Highlights the failures of the government's war on marijuana, likening it to 1920s-style prohibition politics, and points to the need for citizen initiatives to change drug policy.

This book is a frontal assault on the federal government's almost century-long campaign against marijuana in all its forms—cultivation, growing, selling, and recreational and medicinal use. Beginning with the anti-pot campaign of the first unofficial drug czar, Harry Anslinger, in the 1930s and continuing wiht only minor differences in emphasis through the recent Reagan, Clinton, and two Bush administrations, federal efforts to stamp out every form of marijuana use involve ignoring the independent reports of numerous federal commissions; supporting provably false claims about marijuana's effects; acquiescing to conservative law enforcement and religious groups' condemnatory agendas; generating a climate of fear in the electorate in order to cultivate messianic images for politicians; and ultimately governing in a way that does a disservice to all involved.

"This volume is well written and documented. It comes as a breath of fresh air amid a policy issue that is so often dealt with in an emotional and irrational way--a sane counterpoint to the emotional venting of the pharmaceutical Calvinists. Highly recommended. All levels." - Choice

"A readable, reasonable, and well-documented history and analysis of a silly problem that richly deserves de-problemizing." - Future Survey

"Rudolph Gerber, a judge, presents the case in favor of marijuana legalization, at least for medical use, citing a host of research studies, which he claims have been ignored for decades. His discussion of the history of the marijuana debate through presidential administrations since Kennedy is especially enlightening….[d]ebaters on the issue of medical use will find much ammunition in this book." - Library Media Connection