I'm pretty jazzed about this graphic novel kick! Hopefully, this year I will finally make it to my reading goal... This was a great recommendation from my weed mom. If you want to be frustrated with the United States and their ability to ban weed through the UN, but also want to learn about some of the cool ancient history surrounding the green stuff, I highly recommend it. This was a great, quick read!

Ok. I knew most of this already, at least in the large brush strokes. I wasn't aware of the enormous influence, if the facts here are correct, of Harry Anslinger. From this book it almost seems like he single-handedly affected drug policy in the USA and UN.

What a fun fun informative read. And fun!

Cannibis: The Illegalization of Weed in America is by the irrepressibly likeable Box Brown, who makes comics on anything he pleases (which is how I read, just anything at random, basically, so you go, Box!), from Tetris to Andy Kaufmann to marijuana, which he researches pretty deeply and then writes a graphic essay about. Most of the facts and history he shares I basically know, that the US of A in particular has had a long, weird relationship to the drug, which it has for decades demonized as "...

Box Brown gives a pretty thorough account of how one of the most unfairly maligned drugs of all time arrived at its current perception in Cannabis: An American History.Beginning with its ties to Hinduism, Brown explores the many ways that the drug was used in the US in the 19th and early 20th centuries (ie. quack cures) before a racist politician called Harry J. Anslinger saw how widely used the drug was used amongst minorities and set out to ban it in the name of morality and public health. Des...

Well researched, and well written this informative content really explained a lot of things I should have already known. Box browns style is made for nonfiction, and this is probably his most impactful book yet in my eyes.

I know Brown through his Retrofit imprint mainly ,although I’ve read his 3 other historical non-fiction graphic novels through First Second. The art is simple yet effective in a John Porcellino way. We get bogged down a little in Hindu history at the start but generally this is a well researched book as evidenced by the extensive bibliography. Pot is legal in my country and my teenage son argues that it’s safer than booze. I agree with him but...I’ve read articles about not using it until age 25...

Interesting history, but I felt the end was a bit weak.

Enjoyed this history on cannabis

Interesting, entertaining, eye-opening graphic novel exploring the history of cannabis's legal status in the US --and (not surprisingly) how much of the outrage over cannabis was tied to racism and lies.

Award-winning graphic novelist Box Brown is back with the real story of how cannabis - weed, marijuana, reefer - went from being a plant used for spiritual purposes to being labeled a gateway drug that caused "reefer madness". How did it happen, you say? Racism. Politics. Propaganda. Scare tactics. The usual song and dance. Box Brown has done his research and, combined with his minimalist artwork, presents a tale that will have you seeing the politics of marijuana (the origin of that name is in

The title of this one pretty much says it all. This is a history in comics form of cannabis and the factors that went into making it illegal in the US. With so many states legalizing it for medical and/or recreational use in recent years, it's a timely subject. And the racial and immigration issues that helped spur the public furor that led to the ban also resonate with current events.Brown has written a solid, well thought out book here. He does a good job of debunking many of the myths associa...

Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America by Box Brown genuinely delivers on its title. I feel like I actually have a pretty decent understanding of the history of the legality of cannabis in the US. I knew OF a lot of the stuff in this book, but I didn't know a lot ABOUT it. The general basics of a lot of it was very familiar to me (Nixon and Reagan being The Worst, early roots in racism, AIDS activists helping gain access for medical use, etc) but so many specific details were lost on me...

Outstanding look at the process by which cannabis became illegal - a timely book that is front and center today as the issue of legalization in the US is hotly debated.

3.5 stars, but I'll round up. While much of the information was not revelatory, it was interesting and well laid out. The degree to which cannabis was demonized along racist paths, and, to a lesser extent, simply to further the career of a dogmatic man, makes me sad. I wish there had been a little more information about the truth, with research and therapeutic effects, rather than focusing on how much of the propaganda was lies.

I'll be upfront and admit to being a total square: I've never done illegal drugs, had eight alcoholic drinks over four years in college and decided that was enough of that, and have never felt the need to redeem the pain pill prescriptions given to me after root canals. My family has a history of alcohol abuse, so I went the sugar addiction route instead (which is, of course, not without its own problems).That said, I support drug legalization because I believe that prohibition acts as more of a...

Previous volumes by the author promised (and delivered) an interesting and accessible look at their subjects, but this is a just a diatribe dressed up with cartoons - a black and white world where there is no downside to drug use and anyone who disagrees is racist. That's not a glib line. Literally everyone who doesn't love drugs in the book is portrayed as overtly, unrepentantly racist. So....think about the intellectual power of the people who throw that term around at their opponents and judg...

Historical graphic novel sweep of hemp/cannabis/marijuana use beginning with the introduction of hemp seeds by Hernan Cortes in 1519 to Mexico. Includes details about religious usage throughout history in India and the fervor of American 'Just-Say-No' folks in the last century in the US. Much like Anthony Comstock championing obscenities and anti-vice in the same era, cannabis has its own virulent opposition in government employee Harry Anslinger. Anslinger actively pursued cannabis prohibition

The unchecked prejudice towards a plant shows just how brainless and unquestioning prejudicial attitudes are. And yes there is and always has been a direct connection to racism itself. If you are intelligent and conscientious then you are probably concerned about racism right now, which in North America is a very deep and very serious problem. And if you are capable of critical thinking you might have already asked "Why has Cannabis been called 'marijuanna' for decades by the U.S. government and...

This nonfiction graphic novel explores the history of cannabis use and its connection to racism, propaganda, and politics. I knew a lot of this from watching the documentary Grass is Greener, but it was informative nonetheless with some new-to-me information, such as the significance of cannabis on religious rituals in India. The overall takeaway, however: racism is as American as apple pie and it's infuriating. 😠