Pot, Inc.: Inside Medical Marijuana, America's Most Outlaw Industry [Hardcover]

Greg Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2012

Greg Campbell, coauthor of the bestselling Flawless and Blood Diamonds, presents a compelling, close-up investigation of a hot-button topic: America's schizophrenic attitude to the legalization of pot.

 

Campbell, a suburban father whose biggest vice is a cold beer, seems like the last person who would grow weed in his basement. But his attitude changed in 2009, when his home state of Colorado led the nation in mainstreaming medical marijuana. Watching with fascination as above-board and financially thriving dispensaries popped up everywhere, Campbell wondered, “Why not me?” Pot, Inc. chronicles Greg's journey into DIY ganjapreneurialism, as he learns how to cultivate marijuana, examines America's often unduly harsh laws, and unearths ignorance about pot's centuries-old therapeutic value--ignorance the government is desperate to maintain. Along the way, he also gains a very personal insight into the drug's medicinal value that shapes his opinion about legalization.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Is legalizing marijuana for medical purposes primarily a cover for increasing access for recreational use, or will legalization chiefly provide medical relief to patients with few other options while also fostering a more open dialog about this controversial substance? Although a number of states now allow marijuana for medical use, it is still illegal under federal law. Citing curiosity as his motive, Campbell (Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History) sought an insider's view into cannabis culture. The author, who lives in Colorado, where medical marijuana is legal under state law, gets approved as a medical user, attends cannabis conventions, studies cannabis horticulture, and interviews advocates and DEA officials to learn more about this way of life. VERDICT With humor (e.g., explaining to his teenage son about the pot growing in their basement and trying to cover the pervasive smell from neighbors) and compassion (e.g., in interviews with patients who have found relief only through marijuana), Campbell provides an absorbing and thought-provoking firsthand look at this hotly debated issue. Recommended." --Library Journal

 

 

Praise for FLAWLESS:

 

"Like a diamond, this true-life caper is clear, colorful, and brilliant." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

 

"Fans of caper books and movies will be in seventh heaven here. ...A must-read for true-crime fans." --Booklist (starred review)

About the Author

GREG CAMPBELL is the author of Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History (a Denver Post, Globe & Mail, and Library Journal bestseller), Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones (the source material for the Leonardo DiCaprio movie of the same name), and The Road to Kosovo: A Balkan Diary. Campbell is also an award-winning journalist whose his writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal Magazine, The Economist, The San Francisco Times, Paris Match, and The Christian Science Monitor, among others. He lives in Fort Collins, CO.

 

 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; 1 edition (April 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402779259
• ISBN-13: 978-1402779251
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #799,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Greg Campbell is an award-winning journalist and author who has written for such publications as The Economist, WSJ Magazine, Paris Match, The Christian Science Monitor, the San Francisco Chronicle, In These Times and Amnesty Magazine, among others. He is the author of three nonfiction books, Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History, The Road to Kosovo and Blood Diamonds. The latter served as inspiration for the Oscar-nominated 2006 film Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly. Greg's third nonfiction book, Flawless; Inside the Biggest Diamond Heist in History, will be published in the coming months by Union Square Press. He has won more than two dozen journalism awards from the Inland Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Colorado Press Association, Colorado Associated Press Reporters and Editors, and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. He lives in Fort Collins, Colo., with his wife and son.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read on a complex, controversial topic May 24, 2012

By Mary Chipman

Format:Hardcover

Greg Campbell appears to have been the perfect person to write this book, which I read in one gulp, being unable to put it down. He starts out from a neutral, non-partisan position, bringing his curiosity, investigative skills and objectivity as a journalist to the task. Along the way he sorts the truth from the many fictions propagated in the "war on drugs", exposing the racist origins of the current laws. He lays bare the follies and fictions that underlie the whole misbegotten enterprise one by one as he uncovers them, taking the reader along for the ride in his search for the truth. So much of what is "common knowledge" about marijuana is completely unsupported by science, statistics or common sense. I had always assumed that there was some harm in marijuana, and I was surprised to learn about the reams of testimony to the contrary by reliable sources (such as the AMA), and that the Federal government had suppressed this evidence and ignored the recommendations of the experts. So many have been incarcerated and had their lives needlessly ruined for mere possession of a plant that grows naturally on the earth, at great cost to society. It's ironic that cannabis is the largest cash crop in the U.S., for which the government gets zero tax dollars while pouring countless millions down the rat hole of the lost war on drugs. So my questions after reading the book are: (1) What part of the Constitution gives the government the right to dictate what consenting adults consume in the privacy of their own homes as long as they are not harming anyone, even themselves? And (2) what part of a just and compassionate society denies those dying and in terrible pain the one substance that makes their lives bearable? I hope this book is widely read as this is a non-partisan, libertarian issue. The Declaration of Independence affirms our sovereign right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and our history confirms that sometimes you have to fight for those rights, they don't just happen.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great writing. Great reporting. Great topic. May 17, 2012

By Laura Pritchett

Format:Hardcover

A caveat to start: I don't enjoy pot myself, it's just not my thing; but I have several disabled/injured friends who swear by the medicinal qualities and so I'm a proponent of legalization. It's a tricky topic, though (how much? to whom? which doctors and for what conditions? how to dispense? driving/blood limits, etc and etc), and my home state of Colorado has been in the forefront of the efforts to figure out all that mess. To which I say: Good! Because someone needs to figure it out. This book does an amazing job of reporting on all sorts of issues, and the writing is just fantastic (funny, wise, honest, real). I highly recommend.

5.0 out of 5 stars Product Review January 6, 2013

By Cheryl L. Fergeson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is just what I had in mind for my order. Great service and excellent quality product. I highly recommended!