This new marijuana policy book edited by best-selling academic author Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D., two chapters about religious denominations’ opinions reveal substantial support for less punitive marijuana laws. Pot Politics: Marijuana and the Costs of Prohibition, just released by Oxford University Press, is the first book to compile the official marijuana policy positions of dozens of the largest religious groups in the United States.

IDPI Executive Director Charles Thomas’s chapters in the new book summarize and quote from the marijuana-related positions of the 25 largest Christian denominations in the United States, as well as Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist groups. Several scientific public opinion polls are also cited, along with the opinions of prominent religious individuals.

Sixteen other authors have contributed chapters to Pot Politics, on topics including: drug testing; economic consequences of prohibition; marijuana laws abroad; media reporting on marijuana issues; drug education; and school policies.

Book editor Mitch Earleywine also wrote the 2002 Oxford-published Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence, an academic best-seller.