Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America

· Hachette Audio · Narrated by Greg Baglia
1.0
1 review
Audiobook
10 hr 24 min
Unabridged
Eligible
Want a free 9 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline. 
Add

About this audiobook

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 forty 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.

Ratings and reviews

1.0
1 review
THE LORD
October 7, 2018
Double Jeopardy
Did you find this helpful?

About the author

Emily Dufton holds a PhD in American Studies from George Washington University. She lives outside of Washington, DC.

Rate this audiobook

Tell us what you think.

Listening information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.