As it relates to cannabis, the concept of “fake news” predates the 2016 election cycle, with our society having been spoon-fed misinformation about cannabis for the past century. But as advocates and consumers of cannabis, many of us have made it our civic duty to equip ourselves with credible, accurate information about the plant, absorbing the best cannabis books written by veteran growers Jorge Cervantes or Ed Rosenthal among others.
Just as every grower has a garden, every stoner has a library.
With that in mind, it’s important to look for new reads to keep our minds fresh and in the know. Here are some recently released and upcoming titles to consider adding to your cannabis library.
The CBD Oil Solution By Rachna Patel (2019)
Cannabidiol (CBD) has become increasingly popular over the past five years, and the market is expected to boom thanks to the passing of last year’s federal Farm Bill.
Author Dr. Rachna Patel specializes in teaching patients how CBD can alleviate and relieve symptoms of their medical conditions, and her new book is a comprehensive guide to those teachings. Patel clearly explains exactly what CBD is, and advises whether CBD oil is the right choice for the reader, while providing guidance on how to buy and use the oil. Additionally, the book provides recipes for beverages, sweets and homemade wellness products.
The CBD Oil Solution can be helpful to growers who may not fully recognize how versatile CBD can be as a wellness product, and give them a better understanding of how expanding into CBD products can benefit their clientele.
The CBD Oil Solution: Treat Chronic Pain, Anxiety, Insomnia and More — Without The High
The Little Book Of Cannabis By Amanda Siebert (2018)
We know that cannabis has medicinal value. But do you know of all the ways it can be used as medicine beyond the qualifying conditions lists put forth by individual states — beyond serious health conditions like cancer and AIDS? That’s where The Little Book of Cannabis comes in.
We don’t need a “qualifying condition” in order to take advantage of our bodies’ endocannabinoid systems in using cannabis as a wellness tool. Cannabis journalist Amanda Sieber outlines how cannabis can improve sleep, decrease stress, boost mood, manage pain, aid metabolism and ease aging.
The Little Book of Cannabis: How Marijuana Can Improve Your Life
High Time: The Legalization and Regulation Of Cannabis In Canada (2019)
Co-edited by Andrew Potter and Daniel Weinstock, High Time: The Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis in Canada opens up political, public health, legal, economical and international concerns for how federal legalization will be applied in Canada’s provinces and territories.
The text asks crucial questions: Is it wrong for public officials to profit from the cannabis industry? Could legalization be just another drug war by the back door? What lessons can we learn from the alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical industries? How do we address cannabis arrests, which still have significant racial disparities, in the post-prohibition age?
Weinstock’s chapter, entitled “Will Legalization Protect Our Kids?” was one of the most striking, and it aligns with the recent Big Buds piece on how adult-use policies exclude minors — even those who benefit from medical marijuana. Weistock explains in Chapter Five:
Whereas the governments are applying a harm reduction approach to marijuana in the case of adults, they are for the most part still attempting to implement, and indeed to reinforce, a prohibitionist regime in the case of minors.
High Time: The Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis in Canada
In The Weeds By Clayton J. Mosher And Scott Akins (2019)
While High Time discusses what is at stake in Canada, In the Weeds: Demonization, Legalization, and the Evolution of U.S. Marijuana Policy, authored by Clayton J. Mosher and Scott Akins, reviews the current climate of cannabis policies in the United States. Of all the books on this list, this one reads the most like an academic text. It presents arguments from both sides of the issue — such as the theory that kids are more likely to abuse weed when it’s legal — and goes in-depth on institutions that drive prohibition today like the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The last two chapters of In The Weeds are particularly useful. Chapter Six outlines the different legalization laws in the country, tracing from their beginnings to the present moment, and profiles organizations lobbying for sensible policies. Chapter Seven identifies issues that have yet to be fully addressed in these policies, such as racial injustice, advertising and the corporatization of the industry.
In the Weeds: Demonization, Legalization and the Evolution of US Marijuana Policy
Cannabis: A Beginner’s Guide To Growing Marijuana By Donny Danko (2018)
Author Danny Danko, the senior cultivation editor of High Times magazine, writes about the ins and outs of cultivation in Cannabis: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Marijuana. In the introduction, aforementioned cannabis expert Jorge Cervantes explains that the book provides a journalistic and technical outlook on growing, as opposed to preferences and opinions. Even for veteran growers, it’s never too late to explore a refresher and review what you know about home growing with an industry expert. While reading, you might decide it’s time to move or amend your grow room to maximize its true potential.
“There’s no better feeling than creating your own medicine, and no better hobby than home cultivation,” Danko writes. “When you grow your own, you get a superior and affordable product for pennies on the dollar.”
Filled with vibrant illustrations, the text covers the basics of genetics and seeds, germination, sexing, cloning, building buds, harvesting, pests, molds, fungi, and setting up your own grow room.
Cannabis: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Marijuana
Cannabis: The Illegalization Of Weed In America By Box Brown (2019)
The criminalization of cannabis has a deeply racist history. In his new book, author and cartoonist Box Brown dives into the racialized myths around cannabis, particularly those that manifested into Reefer Madness-era propaganda. The illustrations convey an alternate take on the historical timeline, providing a different medium than the traditional nonfiction text.
Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America concludes by discussing the dire and contemporary reality of being prosecuted for the plant. Despite the tragedies and death toll perpetrated by the war on drugs, Brown notes that we — everyday people, whether we’re growers, industry workers or just consumers — are taking steps toward ending the drug war and moving forward.
Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America
