“Cannabis Trips: A Global Guide That Leaves No Turn Unstoned” ($16.95, Running Press)
It’s a travel book but by no means a typical one. Author Bill Weinberg explores the cannabis scenes from Arcata in Humboldt County, Calif., to Australia. He reports that the first apparent written reference to cannabis appeared in a compendium compiled by Chinese emperor Shen Nung (circa 2800 B.C.). He writes about the music festivals where marijuana is ubiquitous (Woodstock, of course, but also the Glastonbury Festival in England). The Netherlands also is hereagain no surprise — but so is (genuine surprise) Toronto, which hosts Canada’s biggest cannabis festival in early May. In addition, he reports on the scenes in such disparate places as Morocco; Durban, South Africa; Kathmandu, Nepal; Kingston, Jamaica; and Rio de Janeiro. He offers portraits of cannabis trippers from the past (that would include the Parisian bohemian poet Charles Baudelaire and various members of the Beat Generation, from Jack Kerouac to William Burroughs). But he also offers much-needed practical advice for those in the culture (“Know the law and have some savvy about the political realities of your destination”).
Chicago Tribune
