The Marijuana Chronicles

by Jonathan Santlofer

Featuring brand-new stories, poems, prose, and graphics by: Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates, Linda Yablonsky, Jonathan Santlofer, Abraham Rodriguez, Dean Haspiel, Maggie Estep, Bob Holman, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Amanda Stern, Jan Heller Levi, Josh Gilbert, Edward M. Gómez, Raymond Mungo, Rachel Shteir, Philip Spitzer, and Thad Ziolkowski.

FROM THE INTRODUCTION by Jonathan Santlofer: "Like film, literature has been no stranger to marijuana and hashish, going back to Charles Baudelaire's 1860 Artificial Paradises, in which the French poet not only describes the effects of hashish but postulates it could be an aid in creating an ideal world. The pleasures, pains, and complexities of marijuana are more than hinted at in works by William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Henry Miller, Hunter S. Thompson, and Thomas Pynchon, to name just a few, and I hope this anthology will add to that legacy and keep the flame of pot literature burning bright . . .

"This diverse group of writers, poets, and artists makes it clear that there is no one point of view here. Each of them approaches the idea of marijuana with the sharp eye of an observer, anthropologist, and artist, and expands upon it. Some writing projects are difficult; this one was smooth and mellow and a continual pleasure . . . I hope you will sit back, relax, and enjoy these wide-ranging tales of the most debated and discussed drug of our time. Though, according to former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 'That is not a drug, it's a leaf.'"

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Crime, Anthologies, Drugs, Poetry, Essays

253 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2013

About the author

Jonathan Santlofer is the author of five novels and a highly respected artist whose work has been written about and reviewed in the New York Times, Art in America, Artforum, and Arts, and appears in many public, private, and corporate collections. He serves on the board of Yaddo, one of the oldest artist communities in the country. Santlofer lives and works in New York City.

Reviews

[Stacy Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lee Child-My First Drug Trial...should have seen it coming after the note in the intro; didn't. Excellent!

Joyce Carol Oates-High...a great little story about an elderly woman who, with the help of her degenerate niece, starts to get "high" to deal with the absence of her husband after his death.

Linda Yablonsky-Jimmy OBrien...not really sure what I thought about this one. A weird story about whom other than Jimmy OBrien and his odd sex life with women and who buy the way sells drugs and later grows marijuana.

Jonathan Santlofer-The Last Toke...terrific, fast paced read with an on the edge of your seat ending! Loved it!

Abraham Rodriquez-Moon Dust...not a fan of the sci-fi genre, sorry. I will try to be objective, but I just don't get them. The story was good, but I could do without the time travel stuff and yes I do know that was the point of the whole story.

Dean Haspiel-Cannibal Stativa...never read a graphic novel before. It was interesting to have pictures to go with the story. Good, quick read.

Maggie Estep-Zombie Hookers of Hudson...Not sure how this one's gonna go. Not a fan of zombies either, but I'll keep an open mind...glad I kept an open mind. It wasn't goulish and gorey like I expected; just a quaint little story about zombies living off pot and dog food.

Bob Holman-Pasta Mon...I feel ignorant, but poetry is not my forte' and I just didn't get what it was about. I'm sure there's some hidden symbolism I'm missing, but I did enjoy the piece regardless.

Cheryl-Lu-Lien-Tan-Ganja Ghosts...the story of 3 buddies getting together to smoke a little "ganja" and ham it up for awhile. It was really "all just sad" in the end.

Amanda Stern-Acting Lessons...Vary engaging story about a girl coming of age and learning more than just her acting lessons.

Jan Heller Levi-Ethics Class, 1971...As mentioned before, poetry is not my forte', but I got this one and learned a lot from the 1971 ethics class.

Josh Gilbert-The Devil Smokes Ganja...great story! Really engrossing. Sounds like something that would go on in Hollywood today. I had to stop myself at the end from researching it to find out if it was a true story or not. That's how believable it was.

Edward M Gomez-No Smoking...entertaining little story about Eric, a guy who does illustrations for a living and is hired by a pot smoking woman who tries to do something to Eric he's never been able to do for himself...get him high!

Raymond Mungo-Kush City...great story about medical marijuana dispensaries opening (and closing) in California. Very good read! One of my favorites.

Rachel Shteir-Julie Falco Goes West: Illinois Poster Girl For Legalizing Medicinal Cannabis Leaves Town...engaging story about Julie, her story and how she supports the use of cannabis (not marijuana) as a medicinal treatment for a variety of ailments.

