Pothead

My Life as a Marijuana Addict in the Age of Legal Weed

De: Neal Pollack

Narrado por: Tim Paige

Beginning innocently enough in his 20s, Neal Pollack discovers that pot makes everything - food, music, sex - better. Getting married, having a kid, and enjoying professional success didn't tamp down Pollack's addiction. As cannabis grew stronger and more widely available, Pollack's dependence was shadowed by the expansion and acceptance of the marijuana Big Business.

By 2014, Neal was a correspondent for a national marijuana newspaper, mostly because it meant free pot. Diving into the wild, wicked world of weed with both lungs, Pollack proceeds to smoke, vape, and eat his way to oblivion, leading to terrible public meltdowns and other embarrassing behavior. After his mother dies in 2017, he spirals out of control, finally hitting rock bottom during a reckless two-day gambling and drug-filled binge, culminating in a public crack-up at the World Series in Dodger Stadium. Three weeks later, he quit.

Sober after joining a 12-step program, Neal outed himself publicly as a marijuana addict in a 2018 New York Times op-ed piece, leading to his decision to document his addiction experience as a cautionary tale for the millions of recreational users in the hazy age of legalized marijuana.

©2020 Neal Pollack (P)2020 Tantor

Relatable experiences

Having two passions; both loving weed and sobriety, this book provided a great experience and perspective of the thoughtful pothead.

What we need

This is the perspective we should be discussing more with the popularisation and legalisation of cannabis. I also heard the myth that weed is not addictive so sparking this conversation is really important and overall I found this relatable and inspiring

4.5 I disagree with bad reviews

Some reviews called this messy, disorganized, and selfish. While I can see why some might be put off by the nonchronological order of the book, it made perfect sense to me to categorize the impacts of addiction and recovery by the areas of life and relationships rather than by the years. The language used to describe the addiction was familiar to me and something that felt good to hear from someone else. I've been sober for 4 years now without a 12 step community so it felt nice to listen to another addict. Maybe it's time to find an MA meeting.

Only redeeming quality was the narrator’s voice

Tedious memoir offering little more than superficial insight. The book’s first chapters are stilted, boring, detailed accounts of an addict’s movements. Even the latter chapters aren’t especially honest or compelling. Not much here to help me understand more than what I already knew: addicts are self-obsessed and self-absorbed; the parents (and everyone else) are always implicated; and even after they quit they still don’t fully grapple with how much they’ve hurt and disappointed the people who love them.
I couldn’t wait for the end of the story just so I didn’t have to hear the word “hork” again.

I'm into personal development and weed. I listened while on cloud 9

I loved his narcissistic ways, It kept me entertained. If you want to hear the story of someone who have achieved really awesome stuff and at the same time made things worst in his life while being high and also his take on being sober, go ahead and listen.