Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine

by Wendy Chapkis, Richard J Webb

Overview

An inside look at how patients living with terminal illness created one of the country’s first medical marijuana collectives

Marijuana as medicine has been a politically charged topic in this country for more than three decades. Despite overwhelming public support and growing scientific evidence of its therapeutic effects (relief of the nausea caused by chemotherapy for cancer and AIDS, control over seizures or spasticity caused by epilepsy or MS, and relief from chronic and acute pain, to name a few), the drug remains illegal under federal law.

In Dying to Get High, noted sociologist Wendy Chapkis and Richard J. Webb investigate one community of seriously-ill patients fighting the federal government for the right to use physician-recommended marijuana. Based in Santa Cruz, California, the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) is a unique patient-caregiver cooperative providing marijuana free of charge to mostly terminally ill members. For a brief period in 2004, it even operated the only legal non-governmental medical marijuana garden in the country, protected by the federal courts against the DEA.

Using as their stage this fascinating profile of one remarkable organization, Chapkis and Webb tackle the broader, complex history of medical marijuana in America. Through compelling interviews with patients, public officials, law enforcement officers and physicians, Chapkis and Webb ask what distinguishes a legitimate patient from an illegitimate pothead, good drugs from bad, medicinal effects from just getting high. Dying to Get High combines abstract argument and the messier terrain of how people actually live, suffer and die, and offers a moving account of what is at stake in ongoing debates over the legalization of medical marijuana.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814772010
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	11/21/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	270
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Wendy Chapkis is Professor of Sociology and Women and Gender Studies at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, ME. She is the author of the award-winning book Live Sex Acts: Women Performing Erotic Labor and Beauty Secrets: Women and the Politics of Appearance.
Richard J. Webb is a lecturer in Communication Studies at San Jose State University, San Jose, CA.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments  Introduction 1 Shamans and Snake Oil Salesmen 2 Set and Setting  3 Th e Greening of Modern Medicine 4 “Potheads Scamming the System”  5 Cannabis and Consciousness  6 Mother’s Milk and the Muffin Man 7 Love Grows Here  8 Lessons in Endurance and Impermanence  Notes  Index  About the Authors 

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A thought provoking portrait of a Santa Cruz cannabis collective."
-The Chronicle of Higher Education

,

"Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine is an important and accessible book — not heavy on academic jargon, but rather lively and engaging, like a true detective novel — with a broad appeal to those interested in the medical potential of cannabis, an end to the drug war and grass roots activism." [Link to High Times interview]
-High Times

,

"Chapkis and Webb offer a well-written exposition of the polemics involved in the medical marijuana controversy. . . . Chapkis and Webb have skillfully intertwined abstract concepts with "real life" experiences that exemplify the costs and benefits of the medical marijuana drama."
-Choice

,

"This is a beautifully written account from the front lines of a struggle between a federal drug war complex determined to keep demonizing marijuana and the growing movement of patients and doctors who have found marijuana to be a valuable medicine. Voters in California and many other states have strongly supported the patients. The moving stories in this book show why."
-Craig Reinarman,co-author of Crack in America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice

"Emphasis here is on the human experience—extensive interviews provide a unique look at the day-to-day issues faced by chronic and terminally ill patients who find relief through the marijuana that is grown and distributed to them at no cost. WAMM's history, philosophies, and relationship with local officials are also examined."
-Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

"“An interesting and intelligent contribution to the contemporary history of drugs."

Stephen Snelders

"The authors offer a compelling take on the political and cultural debates that surround this issue."

Portland Phoenix

"Chapkis and Webb offer a well-written exposition of the polemics involved in the medical marijuana controversy. . . . Chapkis and Webb have skillfully intertwined abstract concepts with "real life" experiences that exemplify the costs and benefits of the medical marijuana drama."

Choice

"Chapkis and Webb’s new book provides a human element to the history, pharmacology, psychology, and politics of medical marijuana in a way that no other work has. The book is as riveting as a detective novel, as informative as a textbook, and as moving as a romance. I loved reading it and sure wish I’d written it."

Mitch Earleywine

"Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine is an important and accessible booknot heavy on academic jargon, but rather lively and engaging, like a true detective novelwith a broad appeal to those interested in the medical potential of cannabis, an end to the drug war and grass roots activism."

High Times

"Offering nuance in the place of slogans, Dying to Get High tells an inspiring story of the tactics and philosophies of a little-understood health movement."

Steven Epstein

"“Criticizes the disconnect between public policy and practical knowledge of the lives of medical marijuana users."

The Chronicle Review

"This is a beautifully written account from the front lines of a struggle between a federal drug war complex determined to keep demonizing marijuana and the growing movement of patients and doctors who have found marijuana to be a valuable medicine. Voters in California and many other states have strongly supported the patients. The moving stories in this book show why."

Craig Reinarman

"Their book offers an important overview of a public policy matter that is certain to become more significant in the coming years."

SocietyBooks of Note

"A thought provoking portrait of a Santa Cruz cannabis collective."

The Chronicle of Higher Education

"Offers a fascinating look at medi-pot, medi-pot patients, and the state of the nations drug laws, a must-read for every pot-law reformer."

Austin Chronicle

"Chapkis and Webb have done a masterful job in describing the intricacies of the drug debate and offer brilliant analysis on a complex and controversial subject. Both baby boomers and the current teenage population will find this book important and compelling reading."

Terry Williams

Addresses many important questions and contradictions in government policy, effectively rebutting official propaganda with common sense, scientific facts and the anecdotal evidence recorded by WAMM patients... the book is so well-written and researched that even the most hard-hearted will be persuaded that the Fed’s policies against the medicinal use of cannabis need to change now.”-High Times

"Their book offers an important overview of a public policy matter that is certain to become more significant in the coming years."
-SocietyBooks of Note

"Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine is an important and accessible book—not heavy on academic jargon, but rather lively and engaging, like a true detective novel—with a broad appeal to those interested in the medical potential of cannabis, an end to the drug war and grass roots activism."

-High Times

"Emphasis here is on the human experience—extensive interviews provide a unique look at the day-to-day issues faced by chronic and terminally ill patients who find relief through the marijuana that is grown and distributed to them at no cost. WAMM’s history, philosophies, and relationship with local officials are also examined."
-Library Journal

"Offers a fascinating look at medi-pot, medi-pot patients, and the state of the nation’s drug laws, a must-read for every pot-law reformer."

-Austin Chronicle

“The authors clarify many of the issues relating to medical marijuana and how it differs from recreational use.”-Library Journal

"This is a beautifully written account from the front lines of a struggle between a federal drug war complex determined to keep demonizing marijuana and the growing movement of patients and doctors who have found marijuana to be a valuable medicine. Voters in California and many other states have strongly supported the patients. The moving stories in this book show why."
-Craig Reinarman,co-author of Crack in America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice

From the Publisher