Pot Planet: Adventures in Global Marijuana Culture (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Four years ago Rolling Stone magazine assigned me to write a story about the marijuana culture of Vancouver, British Columbia..." (more)
Key Phrases: grow shop, medical marijuana, hemp oil, United States, Mardi Grass, Phnom Penh (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For this adventurous travelogue, freelance journalist Preston (a contributor to Rolling Stone, Details and Vogue) literally smoked his way around the world, investigating marijuana culture in the U.S. and Europe as well as in places as far away as Nepal, Morocco, Australia and Southeast Asia. Although the idea of a journalist smoking himself across the globe might sound like the kind of lightweight assignment dreamed up at a High Times office party, the book, based mostly on Preston's extensive travels, is a marvelously entertaining, well-written and probing look at the world through marijuana, from the plant itself to the subculture of peoples who smoke it (an estimated 200 million worldwide), grow it, sell it and outlaw it. Throughout, Preston proves himself to be both an intrepid traveler and a fine storyteller. He effortlessly weaves tales humorous and harrowing, vividly rendering his environs and introducing readers to an array of fascinating characters, from growers in Vancouver to activists in London and a variety of guides and acquaintances in exotic locales. A copious researcher, he is equally at ease detailing plant science or the evolution of Amsterdam's drug policies. To his credit, Preston avoids introducing any sort of legalization polemic until a final, brief chapter, which is an unfortunate addition. His musings at the book's end only interfere with any conclusions readers themselves might be expected to draw. Still, for those who share an affinity with Preston's subject, this excellent book will be devoured like a tray of brownies.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In the late 1990s, freelance journalist Preston wrote an article for Rolling Stone on marijuana culture in Vancouver, where he was living. Inspired by the experience, he traveled to 11 countries, from Nepal to the United States, to investigate marijuana availability, quality, and devotees. Along the way, he smoked, ate, and drank a great deal of pot. Among the most fascinating aspects of his book, which is a mix of travelog, cultural history, and screed, are his investigations of the arcana of marijuana culture, especially the science of growing the plant and the different varieties of seeds available. Preston is clearly a proponent of legalization and sees the United States as a veritable dinosaur in this area. His book is a very entertaining read, informally written. Recommended for most libraries. A.O. Edmonds, Ball State Univ., Muncie, IN
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (April 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802138977
• ISBN-13: 978-0802138972
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #340,886 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a Big Stoned World Out There, July 23, 2002

By	R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" (Columbus, Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Thirty years ago, there were plenty of late night delirious conversations about how someday soon you could buy grass at your local supermarket. But pot somehow is a much bigger deal than anyone had thought, a world-wide obsession over a simple weed that millions find fun or useful, and others find perilous. So Brian Preston, a Canadian journalist, decided he would do a worldwide survey of the international marijuana scene. It was a perfect self-assignment: he likes vagabonding, and he likes getting stoned. The result, _Pot Planet: Adventures in Global Marijuana Culture_ (Grove Press) is a hilarious travelogue through smoke filled rooms, with a subtly serious message: "What's more likely to destroy the earth, pot or pollution? And there's a war on pot?"

Preston is a dedicated journalist, or at least he loves his subject so much that he is happy to go to enormous lengths to investigate it. "For much of the research and most of the writing of this book, I was high on marijuana. Now then - it can't be _that_ amotivating." He becomes a judge of the Cannabis Culture Cup, with the difficult task of rating all these strains, and more, in the categories of appearance, fragrance, texture, taste, aftertaste, and stone (and he remarks on the difficulties of evaluating that last category after you have already judged other entrants; he can't, like a wine taster, just spit it out). He has funny stories from all over. "If you want to score anywhere in Asia," Preston advises, "just find a place where they're playing Bob Marley music." In the town of Nimbin, Australia, there are "grass palaces," houses paid for by pot cultivation: "They were hippies; now they're middle class." One wants to franchise pot restaurants in the shape of a giant bong, the Big Bong Burger Bar. In Switzerland, searching out contacts, Preston asks a city employee, a tourist helper, "Do you know where I could by _hemp_ products around here? Like clothing and stuff?" She thinks a minute. "Hmmm. Hemp clothing... No... But we have three stores where you can buy grass!" In Morocco a shady tourist guide assures him about purportedly fine hashish, "Half a kilo, Brian! Very easy to hide in a suitcase for the flight home!" In Canada, backwoods growers have given death threats to those who wish to introduce hemp production for fiber, because of the fear that the low-stoning hemp will cross pollinate and ruin the intoxicant varieties.

In every chapter, Preston shows that American politics have affected global marijuana in ways that not even the most rabidly anti-pot politician would favor. Naturally, Preston knows just what the US and the world ought to do with marijuana laws, but he usually withholds proselytization on the issue. He is an amusing writer with clever comparisons; a stoner holds in his toke so deeply that he eventually disgorges "a cloud of smoke huge and heavy enough to show up on a satellite weather shot." He withholds most of his serious arguments until his last chapter, which is quite accurately titled "Pot Polemic." And he has graceful ambivalence about what legality might bring, having seen a bit of it in Amsterdam, pushed like booze and tobacco: "Is this what legalization would be like? Would pot become just another consumer product, marketed like any other line of goods in Babylon?" Maybe there would be disadvantages, yes, but this book is indispensable for anyone who wants an amusing survey of the current world marijuana situation. Americans, especially, would do well to catch this bigger picture.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great summer read, May 30, 2002

By	"midnight_toker" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Having just completed 'Pot Planet', I'd like to say how great this book is. Being an lover of all things ganja, I am so pleased to see someone finally writing about the truths behind the marajuana culture. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

This travelogue/cultural history study is a fast-paced peek into the history and hypocrises of this happy herb. Without being too much of a tour-guide, and more like a buddy you're bumming around the world with, Preston takes us from the sweet, sticky buds of Vancouver, B.C, to the opium-laced weed of the Far East, stopping at places like England, Switzerland, Spain, Austrailia and the marajuana mecca, the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam on the way.

I recommend this book to anyone who is not able to vacation this year - see the world without leaving your couch!

The book itself read a little fast, with the stops he makes feeling all too brief. Having visited some of the places mentioned myself, I felt there is more that could have been said, but as always, time is a factor.

All in all though, this book is finally a true testament to pot-smoking throughout the world, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys this natural plant, in all her splendor.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great guide to global ganja, September 13, 2002

By	Dana Larsen (Cannabis Culture Magazine) - See all my reviews

Brian Preston documents his travels as he encounters the people, places and events that make up the core of the world's modern cannabis culture.

Preston's flobal ganja voyage begins in BC, at the first Cannabis Culture Cup in February 2000, held at Marc Emery's home on the Sunshine Coast. From there, Preston travels the world's weedy hotspots, sampling buds and meeting the locals in Nepal, Southeast Asia, Australia, England, Amsterdam, Morocco, BC, and the USA.

Cannabis Culture readers will recognize many of the people who Preston encounters on his travels. In Amsterdam he tokes with Sensi Seeds founder Ben Dronkers, in Australia he hangs at the Nimbin Hemp Embassy and attends their annual Mardi Grass, In California he discusses DEA raids with med-pot icon Dennis Peron. In Vancouver he gets high on buds from Marc Emery, and discusses activism with locals like David Malmo-Levine.

Pot Planet is a perfect snapshot of the people, places and events that make up the global ganja culture during the dawn of the new millennium. The book is written in a friendly, conversational style. It's an easy and enlightening read, and will be enjoyed by both chronic and non-toker alike.