Philip Spitzer-Tips For the Pot Smoking Traveler...hilarious read about, as the title suggests, the rules of traveling with pot on you. For Philip's first work of fiction I say job well done, keep at it.

Thad Ziolkowski-Jacked...not a surprising ending, but a little exciting at the end, really pumped up the reading speed.

[Kali Srikanth · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are eight fiction short stories, six non-fiction essays, 1 comic strip and 2 poems, all in all 17 pieces by 17 different authors (few notable ones) including the editor himself. Like in a mixed-bag, there are good pieces, bad pieces, thrilling ones, informative ones and not to mention skippable ones too. Even though, content wise, this was not exactly what I was looking for in a Marijuana chronicles book, but still, this book is quite enjoyable for major part and definitely worth my time.

[Rob Car · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was bad. Not really bad, but not very good. There were a solid, I dunno, 5 stories? But the majority were very blugh. Not even a little worth reading.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Marijuana Chronicles, edited by Jonathan Santloper, is comprised of eight pieces of fiction, six non-fiction, two poems and a comic strip. The breadth of the subject is so staggering that any tome with the audacity to call itself The Marijuana Chronicles is setting itself up to be challenged.

These pieces were presented in a somewhat random fashion, despite four section headings that formed an organizing principle that remained elusive to me. I would have preferred that the essays have their own section. Too much tell when I wanted a show. Yes, I am biased and prefer fiction but think that those who favor the non-fiction form may also feel that tales intrude on data or opinion, unvarnished.

If anyone still wonders why Lee Childs is so popular, My First Drug Trial, the gateway story, goes a long way to convince, delivering a slow intensifying punch, much like the weed itself. This cautionary tale on the brash logic of addiction clears the runway for stories that follow. If Lee Child’s character smokes weed to unleash ego, than High, by Joyce Carol Oates brings on the void. Oates specialty may well be drawing the dangerous trickster, full of false promise, attacking when we are most vulnerable. He always finds you, even years later and you always succumb, even when you know he’s a dangerous fraud.

Linda Yablonsky’s Jimmy O’Brien describes weedy revelations that, well, aren’t. No, not really. A moment of intensity just this side of lethal, yet leaving nothing in their wake.

Zombie Hookers of Hudson by Maggie Estep could only have been written in this century. By this point in the book, I had no problem believing they were real and I rooted for them all the way. Yes, yes, give them another joint, they’ve earned it already. This was my favorite in the second section and maybe of the entire collection. A really good read and an author I want to get to know better.

Ganja Ghosts by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan is a sharp tale about the careful cultivation of brands – whether Tag Heuer, Prada, Marlboro, or street sanctioned pot, Tan casts a harsh light on illusion and disappointment in Singapore.

In the Good & Bad Medicine section, Raymond Mungo’s Kush City draws parallels between the current marijuana debate and prohibition making an easy case that morality is essentially a non-issue, so by-the-way and foolish that it really no longer merits discussion and debate. I agree and so read on.

Some stories, though good, had only the loosest connection to pot. Some essays brought those old enough to remember the days of discovery back to arguments that seemed like trying to convince Margaret Atwood that she is equal to any man. Rarely, but once or twice I found myself longing for lessons by narrative sleight of hand. And then there was Rachel Shteir, whose home cure recipes in Julie Falco Goes West are worth the price of the book. But still, I prefer my revelations layered, hidden in dialogue, imagined situations that keep me on guard anticipating the next sharp turn.

A favorite non-fiction piece, The Last Toke by Jonathan Santloper, describes a long ago stoned and blundering moment of innocence betrayed, a view back to the decades of discovery finally brought down to earth by something harsh and unexpected (and no, I’m not referring to the eighties).

Thad Ziolkowski’s narrator is not fond of marijuana, and claims it “tends to maroon me in my own head.” This satisfying read justifiably gets the last word in Jacked, a perfect title to describe the power of the herb to bend a snooty narrator’s fate.

The Marijuana Chronicles is a delicious and complex collection that explores a drug inherently different from others in previous chronicles. You cannot, in good faith, espouse the virtues of heroin, cocaine or speed but marijuana is ambiguous, endlessly debatable. Violence is replaced by illusion and trickster themes woven throughout the entire collection.

From homage to the past to an insider view of the diabolical manipulations that produce state-sanctioned medical marijuana and all the euphoria and heartbreak in between, most tales in this hopped up little anthology really smoked, there’s simply no better way to put it.

