In Waiting to Inhale: The Politics of Marijuana, author Alan W. Bock addresses both the political and philosophical argument in favor of freedom to use medical marijuana. His book is a good source of information on Medical Marijuana because he knows his stuff. This is in part due to his extensive research on the subject of Marijuana and its medicinal value. Mr. Bock is the senior editorial writer and essayist for the Orange County Register in California. He is also well known for his best selling title "Ambush at Ruby Ridge" a highly respected report on the Randy Weaver affair. Mr. Bock, a reputable journalist, is on the side of medical marijuana but still shows objectivity in his analysis and philosophical conclusions.
             Bock explains, "Marijuana Plants have been used since antiquity for both herbal medication and intoxication. The current debate over the medical use of marijuana is essentially a debate over the value of its medicinal properties relative to the risk posed by its use."[1] Which leads to the main story the book tells of California's hesitant effort to implement Proposition 215, the 1996 initiative that would allow patients with a recommendation from a licensed physician to possess, use, and cultivate marijuana. Bock analyzes the medical marijuana issue, talking about the different initiatives that have come before the voters, the activists who helped get them on the ballot, the problem of effective distribution, and the interesting methods used by the federal government to bring them down. Bock explains the history of this plant as a drug, reminding everyone how marijuana used to be an ordinary, acceptable prescription drug/herb used to treat many different illnesses. He also explains how the federal governments' anti- marijuana propaganda was used to turn this fairly harmless drug into a Schedule 1 substance, the same classification that includes heroin and crack cocaine. This book gets you thi...