*~* Book Bomb: "Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?" *~*

[MagickMuffin]

With Marijuana is Safer, nationally recognized marijuana policy experts Steve Fox, Paul Armentano and Mason Tvert have produced the first book in history fully dedicated to examining the relative harms and the illogical legal status of the two most popular recreational substances in the world -- marijuana and alcohol. Through an objective examination of the two drugs and the laws and social practices that steer people toward alcohol, the book poses a simple yet rarely considered question: Why do we punish adults who make the rational, safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol?

Marijuana is Safer has something for everyone. For those unfamiliar with marijuana, it provides an introduction to the plant and its effect on the user, and reveals the truth behind some of the government’s most frequently cited marijuana myths. For current or future professional marijuana advocates and individuals interested in what is likely to become a major political battle in the not-to-distant future, the book explains why the “marijuana is safer than alcohol” message must be a prominent part of the public debate over legalization.

But most importantly, for the millions of Americans who want to help advance the cause of marijuana policy reform -- or simply want to defend their own personal “safer” choice -- the book supplies the talking points and detailed information needed to make persuasive arguments to friends, family, co-workers, and elected officials. Written in a reader-friendly style, but loaded with facts and insightful analysis about the “war on marijuana” and the drive to end it, Marijuana is Safer is the perfect book for anyone who has – or has not – ever wondered, “Why are we driving people to drink?”


How can we reach #1?

Amazon re-ranks book sales on an hourly basis. So Marijuana is Safer doesn't need to be the bestselling book for the past month; it just needs to generate a lot of sales on the day of the Book Bomb. If you act, we will reach the top. We hope you will join hundreds of other supporters of more rational marijuana laws by making your purchase on August 20, 2009. (We would have preferred 4/20, but 8/20 will have to do.)



"The follies of marijuana prohibition have never been laid bare with more erudition and plain common sense. Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? is a book every citizen needs to read, and a question we all have to raise our voices to ask." --Barbara Ehrenreich, bestselling author of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America and This Land Is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation


"As one who has been entrusted with maintaining the public's safety, I strongly believe--and most people agree--that our laws should punish people who do harm to others. But by banning the use of marijuana and punishing individuals who merely possess the substance, it is difficult to see what harm we are trying to prevent. From my own work and the experiences of other members of the law enforcement community, it is abundantly clear that marijuana is rarely, if ever, the cause of disruptive or violent behavior. That marijuana causes very little social harm is reason enough in a free society to legalize it for adults. But as Steve, Paul, and Mason so brilliantly demonstrate in this book, an even more persuasive reason is that by prohibiting marijuana we are steering people toward a substance that far too many people already abuse, namely alcohol." -- Norm Stamper, former Chief of the Seattle Police Department (from the book’s foreword)


"Our current draconian laws prohibiting the use of marijuana by responsible adults are doubly flawed. Not only does such prohibition violate fundamental freedoms but also, as this book documents, it undermines personal health and public safety. Regardless of your views on the civil liberties issues, this book should convince you of another compelling justification for marijuana law reform: that it will promote health and safety for all of us, including our nation's children." -- Nadine Strossen, former President, American Civil Liberties Union, and Professor of Law, New York Law School


"I have always maintained that the legalization of marijuana would lead to an overall drop in substance abuse in this country. In particular, the option of legal marijuana use, as an alternative to the death and violence associated with alcohol use, would be a welcome societal change. Surprisingly, though, there has never been a book dedicated to conveying this basic idea to the public. But with Marijuana is Safer, now there is. Kudos to Fox, Armentano, and Tvert for their remarkably insightful and important book." -- Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico


"I took great pride in my performance on and off the field, and often questioned why our culture embraces alcohol while simultaneously stigmatizing those who choose to consume a less harmful alternative, marijuana. Marijuana Is Safer makes an irrefutable case for liberating current cannabis policy by comparing and contrasting its use with that of alcohol. This outstanding book makes it clear that it is inconsistent, both legally and socially, for our laws to punish adults who make the 'safer' choice.” -- Mark Stepnoski, five-time NFL Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys


"Finally, a book that confronts the half-baked hallucinations of a drug policy gone mad. By adroitly juxtaposing the harms of marijuana and alcohol, the book shows just how badly America has overdosed on senselessly stupid marijuana propaganda and the prohibition laws it produced. If you are one of the millions of Americans who support keeping marijuana illegal but enjoy a good beer, glass of wine or cocktail now and then, I suggest you read Marijuana is Safer, rehab your mind, and get high on the facts. If, on the other hand, you already believe our marijuana laws are illogical, this book will give you hope that change is in the air--and show you how you can do your part to push it along." -- David Sirota, nationally syndicated columnist and bestselling author of The Uprising and Hostile Takeover



http://www.marijuanabookbomb.com/

I plan on buying this important book. How about you?!? :smoke: :hippie:

[Sebastian Doyle]

1. I don't think anybody really gives two shits about recreational dope smokers anymore.

It's the medicinal possibilities and the overall industrial potential of the hemp plant that scares the shit out of corporate AmeriKKKa. But it's a lot easier to keep the hysteria factor going by picking on the stoners.

[Lilith Velkor]

7. The prison industry sure as fuck does.

The prospect of losing half of their slave labor really scares the shit out of the corporazis.

[tinkerbell41]

2. I agree

With my job we are randomly drug tested. But not for alcohol. Sooo you'd rather I drank??
I don't drink I don't like it. If I had my choice......

[MadMaddie]

4. It's all about the liquer lobby...drunks kill more Americans than

maryjane ever did.....yet we have people in jail for life for possessing maryjane. Drunk drivers...well they made a mistake....pet peeve of mine.

[tiny elvis]

8. left out 'daily'

drunks kill more Americans daily than weed ever did

[MadMaddie]

10. yep you are right!

Welcome to DU!:hi:

[tridim]

5. I'm the same way, although I've never been tested

I smoke regularly and responsibly, and don't drink alcohol. In 20 years of work I have never smoked while on the job. Can any drinkers say the same?

Yet society says I'm a criminal and drinkers are "normal".

I actually posted this article last week in the drug policy forum. :)

[tinkerbell41]

9. I get it.

I have stopped for a long time(17 yrs.) But I never left the house when I did partake. Did it enjoyed it and went to bed. Unlike someone who drinks a six pack or more and decides to make a run
to get more. I never got violent, never puked, peed in bushes, or made an ass out of myself in public like I did if I drank.

[Warpy]

3. Gary Johnson, former governor of NM

is one of the few GOPs who's worth anything. He actually wasn't a bad governor, although Richardson has been quite a bit better in terms of getting things off the drawing board and built.

Johnson earned my respect when he spoke out in favor of marijuana legalization while he was still in office, when it could have cost him.

It's just unfortunate he chose the wrong party...

[kenny blankenship]

6. The answer is depressingly simple. Money.

America has a huge beer/wine/liquor industry, and legalization of marijuana would be very bad for their business. That's easy to understand. What tends to go unrecognized is that marijuana is bad for Federal revenue collection. Everyone says "just legalize it, keep it out of the hands of minors and collect taxes on it--win, win ,win!" And while that's the moral thing to do, the govt. is just as full of amoral schemers as the booze industry is. Legalize and tax is a pipedream for the simple reason that anybody with a backyard can grow a year's supply of reefer without half trying. You can't tax something that anyone can grow for themselves even if you make cultivation without a license illegal. Even under Federal interdiction, the informal distribution network exists in every neighborhood of every city and town of every state in the union. And the same disadvantage that exists for the govt. "Revenuers" also exists for established businesses who might try to diversify into cannabis production. Big "leisure time" industry vendors such as booze distillers or coffin nail sellers can't come into this new marijuana market and create the impression that they are the only good source for the new party time, relaxation, good times product. Everyone who's interested already knows the local source.

Legalize marijuana and very little taxes will be collected on sales.

Then you add to that the enormous psychological, political and financial investment the govt has in suppressing Marijuana as the main front in the War On Drugs. They have ridden chasing dopers three quarters of the way to total police state powers. They will be loathe to give that up for nothing in return. The War On Drugs in America fulfills a vital if unconscious strategy of political and social control for the power elites. Giving up their powers and their ability to terrorize the entire population without getting a big revenue stream in return will always meet with strong resistance from the ownership and political classes.