There's a very cool book with a section about MaryJane called "The Botany of Desire, A Plant's-Eye View of the World," by Michael Pollan. It discusses four plants--potatoes, marijuana, tulips and apples--that the author feels have had a mutually beneficial relationship with humans: the plants possess qualities that humans want, that then cause humans to fulfil the plants' desires to be fruitful and multiply by cultivating them hither and yon. The marijuana section details the way the U.S. "War on Drugs" caused growers to develop infinitely more potent cannabis than anything anyone smoked in the sixties. It's way more costly, too, but say whaaa, I don' know. These days, strong black tea must suffice. The good stuff is way expensive, alas. M.
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