The fourth of Akashic Books Drug Chronicle Series, The Marijuana Chronicles follows The Speed Chronicles, The Cocaine Chronicles, and The Heroin Chronicles and will be available July 2, 2013 on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

[SheilaRaeO · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories from this wonderful eclectic mix of authors is a pleasure best enjoyed with a nice tall drink of choice and perhaps a special brownie... My favorite of the lot was the very first story by Lee Child. I also found very interesting the last section of stories in the group of "Good and Bad Medicine" regarding the medical uses of marijuana. This collection was not nearly as terrifying overall as the Heroin Chronicles that I reviewed earlier. Its a kinder, gentler, laid back vibe suiting its subject matter. I can't wait to get my hands on the Cocaine Chronicles and the Speed Chronicles.

[Pete Peters]

A very medicore piece of literature would reccomend for canabis patients and adults

[John Boyda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book as part of an auction lot containing a number of the "Akashic Noir" books. So, I slogged drearily through this book. Some of the stories contained within seemed to be written by authors who were high. The author/editor, Santlofer, has written some good stuff but much of this volume was almost unreadable. I skimmed some of the stories. Maybe I'm too old and don't "get" some of the avant-garde style of writing. I dunno...Can't really recommend this unless one is desperate. There was a couple of decent entries, otherwise - BLAH!

[Chris Fleming · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book appears to be a semi-religious text in pursuit of dragging new converts to pot's creative literary potential. As it stands, though, it's an unwitting cautionary tale: don't smoke dope, kids - it'll make you a shit writer. Apart from a couple of good stories, this collection falls a good way short of "good." If you're into pot, smoke it - but maybe use the pages of this collection to roll up with.

[Sylvia Snowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining, if not brilliant, compilation of short fiction and short memoirs about mj. Twists and turns, but also somewhat predictable. I listened on audio, a bit overacted by the narrators. At least there were many.

[Angie Kapphahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up expecting it to be non fiction. It is not. Some crazy, bizarr-o short stories by multiple authors involving weed, a couple of them I found entertaining-especially the weed zombie one. Most stories I found hard to stay engaged with.

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories. I expect to not like some short stories in a collection like this, but I really didn't like most of them. There are only 2 that stood out to me and I enjoyed those.

[Stargazer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading for the Lee Child story alone.

[Tiia Tuulari · Rating 2 out of 5]

First two were fine reads, the rest I skimmed.

[Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of short stories. Some good, some boring and some just too weird.

[Nursen Uyar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eğlenceli bir kitap ancak gerçekliğini sorgulatıyor. Pazarlama stratejisi mi yoksa her şey gerçek mi?

[John Malcovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Getting high was a dream. Waking was the fear.”
"When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." (Barack Obama)
So, magic marijuana – also known as: pot, grass, hemp, hash, herb, reefer, ganja, smoke, spliff, weed, kush, Mary Jane, cannabis, tea, blunt, dope, doobie.
People say that researchers have discovered that chocolate produces some of the same reactions in the brain as marijuana. The only problem is that now it is quite impossible to get any proof of this statement. Moreover, marijuana causes spasticity, neurogenic pain, movement disorders, asthma, glaucoma, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and Tourette's syndrome.
N.B. Tourette's syndrome (TS) causes people to have "tics." Tics are sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly. Those who have tics cannot stop their bodies from doing these things. For example, a person might keep blinking over and over.
Nevertheless, despite all the above-mentioned facts, some governments preferred to turn a blind eye to the problem. The British even taxed it. Another fact is that there are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Black, Hispanic, Filipino, and entertainers. Allegedly, the "culture of marijuana" was born (or reborn) sometime in the 1960s on college campuses across the US as students rallied against the Vietnam War and smoked pot publicly. By 1965, it is believed that approximately one million Americans had tried the drug, and within a few years, that number had reached more than twenty million. Hollywood also took part in advertising marijuana with such stoner star turns as Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke, Sean Penn's hilarious Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Jane Fonda's pot-smoking hooker in Klute, Bridget Fonda in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, and the granddaddy of all counterculture stoner films, Easy Rider, wherein Peter Fonda (what is it with these Fondas?) introduces Jack Nicholson to his first smoke. Diane Keaton needed a hit to relax her in Annie Hall, and Jeff Bridges played the ultimate stoner dude in The Big Lebowski.
You may be asking, what were all those movies shot for? One possible reply is cut and dried: to help the government violate the law in some sort of legal way. For example, Nixon not only raised the criminal stakes on marijuana possession so that a twenty-five-year-old Vietnam vet, Don Crowe, could be sentenced to fifty years in jail for selling less than an ounce; he created the DEA, gave it the authority to enter houses "without knocking," and began extensive wiretapping and intelligence-gathering on private citizens. At the same time, Colorado and Washington have made it legal to smoke, sell, or carry up to one ounce of marijuana. Very strange, isn't it?
"Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see." (Thomas Jefferson)

Unfortunately, Santlofer is not an exception. He made a compilation of stories dedicated to marijuana abusers. Referring to Stephen King's famous phrase, "I think that marijuana should not only be legal, I think it should be a cottage industry," he sends direct messages to the readers. Messages like: "Grass is not addictive" or "Self-medicating, you might call it."

