Notes

a New Zealand story
James Borrowdale.
271 pages.
Contents: So tiny a sin : a potted history of cannabis's journey to New Zealand -- Mother knows best : on the trail of Suzanne Aubert -- Prohibition : how the law came for cannabis -- When forces combine : New Zealand and the Mr Asia syndicate -- Punching down : the war on weed -- Political puffs : the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party -- Medicinal cannabis : overcoming the hurdle of history -- Big weed rising : new industry, old problems? -- Legalise? : politicising pot.
Summary: Journalist James Borrowdale dives in deep to understand why, meeting a fascinating cross-section of New Zealand along the way, a nineteenth-century nun who allegedly grew pot, a bystander to the Mr. Asia syndicate, a convicted heroin dealer turned criminologist, people both using and offering the drug for medicinal relief, politicians and law-makers old and new. What's revealed is an engrossing, heady and sometimes surprising account of New Zealand and weed. Fusing insightful, personal stories with analysis and historical research, Weed lays out the facts as they are, about an issue that can no longer be ignored. (Publisher)