Buds & Books: The Best Things to Read While Enjoying Cannabis

Hey folks! Welcome back to another exciting foray into the constantly evolving world of cannabis courtesy of your only locally owned cannabis retailer. It’s no secret to people who know me (or have spoken to me for more than 30 seconds) that I’m an avid reader. I spend a frightfully large amount of my time buried in my own imaginary renderings of whatever book I happen to be reading and nothing makes a better reading companion than a bong hit of some tasty ganja. Well, except maybe a good cat. Cats are chill. Anyway, this week we’re going to be catering to my bibliophile tendencies by running down a list of some of the best bits of literature to dive into the next time you imbibe. Let’s get to it!

JRR Tolkien: The Lord of The Rings

                This is probably the contender for best stoner book. It’s incredibly easy to let Tolkien’s lengthy and articulate prose mold and contort your brain, especially if you’re on a heady sativa that allows for that creative focus. Tolkien was first and foremost a linguist (dude helped write the dictionary) and Lord of The Rings contains some of the best use of the English language since Shakespeare did his thing. The inherent whimsy of a group of hobbits journeying through a fantasy land filled with black cloaked riders, magic rings and trees that speak in rhymes pairs perfectly with the logic bending effects of cannabis. Also, look me in the eye and tell me that the pipe weed that they smoke throughout the events of the story isn’t cannabis. There’s a reason that hobbits eat 8 meals a day, just saying. Anyway, dive into Lord of the Rings next time you’re stoned and in the mood to lose track of a few hours trying to imagine how cozy a hobbit-hole is.

Alan Moore: Watchmen

                Ok, so this next one is a graphic novel (that’s fancy adult speak for long comic book). Graphic novels are a great way to lose yourself in a story thanks to the eye-catching art and depth of storytelling. While there are a couple of contenders for best graphic novel to read while stoned (for example, The Sandman by Neil Gaiman is an amazing read), I felt like the obvious choice was Watchmen by comic book legend and notorious wizard (seriously, look the guy up, he’s wild) Alan Moore.

Alan spent a lot of his early career defining and then redefining various superhero tropes. By the time his creative journey had reached its zenith, he was known for his ability to subvert those same tropes in a way that lent a degree of reflective realism to even the most ridiculous of circumstances. Nowhere is this trend of subversive dynamism more apparent than in Watchmen, a book many consider to be the greatest graphic novel of all time.

  In case you don’t know (or haven’t seen the aggressively mediocre film adaptation) Watchmen is all about a retro futuristic world where masked vigilantes prowl the streets of a cold war era United States under the specter of an encroaching nuclear holocaust and the advent of the existence of the very first superhuman. Injected into this fantastic landscape is a soberingly realistic theme of action and consequence highlighted by numbing depictions of the high human cost of idealism. Plus, he worked in a story about a pirate ship in there for good measure. Simply put, it’s a book everyone should read at least once, particularly through the hazy lens of cannabis. The artwork of legendary artist Dave Gibbons takes on a vivid, technicolor vibe and help usher our brains into a space where the heavy themes take on a deeper meaning. Check it out!

Marcus Aurelius: Meditations

                Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor who lived and ruled a couple of thousand years ago and was renowned for his calm demeanor, effective rulership and philosophical mind. In particular he was a studier of the philosophy of stoicism, which focuses on moral self-improvement and self-discipline best highlighted by the ideal: “Live a Well-Reasoned Life”. Meditations is a post-humus collection of his writings on the subject of leadership, stoicism and his personal experiences, written by him to help him to organize his thoughts and achieve a deeper understanding of his place in the world.

                Now, before unleashing a collective sigh upon the world at the thought of reading the two millennium old ramblings of a dead emperor, trust me that this is an eye-opening read. We live so much of our lives on a quest for a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world we live in, and Aurelius’ writings provide some much-needed perspective to allow us to grow as people and accept the things we can’t control. Add a dash of cannabis into the mix and suddenly the way your brain interprets these new and interesting ideas becomes far more fluid and far less frustrating. So, if you’re scared of philosophy because of the way it makes your brain itch, try smoking up next time you sit down to plumb the depths of the great thinkers of our time, it might just help you think around corners that used to stop you dead in your tracks.

Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse Five

                Full disclosure, the first time I read this book was while I was 14 and sitting on an airplane flying to Florida. I was sober as a judge and had what can only be described as a high elevation existential crisis. Not the best first experience and I still feel bad for crying in front of that flight attendant. Flash forward about a decade and I decided to give it another go while in the grips of a particular potent bong hit. The dread that haunted me at 35,000 feet was suddenly replaced with a sense of wonder brought on by the hazy quilt of cannabis. Kurt Vonnegut is a famous satirist and writer who never encountered an idea he couldn’t illicit some degree of poignant and enlightening absurdity from, and in my opinion Slaughterhouse Five is his best work. A story about a man unmoored from the passage of linear time by surviving the real-life bombing of the city of Dresden, Germany during WW2, it is not a tale for those who want easy answers and a straight narrative. Through the power of weed, this untethered narrative becomes not only palatable, but downright enjoyable.

                And that’s a brief glimpse into my stoner reading list! Let us know if there are any we’ve missed you think deserve a shoutout. Till next time folks!

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