Review Detail

Starting out with a personal story from a pioneer in the field of medical marijuana use, Emily Gibson, this book really captures the reader's attention and interest on the first page. From there we get an overview of the history of marijuana's use in the medical field, and where the issue stands as of the publication date. A more detailed overview is covered in the first chapter.

Each subsequent chapter then goes on to describe a point of view either in support of or against medicinal use of marijuana, each with supporting facts, figures, and charts. Although there is no works cited at the end of each chapter, the sources for data and study information are clearly stated when necessary. While each chapter's title clearly states its particular point of view on the topic, it would have been helpful to have this more clearly distinguished in the table of contents, at the beginning of each chapter, or by the editor in the introduction. The chapters, at first glance, look very much like a high school textbook, which makes it crucial to distinguish between viewpoint articles and cut-and-dry facts.

The supporting appendices are great resources for those looking to get an overview of the situation with supporting documentation. Each section, such as "The Economic Impact of Medical Marijuana," and "Characteristics of Marijuana Users", clearly states where the data comes from, where and when it was published. The data is then clearly states in a bullet-point list, which makes it very accessible to students. The list of organizations to contact is a great primary resources, and the bibliography is helpful in pointing students to other resources. The bibliography would have been better to be divided into formats, such as books, internet resources, and periodicals.

Overall this book has a lot of timely information, backed up by sources and origins of the data used. The additional resources and appendices are invaluable for research. Recommended highly to school and public libraries.