Weed Rules: Blazing the Way to a Just and Joyful Marijuana Policy

With full legalization seeming inevitable, it's time to shift the conversation—from whether recreational cannabis should be legalized to how. Weed Rules argues that it's time for states to abandon their "grudging tolerance" approach to legal weed and to embrace "careful exuberance." In this thorough and witty book, law professor Jay Wexler invites policy makers to responsibly embrace the enormous benefits of cannabis, including the joy and euphoria it brings to those who use it. The "grudging tolerance" approach has led to restrictions that are too strict in some cases—limiting how and where cannabis can be used, cultivated, marketed, and sold—and far too loose in others, allowing employers and police to discriminate against users. This book shows how focusing on joy and community can lead us to an equitable marijuana policy in which minority communities, most harmed by the war on drugs, play a leading role in the industry. Centering pleasure and fun as legitimate policy goals, Weed Rules puts forth specific policies to advocate for a more just, sensible, and joyous post-legalization society.

Table of Contents:
Contents Introduction  PART I SETTING THE STAGE  1. A (Brief) History of Marijuana Prohibition: Hitting the High Points  2. Getting Meta: How Should We Think about Thinking about Marijuana Policy?  3. Making a Marketplace: Ten Basic Questions  PART II FROM GRUDGING TO TOLERANCE TO CAREFUL EXUBERANCE  4. Sure You Can Sell Weed, Just Don’t Tell Anyone About It: Advertising, Marketing, and Promotion 5. Sure You Can Smoke Weed, but You Might Get Fired for It: Marijuana Use and Employment Law 6. Weed, Weed Everywhere, but Not a Place to Smoke: The Social Consumption Problem  7. Marijuana Should Absolutely Be Legal—Just Not in Our Town!: The Local Control Problem 8. If Cannabis Is Legal, Why Can the Cops Search You If They Smell It?:     The Fourth Amendment and the Sweet Scent of Weed  Conclusion: A Quick Look Back and a Brief Look Forward Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Jay Wexler is Professor of Law at Boston University, a former law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the United States Supreme Court, and author of six previous books, including Our Non-Christian Nation, The Odd Clauses, and the novel Tuttle in the Balance.

Review :
"Policy options for cannabis regulation are complicated in states where laws on medical or recreational use conflict with federal laws on the possession, transport, or sale of cannabis. Wexler develops a framework for evaluating different economic and legal policies according to how well they serve ten different values, including public health, revenue maximization, and equity. . . . Recommended."