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Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence [Hardcover]

Mitch Earleywine (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)


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Book Description

August 15, 2002 0195138937 978-0195138931 1
Marijuana is the world's most popular illicit drug, with hundreds of millions of regular users worldwide. One in three Americans has smoked pot at least once. The Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that Americans smoke five million pounds of marijuana each year. And yet marijuana remains largely misunderstood by both its advocates and its detractors.
To some, marijuana is an insidious "stepping-stone" drug, enticing the inexperienced and paving the way to the inevitable abuse of harder drugs. To others, medical marijuana is an organic means of easing the discomfort or stimulating the appetite of the gravely ill. Others still view marijuana, like alcohol, as 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.?
Understanding Marijuana examines the biological, psychological, and societal impact of this controversial substance. What are the effects, for mind and body, of long-term use? Are smokers of marijuana more likely than non-users to abuse cocaine and heroine? What effect has the increasing potency of marijuana in recent years had on users and on use? Does our current legal policy toward marijuana make sense? 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, this book will be the definitive primer on our most controversial and widely used illicit substance.


Editorial Reviews

Review


"a well-balanced, up-to-date, non-specialist book that should appeal to a wide audience."--Nature


"a valuable and instructive resource for anyone interested in cannabis and/or the reform of marijuana laws. The book achieves its objective of providing a balanced of and definitive primer on the most widely used illicit substance in the United States...[and] convincingly debunks many widely held myths."--Jon Gettman, High Times


"Earleywine ... has contributed a well-balanced, up-to-date, and scholarly overview of this controversial and illegal controlled substance ... and the scientific evidence of its biological, psychological, and societal impacts. ... Earleywine's highly readable book clears up some common marijuana myths and helps readers to better evaluate and understand the current cannabis debate. This volume will be a welcome addition to college and university libraries."--Choice


About the Author


Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Clinical Science and Director of Clinical Training in Psychology at the University of Southern California. He has received nine teaching awards for his courses on drugs and human behavior and is a leading researcher in psychology and addictions. He is Associate Editor of The Behavior Therapist.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 344 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (August 15, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195138937
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195138931
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,030,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
131 of 138 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The most commonly used illicit drug is marijuana. Probably it is the most controversial of all recreational drugs, as there are few people actively organizing for the reform of cocaine or heroin laws, but many would like to see marijuana laws changed. The debate on just how the laws should change and how marijuana ought to fit within American society has been plagued with misinformation long before the substance was made illegal by the federal government in 1937. The history, myths, and facts about the drug are set out anew in _Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence_ (Oxford University Press) by Mitch Earleywine. The book is extremely useful as a summary of the research that has been done on marijuana; there are twenty-five pages of references at the end to guide anyone who needs further information. Only a specialist will need the references. _Understanding Marijuana_ is a broad and fair summary.

There is an enormous amount of misinformation about the drug, and while those that favor use and legalization may have spread their share of misinformation, the history of marijuana in the twentieth century and entering this one is a history of one scare tactic after another wielded by government agencies and individuals who wish to suppress marijuana use. Earleywine's book spends one chapter after another summarizing the experiments and statistics to debunk the most common scare stories. Cannabis intoxication does not lead to hostility, violence, or a climbing murder rate. Marijuana is not a gateway drug. There is no amotivational syndrome from marijuana use. College students who use marijuana get the same sorts of grades as students who do not. Earleywine was taught in junior high that marijuana smokers would have Cyclops-like children, but the drug has not been linked to birth defects, nor to a definitive decrease in reproductive function. In fact, marijuana might help the relatively common problem of hypoactive sexual desire disorder, but as Earleywine wryly notes, "Despite this potential promise, studies of cannabis's impact on sexual drives have not been a high priority of most research funding agencies." The claim current in "public service" ads is that using marijuana somehow funds terrorists; this was perhaps too recent to be included here, or else simply too stupid.

This is a sensible book to show that "marijuana is neither completely harmless or tragically toxic," but that it has minimal detrimental effects especially compared to drugs that are currently legal. Not only has Earleywine summarized a lot of data here, he writes clearly and entertainingly, often with a sly joke as a gift to a reader swimming in a sea of data. For instance, he writes about interesting studies that show that marijuana users learn to smoke efficiently, gauging their lung capacity and the amount that can be held without coughing, so that they get more out of a joint than new users. "Many eventually learn to inhale and report more impact from the drug. Some never learn to inhale and subsequently run for public office."

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48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Understanding Marijuana: A New Look At The Scientific Evidence by Mitch Earleywine (Associate Professor of Clinical Science and director of Clinical Training in Psychology, University of Southern California) is a scholarly and painstakingly objective analysis of the highly controversial and largely illegal and pharmaceutically controlled substance known as cannabis, marijuana, ganja, as well as a host of other street names. Carefully scrutinizing the results of numerous studies of the drug, as well as taking special note of the importance not to confuse causality, Understanding Marijuana does its best to answer issues such as: Is marijuana really a gateway to "hard" drugs such as cocaine or heroin? Does it truly impair driving ability or cause auto accidents? What are its effects upon motivation, schoolwork, or job productivity? The evidence is often conflicting, but sometimes it points to answers which may be surprising. Understanding Marijuana is as free of bias as a book on a hot-button social/political/legal/medical issue can possibly be, and is especially recommended for its repeated cautions against the very common fallacies of assuming causation. Just because one thing (i.e. marijuana use) precedes another thing or coexists with another thing (such as lack of motivation) does not necessarily mean that the first item caused the second! But neither does it rule causation out, hence the need for careful, meticulous research of this highly complex issue.
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76 of 83 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I heard this guy on NPR and thought he sounded like he had a good head on his shoulders, so I bought the book. It is extremely impressive. I was amazed at how much research is actually out there in the first place, but I also felt like Earleywine explained it to me without being condescending or dull. I've become a bit of an expert among my friends, many of whom often spout a lot of hearsay about the drug. It's fun to be able to look something up and show it to them in black and white from a real scientist. Many of my 'abstainer' acquaintances still believe in the gateway theory and that marijuana hurts driving and that it's not valuable as medicine. I can point them to real studies showing that they're wrong. The last chapter is particularly cool and really got me thinking about marijuana policy and why we should change it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A scientific look..
An in depth, scientific look at one of the most loved and most vilified plants on Earth. Understanding Marijuana helps you do just that.
Published 6 days ago by M. M. Knef
Amazing
Great book, provides inside into the plant. Marijuana should have been legalized a long time ago. I am sure now in my lifetime this will happen.
Published 1 month ago by Mark
I don't follow.
Perhaps he wrote this intending to find out what he wanted? I am not sure; I have nothing against marijuana by itself, but it does not make sense to legalize it with current... Read more
Published 13 months ago by CBRASDAS
Most objective, reliable, and scholarly
This book includes a historical review of the plant, including medical and political histories. Combined with the most reliable scientific experiments and both sides of each... Read more
Published on August 13, 2009 by PWT
Quotable, Definitive
I was curious about this book because I am passionate about the cannabis issue and although it's never been a personal problem among my social circle and I, I can see the debate... Read more
Published on April 2, 2009 by David J. Snyder
Informative and Entertaining
This book is perfect for anyone wanting to understand this controversial subject. It provides a very scientific look into many long-standing myths associated with the plant and... Read more
Published on September 23, 2007 by Jack Mulligan
Understanding Marijuana through the long years of dedicated research...
Dr. Earlywine's book "Understanding Marijuana" explains the uses of marijuana on a level that can be understood by all readers. Read more
Published on September 6, 2007 by Laurie
Awesome Overview
I first experienced pot at age 16 and soon learned that what little I was told was NOT TRUE. This book lays it out in all its splendor. Read more
Published on June 9, 2007 by Robert Edmands
Enlightening
Yep. Another book that's packed full of research to support this incredible little herb. SIGH! We really need to get "with it" and make this available for health and well being for... Read more
Published on March 12, 2007 by S. Bachechi
An Excellent resource of factual information
With all of the misinformation circulating about cannabis over the last 70 years its nice to have a refreshing, scholarly, intelligent review of the subject. Read more
Published on January 22, 2007 by E. Eddington
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Humans use nearly every part of the infamous green weed Cannabis sativa. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
chronic marijuana consumption, marijuana problems, intoxication alters, chronic cannabis users, temporal antecedence, cannabis consumption, marijuana intoxication, hashish club, irrelevant tones, amotivational syndrome, smoked cannabis, other cannabinoids, marijuana prohibition, cannabinoid system, chronic users, marijuana exposure, using cannabis, chronic marijuana use, smoking cannabis, intoxicated people, marijuana effects, industrial hemp, cannabinoid receptors, hard drug users, medical marijuana
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Shen Neng, Marijuana Tax Act, Hashish Club, Harry Anslinger, Institute of Medicine, Middle East, Narcotics Anonymous, Pliny the Elder, Potency Monitoring Project, Ts'ai Lun, American Psychiatric Association, Boggs Act, Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Hua T'o, Queen Victoria, Supreme Court, The Hasheesh Eater, William O'Shaughnessy, William Randolph Hearst
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