Sale! This Is Your Mind on Plants

★★★★★ Somewhat of an extension piece to How to Change Your Mind. Michael Pollan takes a further journey into the affects of substances on one's body and mind in This is Your Mind on Plants. The author's writing has morphed from food culture to natural drug culture to some extent and this book is a look at three more substances of interest, Opium, Caffeine and Mescaline. One of those is a bit of an odd man out but the overall book does each topic some justice. Each topic is an essay on a personal experience/experiment with the subject and is a look at both cultivation and preparation as well as the effects it has on the body and mind. Overall a quick and interesting read on both the culture of enforcement and how it has changed in the country in the last 20 years as well as a scientific perspective on the substances being discussed.One remarkable thing about the book is that it illustrates the intrinsic accessibility of opium and mescaline to the motivated horticulturist. In particular the trade of seeds is significant and the use of the plants is broad enough that the ability to extract mind altering components from plants is rarely their large demand base. The poppy is a gardener's favorite for its beautiful flowers and trade in poppy seeds is not a criminal offence. The author describes the fine line between cultivation and preparation and how the law is both clear and ambiguous as to how it should be interpreted. One thing that comes out is that enforcement is a matter of the political climate rather than consistent application. The author goes through his journey on preparing poppy's his discussion of some cases where a subject became the target of law enforcement to their extreme regret and how the author put himself at risk by even approaching the subject as a journalist. Overall the use of opium through human history is quite vast and it has soothing attributes, though obviously heroin and oxycodone are clear examples of the extreme danger that comes from opiate addiction. The storytelling is solid and the common sense approach the author brings is refreshing. The author moves on to caffeine which is a bit out of place with the other two topics but the author approaches the topic scientifically and historically by giving a historical account and doing a study on himself where he deprives himself of coffee after decades of dependence. Its entertaining and the account is informative though the conclusions are unclear as to whether coffee is detrimental to sleep to a degree that it is long term damaging relative to the benefits one gets from its alertness properties. The author also tackles mescaline and in particular looks into the culture of peyote and its ceremonial use in native American culture. The account is interesting and the challenges he was faced with in witnessing peyote being used in ceremonial terms is a reminder of how hippie culture can clash with the cultural desires of the original users. The preparation and complexity to preparing peyote is discussed so one gets a sense of its feasibility and difficulty but the experience is described well and definitely sounds like something worthy of trying.Overall this is in line with the style of how to change your mind where the author takes a subject which is a bit taboo (certainly less so these days) and does a study of it for a middle aged audience perspective. He does another good job and with it brings in the culture of enforcement and its changes over the last 20 years with his personal story of opium as a prime example. It is easy to read and entertaining though less informative than his previous books. Its enjoyable and the author does a good job, though i think further mileage out of examining how your mind is altered by substances is probably limited.

★★★★★ a FUN book, great science and history. Such a FUN book -- and we need fun!great science and history

★★★★☆ Interesting read. Loved the historical detail and shift between social, personal and government perspectives. It read like a conversation/struggle with himself along the way that in turn made the information feel almost confidential. Good read….interesting and warm.