Brave New Weed

August 22, 2016
Dolce, former editor-in-chief of Details and Star, guides readers around the changing world of marijuana culture. Employing aspects of travel narrative, pop history, journalism, and personal diary, Dolce provides a wide-ranging introduction to the drug, aiming to refute stereotypes and showcase the many ways in which people interact with marijuana. These range from recreational fun, as showcased in his coverage of the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, to pain relief and even healing, as demonstrated by research he cites into cannabis’s potential for mitigating traumatic brain injuries. As might be expected from a book about pot, the focus is soft and the narrative meandering, moving from profiling different types of cannabis users, to connecting the chemistry of cannabis to that of the brain, to diagnosing the growing pains of an underground market as it becomes regulated and mainstream. Dolce is a genial and engaging narrator with a knack for breaking down complex science and making it easily digestible for laypeople. The book will likely prove popular with cannabis enthusiasts, and it will surprise and entertain the general reader, even if, at times, the excessive detail feels in need of pruning.

A journey through the "brave new--and yet at the same time, ancient--world" of weed.The former editor of Details and Star magazines and founder and CEO of a media training company in New York, Dolce ends his author bio by stating he is "not a stoner," and the final chapter describes how he made it through a month without weed relatively painlessly (though his alcohol consumption increased markedly). The rest of the book suggests that he is a staunch advocate for the medicinal and recreational uses of cannabis. Dolce makes a convincing case that marijuana should not be classified as a Schedule 1 drug--a drug with the highest potential for abuse--and argues that it would be much easier to conduct scientific tests of the drug if it were reclassified. He discusses the workings of the two key chemical compounds of the drug, THC and CBD, and suggests that growers in the last few decades have been selectively breeding for THC, which makes the experience of getting high a less mellow one. Now that marijuana is legal in several states, however, growers are reformulating their product to achieve various ends. The author's travels took him to Amsterdam, which he found disappointingly old-fashioned; Israel, which "has twenty thousand human subjects participating in the world's largest state-run medical cannabis program"; Northern California, where a medical marijuana club meets at a senior community center; and Colorado, where "budtenders" at dispensaries educate their customers on "the contrast between great and average marijuana." In an appendix, Dolce clearly sums up his advice for potential consumers, including tips on "cannabis for inspiration, intimacy, and other adult pleasures" and directives regarding inhalation methods, edibles, and sharing etiquette. While the book is best taken with a certain amount of skepticism, it offers an entertaining and informative overview of the latest changes in cannabis production and consumption. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2016
After seeing his cousin's hypermodern grow room of new breeds, journalist Dolce, a recreational user himself (but not a stoner, he swears), decided to delve into the history of cannabis in order to get a grasp on the future of the plant. His research takes him to Amsterdam, California, and Colorado, naturally, but also to Israel, where scientists have spent nearly 50 years trying to unlock the secrets of the plantno easy task, as they've identified some 400-plus compounds and isolated the two receptors in the human brain and body that seem almost primed to respond to the two main components of cannabis, THC and CBD. It's complex medical research, and stigmatization of the plant has halted progress for years. But as society and laws steadily change, the regulated industry will need to catch up with the homegrown side of things, where people have created strains that are 10 times more powerful than the stuff Dolce and his college buddies smoked back in the '70s. This is an interesting overview of the world of marijuana, and Dolce's easygoing narrative style holds lots of appeal for an ever-growing audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)