Taking the high road through Australia's marijuana culture
DOPELAND follows cult author John Birmingham as he gets paid to travel around Australia in search of its marijuana culture, meeting the dope smokers of Australia - and finding that they're not what you might expect. Yes, there are some sci-fi geeks, student activists, and the obligatory Nimbin ferals, but JB also finds himself smoking with conservative politicians, lawyers, cops, merchant bankers and school teachers. Given that 30-40% of the adult population have smoked marijuana, and that dope is one of Australia's biggest cash crops, maybe we shouldn't be so surprised.
But it's not all choofing. JB explores the politics of marijuana, from Queensland's medieval drug laws where possession of four joints could be punished with life imprisonment, to South Australia's decriminalisation.
DOPELAND is for anyone who's ever fired up a choice fatty, wondered whether you can drink the bong water, gone on a Mars Bar run, or just considered watching daytime TV a worthwhile way to spend your twenties.
PRAISE FOR JOHN BIRMINGHAM:
'The nation’s premier gonzo journalist ... Happy is the country that has its history written and interpreted by writers of the calibre of Birmingham.'
Peter Craven, THE AUSTRALIAN
'A fine journalist with an eye for the blended spaces between black and white, relentless certainty and a formidable voice.'
Graeme Blundell, THE AUSTRALIAN
PRAISE FOR DOPELAND:
'a raucous, gonzo-style crusade around Australia … Figures suggest almost half a million Australians smoke an average of once a week. A good many of that number will enjoy Dopeland immensely.'
Nick Olle, ROLLING STONE
'Does for pot-smoking what He Died With A Felafel In His Hand did for share houses. … The verdict: Has all of Birmingham's unique lunatic charm. Will make you wish you were a pot-head - or glad you are.'
FHM
'Reading John Birmingham's Dopeland is something like inhaling from that lost, magical bag. Birmingham is one of Australia's leading exponents of "gonzo" journalism, a first-person narrative form pioneered by America's Hunter S. Thompson that abandons objectivity for subjective reportage that can be, by turns, crazed, comical, repulsive and straight-between-the-eyes brilliant. … a mostly hilarious array of stories and urban myths, as loosely held together, he admits, as the notes he tried to take and the memories he could revive. … a eulogy to younger days and a tribute to the art of growing old disgracefully. … What also emerges is an engaging portrait of a mainstream Australian culture'
Mark Mordue, SUNDAY AGE
'part social commentary, part history and part handbook, all underpinned by a healthy dose of subversive black humour'
Rebecca J. Davies, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
'[Dopeland] has all the swagger and bravado of gonzo journalism in the tradition of Hunger S Thompson, with a dash of PJ O'Rourke, just to rattle the cage a bit.'
DRUM MEDIA
'Dopeland delivers a rollicking romp through the history and times of the humble Aussie dope smoker. It's both a personal and very political book - and, unlike some, JB is more than happy to admit he's inhaled. … An entertaining read from start to finish.'
THE BRAG
