Jonathan P. Caulkins is H. Guyford Stever Professor of Operations Research and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Public Policy and Information Systems Management. He specializes in systems analysis of problems pertaining to drugs, crime, terror, violence, and prevention - work that won the David Kershaw Award from the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management, a Robert Wood Johnson Health Investigator Award, and the INFORMS President's Award. Beau Kilmer is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, where he codirects the RAND Drug Policy Research Center. His research has appeared in leading journals and his commentaries about marijuana have been published by CNN, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Newsweek, San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and other outlets. Mark A.R. Kleiman is a Professor of Public Policy and the Director of the Crime Reduction and Justice Initiative at New York University's Marron Institute of Urban Management. He is a member of the Committee on Law and Justice of the National Research Council, and is a frequent guest expert in the media. He is the author of five books on drug and criminal justice policy.
In this nonpartisan book (the authors themselves, all public-policy academics, don't even personally hold the same viewpoints), readers will learn about the risks and benefits of marijuana legalization. The work outlines marijuana basics in a Q&A format-such as 'Has marijuana been getting more potent?' and 'Is marijuana really the nation's leading cash crop?'-and considers legal and personal ramifications, from distribution to taxation to addiction. A valuable primer for anyone interested in the current debate about the war on drugs. * Booklist * I'm going to start out by saying if you have any interest whatsoever in the drug legalization debate, then run - don't walk - to your local or online bookstore and get this book. . . [Y]ou, as the average American, can learn a LOT about marijuana use, distribution, enforcement, decriminalization at the state level, and the legalization debate by reading this book. I'll warn you; it may cause your values to shift from 'in favor' or 'against' into a happy level of indecisiveness, which always fosters a more civil level of debate. * Sylvia Longmire, author of Cartel and Border Insecurity * This is an admirably thorough, well-balanced, fair, and sensible assessment of this particular issue within the larger context of federal drug policy. The authors are specialists in the field, and seem determined to explain the problem rather than offer dogmatic solutions. * The Weekly Standard * Parents, educators, law enforcement and politicians - everyone, really - should read Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know. Assembled by the best policy analysts of our time, yet readable at the 6th grade level. * David Downs, co-author of Beyond Buds * One of The Best Books about the American Drug War. * Huffington Post * One of The 10 Best Books on Pot. * Daily Beast * Absolute best book there is for neutral information on marijuana and legalization no matter what side you are on. * Tony Dokoupil, MSNBC * Essential reading for all who seek rational marijuana policies. * Eric Schlosser, author of Reefer Madness * Here is a book by four leading experts who collaborate in answering questions about marijuana and its possible legalization. Everything you might want to ask, answered crisply and accurately! And the four authors give, at the end, their separate recommendations: they differ, but they've agreed on 149 answers. A remarkable collaboration, and a pioneering format worth emulating. * Thomas Schelling, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences * Basically, it's the book you need to read if you're serious about marijuana legalization and how to do it right. * Paul Glastris, editor in chief of The Washington Monthly * An amazingly thoughtful and informative book that covers every aspect of marijuana and its legalization. This should be required reading for anyone thinking about these issues. * Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics * Marijuana Legalization is a model for how to discuss difficult and divisive issues. Both sides of the drug debate will come away wiser from having read this book. * Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, Outliers, and Blink *