Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-317) and index.

Marijuana is the world's most popular illicit drug, with hundreds of millions of users worldwide. One in three Americans has smoked pot, and in fact, the DEA estimates that Americans smoke five million pounds of marijuana each year. Nonetheless, marijuana remains largely misunderstood by both its advocates and its detractors. To some, marijuana is an insidious "stepping-stone" drug; to others, medical marijuana is an organic means of easing discomfort; and to others it is, like alcohol, 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.? 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.

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