READS: The Cannabis Manifesto by Steve DeAngelo

Founder of Harborside Health Center – a NorCal-based medical cannabis dispensary that ranks among the world's largest – DeAngelo understands the challenges of the cannabis industry all the way down to his 200,000+ patients. He sees cannabis as a "wellness catalyst" that must be legalized, and soon.

From his vantage point, there is no such thing as recreational cannabis, even if you claim to only get high because it makes you feel good. He asserts those pleasant feelings are mostly a reflection of the plant working its wonders inside your body's endocannabinoid system, a system we know to affiliate itself with almost every other major bodily complex: digestion, nerve signals, blood circulation, cognition, sleep, hormones, and so on.

Not to mention it's been proven to effectively treat health scourges like cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer's and diabetes to name just a few. For many, it sounds too good to be true, but according to DeAngelo, that seems to be mostly a negative, prohibition perspective conditioned by countless authority figures that claim leadership in our society.

He begins the book in his usual gentle, wise manner: "Cannabis is not harmful, but prohibition is." Not only does the author prove to readers the medicinal value of the cannabis plant, he also digs into the deep social injustice fed by the war on drugs. Since "drugs" began to be outlawed in America during the Prohibition Era, drug law in the U.S. has been used as a legal tool to incarcerate racial minorities, especially blacks and latinos.

The profiling practice continues at this very moment for most of America. If you follow the dangers of drug cartels along the U.S.-Mexican border, you also understand how policies in America have only bolstered this horrific violence for decades. As more states have legalized cannabis, those living in the Southwest have seen these cartels move from cannabis to harder drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine: A sign cannabis legalization is working.

DeAngelo claims when marijuana is legalized, crime rates and violent drug addictions drop consistently, and we've seen that in states like Colorado. Thinking about cannabis so broadly is what makes this read unique. When we hear cannabis presented in the media, good or bad, there's rarely much depth to wade in.

Needless to say, DeAngelo isn't relying on some "hippie" logic to prove his points, but rather cites studies and grounds his message in steady reasoning that's easy for almost anyone to understand. That makes it a great book to hand off to what remains of your cannabis-skeptical family and friends.

THE CANNABIS MANIFESTO carries with it eight essential truths, the last of which is: "Legalization cannot and will not be stopped." That same unshakable faith in humanity's collective potential is palpable when you hear DeAngelo speak and upon reading this latest work. Watch the video for more from Steve DeAngelo and his new book...

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“I don't know if there's anyone on the planet right now that possesses Steve's level of business savvy and knowledge of the cannabis plant.”
– Johnny Green, The Weed Blog

There's no greater authority in the United States on marijuana and the laws surrounding it than Steve DeAngelo.” – Morgan Spurlock, Oscar Nominated Film Maker

“Finally, an intelligent public discourse about cannabis. This is an invitation to a promising paradigm shift." – Rickie Williams, Former NFL Star