CANNABIS CULTURE

Legalize It: a provocative yet crisply readable and soberly researched examination of the international pro-marijuana scene, originally published in England, but well-suited to clear the smoke of American drug hysteria.

Matthews, a highly regarded wine writer (The Wild Bunch, 1998) and television producer, utilizes a broad narrative canvas, covering such diverse aspects as the agricultural prominence of cannabis crops in regions ranging from Appalachia to Afghanistan, recent advocacy for industrial hemp and for "Medi-Pot," user rituals and purchasing etiquette, and the law enforcement fluctuations in response to this most popular of illicit substances. Not a smoker himself, Matthews attempts an impartial stance, but he's soon swayed by many memorable individuals he meets in the semi-underground "pot culture"; he makes a strong case that these connoisseurs and cultivators approach cannabis with a seriousness and verve akin to that of wine enthusiasts. He suggests the resolution to a seemingly intractable prohibition dilemma lies in acknowledging the cannabis culture, and thus forcing it aboveground into ways that can be regulated and kept transparent (ideally different from the ultra-commercialized Dutch legalization model). He explores this multifaceted culture in leisurely, often humorous fashion, with such detours as the High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam (a smoke-choked collision of hyped American hedonism with the social nature of European enthusiasts); the rigorous pride and familial traditions of hashish manufacture in India, Morocco, and Afghanistan's Rif (regions where alcohol is regarded as a far worse drug); and the travails of a clean-cut young London acquaintance (a sort of Everytoker) who begins growing to pay his brother's pot-bust legal fees and is then arrested himself. After endless delays, he receives a light sentence via prosecutorial discretion, suggesting that British law enforcement attitudes are more pragmatic than in the US (where marijuana prosecutions are at an all-time high).

Ultimately, a fine omnibus treatment of a still-prickly subject, and a valuable contribution to an often turgid debate.