Legal Cannabis: The Great Social Experiment

Download or read book Legal Cannabis: The Great Social Experiment written by Peter M. Birkeland and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2018-06-07 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Colorado. Washington. Oregon. Colorado. Since 2012 nine states and DC have legalized cannabis, with more states to follow. Already a $9.7 billion dollar industry creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, legal cannabis is not only one of the fastest growing industries, but it is changing the dynamics of American society.Through interviews and fieldwork, Peter M. Birkeland shines a sociological lens on the relevant issues of legal cannabis and investigates the most pressing issues. Who are the cannabis industry participants? What are the costs in running a marijuana business and how much money is generated? Who are the users of cannabis in this newly legal market? What are the challenges in creating a regulatory framework? What has happened to crime, teenage use, and the black market? Birkeland's book provides a documentary-like account of the emerging cannabis industry in Colorado, the first jurisdiction in the world to legalize cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and retail sales.Birkeland worked with cannabis business owners, interviewed regulators, policy-makers (including Governor Hickenlooper), industry participants, and opponents to legalization. He attended tradeshows, symposiums, meet-ups, penetrated the black market, and visited communities that have embraced cannabis sales. Through his firsthand experience, interviews and research, Birkeland traces the evolution of the cannabis industry from strictly illegal to legal, and he documents the challenges operators, regulators, and consumers face in the quest to carry out sales of a federally illegal product.Is cannabis legalization a short-lived social experiment, or is it ushering a new era of herbal medicine and recreational use that will transform society? The author uncovers the realities of the newly legal cannabis industry in Colorado, a litmus test for other states considering legalizing cannabis.