Stories by Martin A. Lee

Martin A. Lee is the author of Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana – Medical, Recreational and Scientific. Lee is the director of Project CBD, a cannabis science information service, and cofounder of the media watch group FAIR. He is also the author of Acid Dreams and The Beast Reawakens. For more information and regular updates, follow Smoke Signals—the book on Facebook.'  subscribe to Martin A. Lee's feed

The Same Compounds Behind Marijuana's Distinctive Stinky Smells Give Clues About the Kinds of High You'll Experience

Posted on: Apr 8, 2013, Source: High Times

The secrets behind marijuana’s bouquet are in the "terpenes."

Is Juicing Raw Cannabis the Miracle Health Cure That Some of Its Proponents Believe It to Be?

Posted on: Apr 3, 2013, Source: O'Shaughnessy's

Fact-checking one of the newest trends in administering cannabis for therapeutic use.

8 Visions for the Future of Legal Pot

Posted on: Dec 1, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The future of cannabis is up for grabs, but drug policy reformers have major strategic differences about how to proceed.

Why Candy Crowley Should Have Asked Obama and Romney About Hemp

Posted on: Oct 18, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The debate was held in Hempstead, a town where farmers once cultivated the durable, lucrative crop that is illegal to grow today.

Synthetic Pot as a Military Weapon? Meet the Man Who Ran the Secret Program

Posted on: Jul 18, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Dr. James Ketchum tested a potent form of synthetic marijuana on soldiers to develop a secret weapon in the '60s. Now he's telling the tale.

Government Shows No Compassion for Medical Pot Consumption

Posted on: Jun 15, 2007, Source: AlterNet

More than ten years after California's Compassionate Use Act was passed by voters, state and local officials are still collaborating with federal law enforcement to undermine it.

Reefer Refugees

Posted on: Apr 5, 2005, Source: Razor

No American has ever been granted Canadian refugee status because of the war on drugs, but the times they may be changing.

A Long Strange Trip

Posted on: Nov 8, 2004, Source: AlterNet

A sprawling cultural history of illicit drug use in post-WWII America sets out to tell the whole truth about forbidden pharmacological fruit.

Truth Serums & Torture

Posted on: Jun 10, 2002, Source: The Consortium

Do truth serums really work? A long history of experimentation by the U.S. government suggests some are trying to find out, even though the practice borders on torture.

Olympics: Gold, Silver, Bronze -- But Not Green

Posted on: Feb 4, 2002, Source: AlterNet

The upcoming Winter Games will wreak ecological havoc in Utah, as pristine wilderness is overwhelmed by development, traffic, waste and energy consumption.

Dispatch from Anthrakistan

Posted on: Nov 26, 2001, Source: AlterNet

Our own government has launched a crusade against civil liberties and jihad against dissent.

13 Questions for Bush about America's Anti-terrorism Crusade

Posted on: Sep 27, 2001, Source: AlterNet

If we had an aggressive, independent press corps, it might ask President Bush a few of these questions....

Shamanism vs. Capitalism: The Politics of Ayahuasca

Posted on: Jul 23, 2001, Source: Organica

Ayahuasca, the most celebrated hallucinogenic drug of the Amazon, is under threat from both anti-narcotics agencies and corporations that want to patent and sell it for profits.

The CIA's Original Sin

Posted on: Apr 25, 2000, Source: deleted

For U.S. policy-makers the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on September 18th provides yet another opportunity for self-righteous, congratulatory proclamations about "winning the cold war." But the American public would be better served if U.S. officials marked this occasion by owning up to the CIA's original sin, which dates back to the spy agency's earliest days: its covert use of a Nazi spy network stuffed to the brim with war criminals.