Getting High

John Charles Chasteenis professor of history emeritus at UNC Chapel Hill. His classic Born in Blood and Fire is among the most widely read histories of Latin America in the English language. His other books include Heroes on Horseback: A Life and Times of the Last Gaucho Caudillos, National Rhythms, African Roots: A Deep History of Latin American Popular Dance , and Americanos: Latin America’s Struggle for Independence.

Historian Chasteen (Born of Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America) takes a succinct and engaging look at “the narrative of marijuana’s global history” over the past 2000 years. Beginning with the present day, with marijuana being smoked socially by everyone from professors to construction workers, Chasten works backwards: the early 20th century throughout the world; the 16th century, when the drug was used by Native Americans; the prevalence of hashish in the Middle East between 1100 and 1400; and the origins of cannabis in prehistoric Central Asia. By placing marijuana within larger historical patterns such as migration, colonialism, and religion, Chasteen highlights shows how the widespread use of marijuana as a recreational drug is “rare and recent” in world history, and argues that this current use has obscured “the big picture of world history,” which suggests that people have used marijuana most often as a spiritual, mind-expanding drug. Chasteen ably heightens readers’ awareness of the herb by reviewing the many ways marijuana has been used for “creative and philosophical epiphanies.”

• 1 Getting HighTrouble with the PoliceMeet the Cannabis Plant2 American CenturyThe Early YearsThe Marihuana Tax Act, 1937Rise and Fall of the CountercultureDrug War, Culture WarNews Flash3 Atlantic WorldHemp and Rum, Strategic ResourcesMexico, and a MysteryColombia and JamaicaBrazil and the African ConnectionAfrica, South of the Congo4 Medieval HashishWine versus HashishHashish in Muslim SocietyGod’s Unruly FriendsThe Assassin LegendNot for Everybody5 Asian OriginsHistoric IndiaThe Prehistoric Eurasian SteppesThe Silk Road and BeyondThe Earliest Horizon6 EpiphaniesGlossarySources and AsidesIndexAbout the Author