Review by Booklist Review
Marijuana has been the victim of "a climate of psychopharmacological McCarthyism," say Grinspoon and Bakalar, who draw upon anecdotal evidence to fill most of this book with stories about the drugs being given to patients with various types of cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, paraplegia and quadriplegia, AIDS, chronic pain, migraine, pruritus, menstrual cramps and labor pain, depression and other mood disorders, and other conditions. Since marijuana is such a safe drug, they assert, governmental research organizations should study it carefully for a wide variety of uses, and legislative bodies should remove the stigma attached to it and make it freely available to all who could benefit from it therapeutically. Marijuana, they firmly believe, has much to offer medically. ~--William Beatty
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Grinspoon and Bakalar have compiled testimonials on the medicinal uses of marihuana for a variety of medical problems, including glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy. These accounts dramatically illustrate marihuana's potential to alleviate suffering when traditionally prescribed medications have proved ineffective, but they also illustrate the great stress placed on these individuals and their families by using an illegal substance. Many people don't know how to obtain marihuana, can't afford it, and are fearful and resentful of being considered criminal for using it. The authors discuss social attitudes towards marihuana and the reasons why the drug was outlawed. They argue that making marihuana available on a prescription basis is unworkable and that its legalization is necessary to make it available to those who need it. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-- Kathleen McQuiston, Philadelphia Coll. of Pharmacy and Science (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
