Grass Roots

The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America

By: Emily Dufton

Narrated by: Greg Baglia

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

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 40 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.

©2017 Emily Dufton (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"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's work expertly shows the cyclical nature of our society's relationship with marijuana, as well as the deeply entrenched racial and class divides that have added to the illicit nature of the complex drug." (The Riveter)

A must read

A great source to understand the history behind existing laws and the back and forth on marijuana regulations. A quite useful book to help you decide what is your personal opinion on the topic based on data and facts rather than fake news.

Lacking

If you're looking for a detailed history of marijuana to the end of the 1980s, heavily told from the pro-recreational side, this is it. I would have liked to see a more balanced telling and one that gave more for-and-against arguments. Medical marijuana, that has lead the headlines for years, makes a brief appearance at the end with little pro/con elements. Too much detailed history and not enough analysis. It is well researched and written.

An in depth account of the history of Marijuana

An entire account of America marijuana use and it's trials with the legal and pharmaceutical system. Told fairly unbiasedly the author covers both sides of the issue. Somtimes in so much detail it slows down to drag. The book contains a lot of events that were either covered up or forgotten by most in the current debate.

Good overview of developmemts since 1930s.

The book tells the history of marijuana in the US from the 1930s to 2010s through the tales on concrete individuals and their organizations, such as Browny Marry and mother groups from Georgia. It’s a great book for those just getting interested in marijuana industry/laws or those that have ‘intermediate’ knowledge like myself. I felt I learned quite a bit and it reminded me of events from my youth, like the tragic death of basketball star Len Bias and the ‘Just Say No’ movement.

Interesting read

Most of the history was down well. Too often she was bogged down on politics, way too much beat down on Nancy Reagan, for example.