'Smoke Signals' Reading This Afternoon at Buds & Roses

Buds and Roses Collective is hosting a book reading by noted author Martin Lee Sunday afternoon, and then meeting afterward at Jumpcut Cafe.

"We are having an event for an amazing author who just wrote a great book on the history of Cannabis, mainly since the 1920s," said Aaron Justis of the Buds and Roses Collective at 13235 Ventura Blvd. "I believe many people in the Studio City community would greatly benefit and enjoy his speaking."

The event at the Collective is from 5 to 7 p.m. and then at Jumpcut from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Read more about the book at: http://www.smokesignalsthebook.com/

Smoke Signals, a groundbreaking social history of cannabis by Martin A. Lee, is poised to heat up the marijuana debate at a pivotal moment when legalization measures are on the ballot in several states and the medical marijuana community is reeling from federal pressure.

Although marijuana possession is illegal under federal law, half of all Americans have tried the herb and tens of millions use it regularly for therapeutic and recreational purposes.

A panoramic, character-driven narrative that explains why marijuana affects so many aspects of American life, Smoke Signals chronicles the development of a grassroots movement that began in the 1960s and grew into a widespread populist revolt against prohibition. The great leap forward came in 1996, when California voters shocked the political and medical establishments by passing Proposition 215, which authorized doctors to approve marijuana use by patients. Similar laws have since been enacted in 16 other states and the District of Columbia.

Published in August 2012 by Scribner (a division of Simon & Schuster) Smoke Signals describes the burgeoning of a multi-billion-dollar industry and exposes collusion by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to undermine the will of the electorate.

“The big, untold story,” according to Lee, an award-winning investigative journalist, “is that there have been more than a million documented medical users and no deaths and no pattern of health problems attributable to medical marijuana.”

Smoke Signals draws attention to underreported scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of a non-psychoactive component of marijuana, cannabidiol (CBD), which protects the brain against alcohol poisoning, stimulates adult stem cell growth, prevents the onset of diabetes, and shrinks malignant tumors — without causing a “high.” By mining the plant’s treasure trove of active ingredients, medical researchers have developed promising treatments for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, chronic pain, and many other conditions that are beyond the reach of conventional cures.

“It’s not just marijuana that got prohibited,” Tod Mikuriya, MD, a principal character in Smokes Signals, used to point out, “it’s the truth about history.” Martin A. Lee’s new social history of marijuana goes a long way towards restoring the prohibited truth.

Historian Douglas Brinkley said of Smoke Signals: “This is an important, serious-minded look at the role cannabis has played in American history. It tackles the hard issues of marijuana prohibition with keen insight and righteous indignation. I agree with Lee’s central premise that our marijuana laws are draconian. Every American should read this landmark book!”

“A ripping read, thoroughly researched, Smoke Signals will help inform the current debate and hopefully hasten the demise of prohibition.” — David Bronner, CEO, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps

Martin A. Lee is the author of several books, including Acid Dreams, his acclaimed social history of LSD. He is the co-founder of FAIR, the national media watch group, and director of Project CBD, an information service that reports on cannabis science and therapeutics. Lee is also a contributing editor of O’Shaughnessy’s, the journal of cannabis in clinical practice, and a writer for BeyondTHC.com.