Book Review: J. London How the Use of Marijuana was Criminalized and Medicalized, 1906-2004: A Foucaultian History of Legislation in America Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2009. v, 161 pp. $99.95. ISBN 978-0-773-43772-2

• Author: Danielle Dirks
• Date: 01 June 2011
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016810389274
• Published date: 01 June 2011
• Subject Matter: Articles

J. London

How the Use of Marijuana was Criminalized and Medicalized, 1906-2004:

A Foucaultian History of Legislation in America Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press,

2009. v, 161 pp. $99.95. ISBN 978-0-773-43772-2

Reviewed by: Danielle Dirks, University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016810389274

With medicinal marijuana currently allowed in 14 states and marijuana reform increasingly

appearing on ballot initiatives, it is clear that marijuana in the United States is undergoing a very

public face-lift. As the tide of public opinion shifts away from marijuana prohibition, American drug

policy is being reevaluated at all levels. In 2009, President Obama announced the federal govern-

ment would stop prosecuting medicinal marijuana users as long as they adhered to state laws gov-

erning its use. Less than a year later, he signed into law a reduction of crack-cocaine federal

sentencing disparities. By all measures, the War on Drugs and its resultant imprisonment binge have

been utter failures. Drug reform has become one solution for many of these issues, and marijuana is

front and center of nearly every current debate. For all of these reasons, London’s book is as timely

as it is important.

In his first book,London provides a thought-provoking social historyof a plant that has undergone

constant redefinition over the past century. By examining a very thorough corpus of data—legislative

histories, transcripts, and initiatives; social movement materials; and news stories from nearly every

major news source—he is able to provide a unique look at marijuana’s so cial transformation over

the past century. His multilevel analysis takes a social constructionist perspective to examine the

ways in which marijuana came to be criminalized, and medicalized, in America. He provides a

rich analysis of the crystallizing events that set forth yet another experiment with prohibition, and

his conclusions explain why we should take a critical view of the marijuana medicalization project

currently underway.

The book is heavily grounded both theoretically and methodologically. His social constructionist

viewpoint is bolstered by the theoretical work of Michel Foucault, Elliot Currie, Peter Conrad, and

Joseph Schneider. It is clear that theseframeworks were carefullychosen, and London has a distinctive

ability to clarify the usefulness of each not only for his own purposes here but makes these works

accessible for others as well. Similarly, he expounds his use of Gavin Kendall and Gary Wickham’s

method of using Foucault and successfully organizes his analysis using this method. Readers will

undoubtedly find London’s well-organized and detailed theory and method sections a valuable tool

for their own research.

Some of the major highlights from the many contributions the book provides: a comprehensive

sociolegal history of marijuana legislation in the United States; the framing and reframing by illus-

trious stakeholders in criminalizing marijuana; and the process by which framing casts designations

(deviant and otherwise) upon marijuana users—delineating two distinct categories: ‘‘criminals’’ and

‘‘patients.’’ London also illustrates that these definitions and designations have not been without

serious consequence. In fact, he urges us to see beyond criminalization–medicalization binary think-

ing, encouraging us to view even processes of legitimating marijuana as a medicine as restrictive to

the realm of possibilities available for its existence.

Overall, this book is a welcomed contribution to deviance, social control, and medicalization

scholars. Given the current state of drug and penal reform in the Unites States, the book provides

as many unique answers as it raises new questions: What will become of those who do not fall neatly

into ‘‘criminal’’ or ‘‘patient’’ designations? How will claims makers outside of criminalization

and medicalization projects contend with the contemporary reframing of marijuana solely as a

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