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148/150 This book is hard to describe. Its divided into three sections, dealing with the authors experiences with opium (growing poppy seed plants), caffeine and mescaline. The author isn't a drug dealer or user, but instead a gardener, whose interests border on the semi-illegal at times. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4th book finished for #WinterReadathon @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES @DieAReader

Helped me learn more about the psychoactive substances I use (ie caffeine) and those I may use in the future. Also helped me me understand the concept of “set and setting” which I plan on taking into consideration in the future

A look in to different plants that alter our mental state: the poppy/opium, coffee beans & tealeaves/caffeine and cacti/peyote & mescaline. 🌺☕️🌵

And he‘s kinda just Hunter S Thomson‘ing around in a Ned Flanders way. The book takes look at the use throughout cultures &ages, impact of the war on drugs and his own experiences.

I haven‘t read one of his since Omnivore‘s Dilemma (2006) which I didn‘t love. But this was good, fun and informative.

Just learned that it‘s legal to grow a mescaline cactus 🌵 probably wouldn‘t work in Massachusetts though, right?
☮️🤪

…this story where the author is growing poppies is so wild. Call everyone, including the cops & someone arrested for possessing dried poppies, that he is growing poppies.

An interesting look at the plants that produce caffeine, opium and mescaline.

so many houseplants! 🙈
My #bookspin for March was educational and entertaining. I listened to the audiobook which Pollan narrated.
Three substances from plants are featured in the book: caffeine (coffee and tea), opium (from poppies), and mescaline (from peyote plants)
He spends a majority of the section on opium discussing the legality of growing poppies and his own legal fears when publishing an article years ago on the subject.

This #libraryhaul looks so pretty together. A mini garden from books! 📚 🌱 🌼🐝

Amazing and insightful! And makes me want to eat cacti and poppies 😜 great gardening tips and discussion of what makes possession of certain plants illegal. Really enjoyed this listen!

An interesting listen! The Omnivore‘s Dilemma was pretty life-changing to me, and this book was definitely not life-changing. But it was interesting for those who like reading about nature, the body, and science in an accessible way!

Pollan explores the asinine laws surrounding poppies and the varied world of psychedelics. This was informative and quite often humorous.

Not totally what I expected but I definitely think about our relationship to plants and nature differently than I had before! I feel more open and curious about natural drugs rather than judgmental or fearful. My favorite thought to mull over was the notion that we can learn a lot about what a culture values based on what plants they celebrate or prohibit. Worth a read or listen!

Sometimes Michael Pollan annoys me, but I can‘t quit his books and always enjoy them. I like his recent explorations of mind-altering substances at least as much as his food writing. Lines like these keep me coming back for more: “I came to see how integral caffeine is to the daily work of knitting ourselves back together after the fraying of consciousness during sleep. That reconsolidation of self - the daily sharpening of the mental pencil.“

Very interesting!

Michael Pollan looks at human interactions and attitudes towards three psychoactive substances found in plants: a stimulant (caffeine); a sedative (opium); and a hallucinogenic (mescaline). I enjoyed this whole audiobook, which is narrated by the author, but my favourite part is the section about poppies. I learned you can sell the seeds in the USA but it‘s illegal to grow them there! Even florists break the law by selling dried stems.

The peyote cactus hugs the ground like a stone, a roundish blue-green pillow. It reminded me of a pincushion segmented into lobes arranged in a geometric pattern, each with a little furry white nipple where the spine should be. The flower bud emerges from the center. They‘re modest, thornless plants, easy to overlook, yet their intricate patterning suggests a mystical object of some power.
(Internet photo)

Jim Hogshire was fortunate enough to come before a judge who raised a skeptical eyebrow at the charges filed against him. The hearing had its comic moments. In support of the government‘s assertion that Hogshire had intent to distribute, the prosecutor, apparently unfamiliar with the literary reference, cited the title of his book. ⬇️

Between a So-So & Pick. Pollan writing about his experiences cultivating and using licit and illicit plants: poppy seed tea (opiates), caffeine, and mescaline. I appreciate the care taken to respect the religious aspect of indigenous use, and its eye-opening just how convoluted the laws are regarding plant cultivation in order to work it into the now failed war on drugs. Good audiobook read by the author.

This might be more of a 3.5/5, but Pollan‘s writing is so calming, I rounded up. This book is like a memoir about poppies, caffeine and mescaline with random information thrown in. It wasn‘t at all what I was expecting, and the caffeine portion was good. I‘m not considering taking psychedelics, but I was impressed that Pollan could take them and have the wherewithal to record the experience for those us who kind of wonder what‘s it‘s like.

Pollan expands previous work and tries peyote during the pandemic in his new book.

In 1996, Pollan wrote an article for Harper‘s about brewing homemade poppy tea. He expands on this and adds never before seen material that was cut due to legal issues. He admits missing the story of the millions of OxyContin prescriptions while worrying about the feds going after home growers of poppies.

Next he looks at caffeine. There is overlap with his ⬇️

New in from the library for when I finish The Other Black Girl! 😁 I have a love/hate relationship with Pollan. Interested to see which this will be! The Five Wounds was an impulse checkout. 🤔