Book Description

“A gimlet-eyed and often hilarious account of the author’s round-the-world reefer safari . . . A surprisingly clear-headed view of potheads worldwide” (The New Yorker). In Pot Planet, journalist Brian Preston sets out on a global ganja safari to explore strange new cannabis cultures, to seek out new growers, activists, and other reefer revolutionaries . . . and to boldly get baked with each of them. Preston’s journeys take him across every strata of pot cultivation and enjoyment. In the Canadian Kootenays, he meets hemp farmers struggling to harvest their crop on the fringes of legitimacy. In Cambodia and Morocco, he explores the final frontiers of Third World weed enthusiasts. In northern California, he takes a clear-eyed look at the medicinal marijuana movement, seeing both its promises and its problems. In England, Switzerland, and Spain, he observes grudging governments catching up to public tolerance. And at the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, he joins in the raucous multiday tasting competition and celebration at the international summit of the best breeders, growers, and connoisseurs in the world. Part investigative travelogue, part cultural history, part polemic for the unfettered enjoyment of nature’s most perfect and pleasing herb, Pot Planet is an unforgettable odyssey into the multifaceted world of hemp, full of wit, insight, and inspiration. “Fun to read, gallops along and, should you like to embark on such an odyssey yourself, might even serve as a guide . . . [or] an intoxicated mystery tour.” —Salon “A marvelously entertaining, well-written and probing look at the world though marijuana . . . Throughout, Preston proves himself to be both an intrepid traveler and a fine storyteller.” —Publishers Weekly