This is Rusty Reno.

I'm the editor of first things.

And welcome to our regular podcast, The Editor's Desk,

which of course is where I'm sitting. And today I have with me

Nate Huckman, staff writer at National Review, and even more importantly, author of Can a Business

Goes to Pot, a review in the October issue of first things, a review of the book by Robin Goldstein and

Daniel Summer, Sumner, Can Legal Weed Win the blunt realities of cannabis economics? Welcome to

the First Things podcast, Nate. It's my pleasure, Rusty. Thanks for having me.

All right. Great. So, this book is written by what, pro-legalization folks?

Yes. I would say both the economists who are at the University of California system, they're

pretty obviously.

They don't try to hide their cards in favor of cannabis legalization, but they are distinct

from pro-legalization activists in that the entire book is very common-sensical. It's cataloging all of the major

problems with cannabis legalization. So it's written from a sympathetic perspective in that they are

trying to write it as a sort of program guide to help the cannabis legalization movement

overcome all of these monumental problems that it's encountered

since the experiment began in the early 2015s. Excuse me. But the cannabis business has been an

absolute disaster and they do not shy away from describing exactly how disasters have been.

So, all right.

So let's, I mean, my recollection is this is going to be a great win-win, right?

That's always been the argument for legalization.

What is it?

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