T
The420Guy
Guest
The long-anticipated examination of the Kootenay marijuana industry by
rookie author Drew Edwards has arrived in local bookstores.
West Coast Smoke: The Inside Story of the B.C, Pot Boom (Warwick
Publishing) is a 221-page overview of the marijuana industry, based on
actual events and characters Edwards has reported on and encountered as
managing editor of the Nelson Daily News.
The book was delayed by publishing snafus for several months but has
finally arrived in earnest.
"It was hard because there has been tremendous local interest, but very few
copies around. Finally, they're here," he says.
The book is a historical, political and scientific pot play-by-play, a
real-life snap shot of marijuana culture in small communities - Nelson and
the Slocan Valley to be exact.
Over two years, the 28-year-old author investigated and found what most
West Kootenayites already know, but are either too straight-laced or too
stoned to say: Pot - its cultivation, sale and consumption - is a large
part of the local economy.
"I think it's larger than a lot of people realize, and larger than a lot of
people want to admit," Edwards says.
While he is quick to note the area is not the national Mary Jane Mecca it
is sometimes portrayed as, Edwards says Nelson is indeniably a cannabis
culture anomaly.
"It affects so many people in this community, in one way or another."
The Carleton Journalism School grad interviewed more than 100 people -
cops, couriers, growers, lawyers, tokers and jokers - but says sniffing out
the more clandestine characters the book records wasn't tremendously difficult.
While it "took a long time" to gain the trust of the law-dodging sources he
located - "tape recorders make criminals uncomfortable" he laughs - Edwards
says a number of key players simply fell into his lap.
"You talk to people who know a guy, who knows a guy who knows a guy. I had
my share of dumb luck."
West Coast Smoke is built around two riveting drug sagas: the Nelson City
Police Department's failed prosecution of The Holy Smoke Culture Shop and
the twisted narcotic-related tale of Slocan Valley murderer Ken Hammond.
The Holy Smoke scenario, says Edwards, allows readers to see both sides of
the pot culture coin, by delving into the personalities of the shop's
owners and the police officers involved in the ensuing trial.
"It's a chance to look at people who immersed themselves in this culture,
and to realize they are not necessarily Tommy Chong," says Edwards of the
Holy Smoke crew.
"It also went a long way to try and explain the thinking and mentality
behind why the police think the way they do."
The book details the careers of some of the RCMP and NCP officers involved,
and the countless drug-related tragedies they've witnessed throughout
lengthy careers on mean streets of major Canadian cities.
West Coast Smoke also includes a summary of marijuana's global history, the
shady political big business pressures that led to hemp's criminalization
and hard scientific evidence regarding the plants medicinal
characteristics and health threats.
"It's hard to look at it and really feel that marijuana is the kind of evil
that Nancy Reagan thinks it is," says Edwards.
Despite West Coast Smoke's scenario of mountain maverick couriers, James
Bond-style grow-ops and jackpot payouts, Edwards is adamant the book is not
a call to arms for pot smokers nor a personal campaign to become a
decriminalization poster child.
"That's not what the book was intended for. And that's certainly not my
personal opinion."
His motivation from the start, he insists, was to write a book and tell
both sides of a good story.
"If there's a message in the book," says Edwards, "it's get all the
necessary information you need to make an appropriate decision, then make it."
---
West Coast Smoke is available at Coles Bookstore in the Chako Mika Mall,
Oliver's Books on Baker Street and The Holy Smoke Culture Shop on Herridge
Lane. They can also be purchased and personalized by contacting the author
directly at drew@nelsondailynews.com Edwards will be signing books at the
Coles Bookstore on Sat. Dec. 23 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
_____________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: GD
Newshawk: Herb
Pubdate: Fri, 22 Dec 2000
Source: Nelson Daily News (CN BC)
Contact: ndnews@netidea.com
Website: https://www.nelsondailynews.com/
Author: Darren Davidson
rookie author Drew Edwards has arrived in local bookstores.
West Coast Smoke: The Inside Story of the B.C, Pot Boom (Warwick
Publishing) is a 221-page overview of the marijuana industry, based on
actual events and characters Edwards has reported on and encountered as
managing editor of the Nelson Daily News.
The book was delayed by publishing snafus for several months but has
finally arrived in earnest.
"It was hard because there has been tremendous local interest, but very few
copies around. Finally, they're here," he says.
The book is a historical, political and scientific pot play-by-play, a
real-life snap shot of marijuana culture in small communities - Nelson and
the Slocan Valley to be exact.
Over two years, the 28-year-old author investigated and found what most
West Kootenayites already know, but are either too straight-laced or too
stoned to say: Pot - its cultivation, sale and consumption - is a large
part of the local economy.
"I think it's larger than a lot of people realize, and larger than a lot of
people want to admit," Edwards says.
While he is quick to note the area is not the national Mary Jane Mecca it
is sometimes portrayed as, Edwards says Nelson is indeniably a cannabis
culture anomaly.
"It affects so many people in this community, in one way or another."
The Carleton Journalism School grad interviewed more than 100 people -
cops, couriers, growers, lawyers, tokers and jokers - but says sniffing out
the more clandestine characters the book records wasn't tremendously difficult.
While it "took a long time" to gain the trust of the law-dodging sources he
located - "tape recorders make criminals uncomfortable" he laughs - Edwards
says a number of key players simply fell into his lap.
"You talk to people who know a guy, who knows a guy who knows a guy. I had
my share of dumb luck."
West Coast Smoke is built around two riveting drug sagas: the Nelson City
Police Department's failed prosecution of The Holy Smoke Culture Shop and
the twisted narcotic-related tale of Slocan Valley murderer Ken Hammond.
The Holy Smoke scenario, says Edwards, allows readers to see both sides of
the pot culture coin, by delving into the personalities of the shop's
owners and the police officers involved in the ensuing trial.
"It's a chance to look at people who immersed themselves in this culture,
and to realize they are not necessarily Tommy Chong," says Edwards of the
Holy Smoke crew.
"It also went a long way to try and explain the thinking and mentality
behind why the police think the way they do."
The book details the careers of some of the RCMP and NCP officers involved,
and the countless drug-related tragedies they've witnessed throughout
lengthy careers on mean streets of major Canadian cities.
West Coast Smoke also includes a summary of marijuana's global history, the
shady political big business pressures that led to hemp's criminalization
and hard scientific evidence regarding the plants medicinal
characteristics and health threats.
"It's hard to look at it and really feel that marijuana is the kind of evil
that Nancy Reagan thinks it is," says Edwards.
Despite West Coast Smoke's scenario of mountain maverick couriers, James
Bond-style grow-ops and jackpot payouts, Edwards is adamant the book is not
a call to arms for pot smokers nor a personal campaign to become a
decriminalization poster child.
"That's not what the book was intended for. And that's certainly not my
personal opinion."
His motivation from the start, he insists, was to write a book and tell
both sides of a good story.
"If there's a message in the book," says Edwards, "it's get all the
necessary information you need to make an appropriate decision, then make it."
---
West Coast Smoke is available at Coles Bookstore in the Chako Mika Mall,
Oliver's Books on Baker Street and The Holy Smoke Culture Shop on Herridge
Lane. They can also be purchased and personalized by contacting the author
directly at drew@nelsondailynews.com Edwards will be signing books at the
Coles Bookstore on Sat. Dec. 23 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
_____________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: GD
Newshawk: Herb
Pubdate: Fri, 22 Dec 2000
Source: Nelson Daily News (CN BC)
Contact: ndnews@netidea.com
Website: https://www.nelsondailynews.com/
Author: Darren Davidson
