Steve Fox, principal at Marijuana Strategies, is one of the leading
figures in the movement to create a legal, regulated marijuana
market in the United States. He is a cofounder of the National
Cannabis Industry Association, which currently represents more than
250 state-legal businesses, and serves as a strategic advisor to
the organization. While at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) from
2002—2013, Steve lobbied Congress and guided numerous
ballot-initiative campaigns, including the Amendment 64 campaign in
Colorado, which made personal possession and cultivation of
marijuana legal, while establishing a regulated market for adults.
In 2005, Steve conceptualized and cofounded (with coauthor Mason
Tvert) Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) in
Colorado for the express purpose of educating the public about the
fact that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. The goal,
eventually realized, was to change the mindset of voters in order
to make marijuana legal through a ballot initiative. He now serves
as an independent consultant, advising individuals and
organizations on marijuana policy- and industry-related issues.
Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML (The National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and the NORML
Foundation. A recognized national expert in marijuana policy,
health, and pharmacology, he has spoken at dozens of national
conferences and legal seminars and has testified before state
legislatures and federal agencies. He appears regularly on Drew
Pinsky's nationally syndicated radio show, Dr. Drew Live, and his
work has appeared in over 500 publications. Armentano is the 2008
recipient of the Project Censored Real News Award for Outstanding
Investigative Journalism. He currently lives in California with his
wife and son. You can visit the NORML Foundation online at
norml.org.
Mason Tvert is the cofounder and executive director of Safer
Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) and the SAFER Voter
Education Fund. He appears frequently in the news and travels the
country promoting the "Marijuana Is Safer Than Alcohol" message. He
resides in Denver, where he serves on the city's Marijuana Policy
Review Panel, appointed by Mayor John W. Hickenlooper. Read Mason's
blog on The Huffington Post at www.huffingtonpost.com/mason-tvert.
Kirkus Reviews- "It’s not rocket science: Alcohol puts more people
in the hospital or graveyard than marijuana. If our laws are meant
to prevent harm to others, then what harm are we trying to prevent
by the illegalization of marijuana? In fact, making marijuana
illegal absurdly inflates its value and encourages violent crime to
command its distribution. The sources of marijuana’s illegalization
are vile, rather easily traceable to bigoted attitudes toward
Mexicans and African-Americans. Certainly, there are moments in
this otherwise thoughtful and policy-driven initiative that veer
perilously close to demonizing alcohol in the same manner that
marijuana has been demonized. Regardless, the authors’ argument
that marijuana is the safer of the two recreational intoxicants is
rock solid, and one can see that this everyday, common-sense
comparison would be an effective tool in changing public
perception, manipulated as it has been by everyone from Nancy
Reagan to the great brewing concerns. The authors end with a
workable proposal for a grass-roots response, complete with talking
points and ready answers to FAQs, to bring the issue to the ballot.
A well-designed initiative to redress the villainization of
marijuana."
Starred Review, Booklist-
"If Americans could legally smoke marijuana, would it reduce
alcohol abuse and the attendant violence and aggression that go
along with it? That is a social experiment worth trying, according
to pot-decriminalization advocates Fox, Paul Armentano, and Mason
Tvert. At this pivotal time of a national shift in thinking on the
double standard in law and social attitudes, the authors offer a
commonsense perspective on the relative threat of and social
response to marijuana versus alcohol. After detailing how the
government, media, and beer and liquor companies often collude in
demonizing pot and drive Americans to drink instead, the authors
cite statistics and combat myths regarding marijuana, from the
hysteria of the film Reefer Madness to the assertion that
legalization will only sanction another vice. Focusing on the
successful legalization campaign in Colorado, the authors concede
they have an uphill battle in their effort to educate the public on
the comparisons between pot and alcohol as they assert the positive
benefits of legalization, taxation, and regulation of pot,
including more revenue, less crime and mayhem, and fewer health
problems. Given the changing political landscape and widespread use
of pot, whatever a reader’s perspective on marijuana, this book is
a well-researched, thoughtful look at a controversial issue."
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