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Editor's note: Wm. Willard Greene, who continues to be detained by authorities in rural California, asked his associate to fill in again this week.
There's more than one groan-inducing weed pun in the introduction of Marijuana for Everybody! (Chronicle Books, 190 pages, $16.95), and there are several more throughout the book. But while the second half of its self-billing as the "fun, accessible and authoritative handbook to one of life's greatest and most misunderstood natural resources" might be an exaggeration—there's a case to be made for water and oil being far more misunderstood—the first half is accurate.
The book, by longtime High Times contributor Elise McDonough, is well-written, carefully researched and incredibly thorough. Other than the activity guide at the end, which seems odd given stoners' well-documented abilities to amuse themselves (see Phish: discography), all the information in it is interesting and informative. It runs the gamut from the science behind THC, to instructions on how to roll a joint, to recipes for edible epicurea such as "Cannabis Coconut Mango Balls" and "Alaskan King Crab with Tinctured Cantaloupe, Avocado Puree and Cilantro Brown butter." While McDonough's voice is clear and concise, if a little heavy on weed puns, it shines brightest in the opening chapter, which traces pot use from ancient India to current legalization trends in the U.S. Along the way, it takes sobering stops to document the racist motivations of both pot's prohibition and the war on drugs.
Speckled with quotes from the likes of restaurateur Eddie
Huang, Snoop Dogg and neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta from back issues of High Times, the book also serves as a fitting tribute to the magazine, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, just like Willamette Week.
If you have even a passing interest in marijuana, start clearing a
space between your grinder and bong for this book on your coffee table.
If you don't, stop reading columns with "weed" in the title.
WWeek 2015