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

AuthorDanielle Dirks
DOI10.1177/0734016810389274
Published date01 June 2011
Date01 June 2011
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
Book Reviews 221

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