton puts years of dedicated research, interviews, and social scrutiny to impressive use...The author's astute, well-rounded report spotlights the virtual tug of war of the movement and pays close attention to each side's setbacks and advancements...A lively, perceptive refresher course on the politics of pot. -- ""Kirkus Reviews"""

Author Information

Emily Dufton holds a PhD in American Studies from George Washington University. Greg Baglia is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.

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