Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine

This revised text describes the medical benefits of marijuana, explains why it has been forbidden, and puts forward arguments for legislation to make it available for patients who need it. The argument is supported by accounts from individuals with various ailments.

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In this important and timely book, two eminent researchers describe the medical benefits of marihuana, explain why its use has been forbidden, and argue for its full legalization to make it available to all patients who need it. Highly praised when it was first published in 1993, the book has been expanded to include new examples of the ways that marihuana alleviates symptoms of cancer chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, glaucoma, AIDS, and depression, as well as symptoms of such less common disorders as Crohn’s disease, diabetic gastroparesis, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Praise for the first edition:
“Grinspoon and Bakalar have provided a valuable compendium of marihuana’s beneficial properties. . . . This book is valuable for its breadth of first-person accounts of beneficial effects of marihuana smoking in physically and emotionally distressed individuals.”—Rick J. Strassman, m.d., Journal of the American Medical Association
“Cogent and convincing arguments for the legalization of marihuana and its pharmacologically active components. . . . This book provides an excellent overview of the subject from a medical perspective.”—Robert M. Swift, m.d., ph.d., New England Journal of Medicine
“A very important book. . . . It is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the history, biomedical science, and public policy surrounding these most amazing plants.”—David E. Presti and Richard Evans Schultes, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs