Between market start in Colorado in January 1, 2014 through the midterms in November, “Green” reports the events of the day and contextualizes them against thematic issues that cross the entire legalization debate.

 

Unlike any other analysis to date, the book explains the larger issues and themes that often fall to the side in daily reporting and advocacy.  For example, the book argues that the current effort to roll back business taxes in Washington State by 25% is part of a larger movement nationally far removed from marijuana reform where this idea features prominently.  The book also contextualizes the legal issues in the debate in a new light.  The increasingly fractious split in the advocacy movement is also discussed in detail, as well as where the real schisms lie. The business community, certainly at its start up and entrepreneurial end, is more closely aligned than usually portrayed, with the interests of medical users.

 

“Green” is also the story of individuals who made a difference in a groundbreaking year on several fronts.  From the rebellion of the Washington D.C. City Council to fight for voters’ rights and wishes over federal obstinance, to the bravery of those who ventured fearlessly forth into entrepreneurial markets never too far from the still omniscient feds, “Green” is also the story of those who put their lives on the line to move reform forward in a groundbreaking year.  Entrepreneurs and market movers interviewed for the book include Ata and Nicole Gonzalez, the founders of GFarmalabs; Justin Hartfield, the founder of Weedmaps; Marco Hegyi, the CEO of GrowLife; Joe Hodas, chief marketing officer of Dixie Elixirs; and reform advocates from all the leading national marijuana reform groups including NORML, the Marijuana Policy Project, Americans for Safe Access and the National Cannabis Industry Association.

 

Other issues central to the ongoing forward motion of marijuana legalization are also explained, dissected and discussed against a backdrop of movement in the states and at the federal level, as well as groundbreaking developments overseas.  The book covers issues such as banking, civil rights, taxes, regulation, seed control and the philosophical question du jour: Can the marijuana industry spark a new, sustainable and post-industrial economy in America?

 

It is a good primer for the experienced advocate and the newbie entrepreneur alike in addition to a good background for reporters and bloggers now entering the business.  The book is also a comprehensive adjunct to law school and university course material, media studies, political science, sustainability and urban studies, medicine and other related fields.  This is also the first business analysis to be published as a book about the nascent marijuana economy since market start in Colorado in January 2014.

 

Author Marguerite Arnold, is a veteran journalist, filmmaker, economist, new economy entrepreneur and now American expat living in Germany.  She covers the industry nationally for several zines in the US and England.  She spent her working life in the US between Washington DC and New York City where she worked in national politics and advocacy, national media, military affairs and analysis, IT and finance.  She obtained her BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She is planning to attend the Cologne Business School for her MBA starting fall 2015.  She is the daughter of noted children’s book author and illustrator Gail E. Haley, and Peter Drucker’s niece.

 

Green:  The First 12 Months of Modern American Marijuana Reform” is available at all major online bookstores including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, and Smashwords.

 

~