Academic Press Weed Science: Cannabis Controversies and Challenges

Product Description WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT MARIJUANA AND HOW DO WE KNOW IT? Marijuana is the most frequently consumed illicit drug worldwide, with over 158.8 million users, according to the UN. Responding to public pressure, the US federal government is likely to legalize recreational marijuana within the next few years. With increasing numbers of people using cannabis both medically and recreationally there are many looming questions that only science can answer. These include:What's likely to happen, both good and bad, if the US legalizes marijuana?What are some simple, science-based rules to separate fact from fiction and to help guide policy in the highly contentious marijuana debate?Exactly what is cannabis doing in the brain that gets us high? A journey through THC neuroscienceDoes cannabis really have medical benefits - what's the evidence?To what extent does cannabis impair driving?Can smoking marijuana in adolescence affect IQ or risk for developing schizophrenia?Is marijuana safe to use during pregnancy? Review "…the great surprise about Weed Science is the writing. Most readers, myself among them, struggle to slog through the numbing jargon of journal articles - they can often be as dry as that old bag of marijuana that was stashed in the garage three years ago and forgotten. Dr. Pearlson is a fine writer with a well-honed sense of humor that adds some sheen to material that could otherwise come off as dutifully academic. Even though he takes science seriously he also makes it enjoyable - no easy feat." --Joe Dolce, Author, Brave New Weed: Adventures into the Uncharted World of Cannabis"Dr. Pearlson clearly does not have an ax to grind nor does he come across as a proponent of legalization. This book reads as if the author enjoyed writing it, and not surprisingly, it is a book that is fun to read. The book is informative – even for someone who already has expertise in this area – covering topic as diverse as how to evaluate research on the health effects of cannabis and how cannabinoids work in the brain and body. I can totally see my students enjoying this book. For my future cannabis and health courses at the University of Colorado as well as my courses on Coursera, I will be recommending this book!" -- Kent Hutchison, PhD, Professor of Ssychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Founder of the Center for Research and Education Addressing Cannabis and Health. (Dr. Hutchison served on the 2016 National Academy of Sciences committee that published a comprehensive report on the health effects of cannabis.)"Weed Science concisely and clearly lays out a breadth of information concerning marijuana and the biological systems upon which it acts, ranging from the history of its use to the evolutionary biology of the endocannabinoid system. Complex topics such as the possible causal role of marijuana exposure to schizophrenia are presented in an analytical evidence-based manner reminding us that correlation is not the same as cause and that in this case common underlying factors might be at the basis of both mental illness and drug use, while the two can then interact and amplify each other. The potential medicinal properties of the principal cannabinoids, THC and CBD, are examined in detail while reminding us that effects could depend on dosage as well as underlying condition. This book is written in a manner that is both accessible to the literate lay reader, to the interested student, and the academic. I plan to recommended Weed Science as a must read at UC San Diego's Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research." -- Igor Grant MD Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at UC San Diego. "Weed Science is a highly informative, engaging and up-to-date journey through the history, epidemiology, toxicology, psychology, neuroscience, and economics of cannabis. Dr. Pearlson is a superb writer who cleverly engages us with an informal, dow