Preface

• Author: James G. Wigmore
• Pages: 29-36

 xxix

Preface

can·na·bis, noun. . A tall plant with a stif‌f upright stem, divided serrat-

ed leaves, and glandular hairs. It is used to produce hemp f‌ibre and as a

psychotropic drug. . A dried preparation of the f‌lowering tops or other

parts of this plant, or a resinous extract of it (cannabis resin), used (gener-

ally illegally) as a psychotropic drug, chief‌ly in cigarette form.

— Google search of “what is cannabis?”: over  million results

I am delighted by the response to my f‌irst book, Wigmore on Alcohol:

Courtroom Alcohol Toxicology for the Medicolegal Professional, and the

wide praise it has received from not only prosecutors, but criminal de-

fence lawyers, personal injury lawyers, forensic toxicologists, coroners,

medicolegal examiners, and the police as well. T he book made my

dream of having the voluminous forensic alcohol literature available in

one well-organized and -summarized book come to fruition. Wigmore

on Alcohol contained  studies on such wide topics as alcoholic black-

outs, the ef‌fect of blood in the mouth on breath alcohol testing, the ef-

fect of alcohol swabs on blood alcohol tests, and the ef‌fect of alcohol

ingestion on snoring. My well-thumbed copy of the book has a place of

honour next to my computer. Since it was published, I have referred to it

numerous times to clarif y the nitty-gritty of issues that ar ise from time

to time in medicolegal cases. In fact, one criminal defence lawyer told

me that he only requires two books to go to court, Dea n John Henry

Wigmore’s book, Wigmore on Evidence, and mine on alcohol. Hopefully