Investigative journalists Alyson Martin and Nushin Rashidian present a book that explores the new landscape of cannabis in the United States in a book called A New Leaf: The End of Cannabis Prohibition.
Voters in 22 states, including Michigan, have said yes to medical marijuana laws. In November 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington legalized recreational use of marijuana.
Public opinion continues to shift toward policies that favor legalizing cannabis.
Yet, 49.5% of federal government drug-related arrests involve the sale, manufacture, or possession of cannabis.
In their book, Martin and Rashidian interviewed patients, growers, entrepreneurs, politicians, activists, and regulators in nearly every state with a medical cannabis law.
They analyze how recent milestones toward legalization will affect the war on drugs both domestically and internationally. The book is a unique account of how legalization is manifesting itself in the lives of millions.
Martin and Rashidian answer questions such as why prohibition of cannabis began in the first place.
“Basically it was just the attitude at the time. You had a fear of these substances, you had a fear of minorities. You had this move toward outlawing substances. And that all started at the turn of the 20th century with alcohol, with cannabis, with opioids, with cocaine. So It was just a mood that took over,” Rashidian said.
“I think that cannabis is interesting because it’s becoming more and more purple by the day. I mean you can’t really say it’s a Democratic issue, you can’t really say it is a Republican issue. It’s both. And it’s also libertarian,” Martin said.
*Listen to full interview above.