And the happy ending was the scene when smokers ate roaches... Maybe his goal was no different from that of Hollywood? To get a proper reply, according to the theory, we must get high... Amen!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Marijuana Chronicles contains 12 short stories, 1 comic, 2 poems, and 2 nonfiction essays by 17 different authors including the editor. There are other notable names in the table of contents such as Lee Child and Joyce Carol Oates.

The introduction includes a brief history to marijuana or cannabis or hemp or whatever you want to call it. It's interesting reading using facts from ancient history right up to modern times. Among other interesting facts, "The National Commission on Marijuana Drug Abuse released a 1972 study urging the decriminalization of smoking pot in the privacy of one's own home, but Nixon disregarded it, and created the DEA..."

The stories vary in tone and how they handle the topic of marijuana. One of my favorite lines in the anthology comes from "The Last Toke" by Jonathan Santlofer. "...riding the wave of a pot cloud so potent the squirrels were getting stoned." The piece by Lee Child, "My First Drug Trial," is definitely a standout in the anthology. For me another favorite was "No Smoking" by Edward M. Gomez where the lead character seems unsure just what is getting him high. You'll have to read it to find out for yourself.

I liked the anthology, but I expected more from it; more variety among the pieces as to the attitude towards marijuana. Overall I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in order to provide my unbiased opinion.

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!} · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: This ARC was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.

5 stars? Yeah, but I'm biased. ;)

Review to come.

Disclaimer: This book review contains a pot smoking reference gif.

Yes, this book was awesome. As a former(?) pot-head a lot of the stories felt spot-on. It's either something you went through (close to it at least), or people you knew. Not all of them were necessarily realistic but still I loved it.

I haven't smoked a bowl since March, but some of these stories did make me want to smoke.

I think this book would be even more enjoyable with a special tea, brownie, or smoke. ;)

Regardless of your drug of choice or if you are sober, it is IMHO, a good read.

[Mscout · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short works centered around the marijuana debates. While the list of contributors is stunning, the work is uneven at best. Kicking off with possibly the hottest author going right now, Lee Child, one would think that you're off to a great start. Not so much. Child's piece is short, and thanks to a rather superfluous statement in the introduction, the outcome is clear from the first sentence. So what is supposed to be a twisty mystery, ends up being a couple of pages of slogging to the inevitable conclusion. Some of the stories are better, some worse. The nonfiction pieces scattered through are somewhat better. Really just left e feeling kind of sad.

[Tuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

ah man, i was going to read this and write a review, but i forgot. why do you think the cocaine The Speed Chronicles and speed chronicles are better than the The Cocaine Chronicles the heroin and pot collections? from akashic.

[Arlo · Rating 2 out of 5]

First section "Dangerous" was very good. The rest of the book was spotty at best and a serious slog.

I just spotted this book in the new arrival section of the library and saw Joyce Carol Oates and MJ and it piqued my interest. More of an impulsive grab that didn't pay off. Although the Oates story was good.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of short stories. My favorite was by Amanda Stern about a teen who falls in with a drama club that is dysfunctional and has a disturbing relationship with an adult. The stories really varied widely, there was a darkly humorous zombie one, a few on addiction, one by Lee Child about a man smoking pot before his trial with a twist at the end, and a good poem.

[Jerry Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book and its subject matter, but I really shouldn't talk about it. Be sure to get your head on straight and give it a try, the book I mean. Nothing in it topped the first story but the whole thing is worth your time. Just inhale and enjoy.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was entertaining, and put some certain things into perspictive for me. It made me see how people could assume doing things like weed is okay.

[Jill Mcdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of the stories had me cracking up!

[Karyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag.

[Jane]

Definitely mixed. I'm not a fan of short stories anyway.

[Maxi Bolongaita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Great selection of stories and it is very informative.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays about you know what.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of short stories. Some good, some boring and some just too weird.