What makes these plants so irresistible to us (and to many other
creatures), when the cost of using them can be so high (114)?
The chapter on marijuana in
Micheal Pollan's book Botany of Desire is a fascinating read
that goes through his own experiences with drugs, the history of
psychotics, and the role marijuana is playing in our society today. I enjoyed
reading about his “gardening” experience, and how the delivery of firewood by
the local chief of police motivated him to chop down the couple of plants he
was growing for fun.
I find it interesting that wars throughout history have been caused
by simple plants; although, plants with complicated chemical properties. Pollen
made a good point that when anything gives us pleasure, alters our conscious,
or creates fetishes a taboo is created. Much like the “wild west” when drinking
coffee and smoking tobacco was frowned upon; this taboo eventually became widely
accepted and part of the culture. I think the same is happening with marijuana.
For so long it has been against the law to grow and possess marijuana; however,
it is becoming part of our society and is being accepted as a cultural norm.
Though marijuana is abundantly watered by money, it remains deeply
rooted in the human desire for pleasure (139). According to historians the
Greeks probably fortified their wine with various psychoactive herbs; there’s
reason to think they also made religious use of ergot and Amanita muscaria (144), which I find interesting because most
religions forbid the use of certain drugs or any drug for that matter
especially when it gives pleasure, as pleasure from plants is believed to be
the devils work. Witches the Church simply burned at the stake for doing the “devils
work” with plants. As a result these plants were simply transferred from the
realm of sorcery to medicine (174).
Curiously, the romantics at first believed it was their
philosophical rather than poetical faculties that drugs would enhance (146). A psychoactive
plant can open a door onto a world of archetypal forms, or so they can appear (147).
Letting nature have her way with us now and again seems like a useful thing to
do, if only to bring our abstracted gaze back down to earth for a time (179).
Pollan, Michael. 2001. The botany of desire: A plant's-eye view of the world. New York: Random House. Pages: 113-179.
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Monica, you disappoint me. While you're blog is interesting and easy to read, it mostly just outlines the major points of Pollen's writing, without going in much depth about your own personal opinions or feelings about the subject. I mean, this blog almost sounds like I wrote it, and I know you're a better writer than me.
ReplyDeleteAll the best.
Thank you for your reply Nathan. Feedback is always appreciated, whether is is positive or negative. Reading Pollen's chapters this time around was difficult for me and when I find something difficult to read I find that it has an effect on my writing. And I am sorry to hear that my disappointing writing is equivalent to your best writing. All the best.
DeleteI'm glad to hear my criticism was appreciated. I'm always glad to help.
DeleteAs for my own writing, try not to worry, I have been sparked with a certain inspiration for this reading, so I'm sure I'll come up with my best work yet!
All the best.
Glad to hear! I am looking forward to reading your work.
DeleteI agree it is weird that these cultures used these drugs when most forbid it or thought it was the devils work.
ReplyDeleteThat god damn god Dionysus is at it again, spiking our wine with psychedelic drugs to get us to have a good time. Overall, not a bad blog post. Not as long or as detailed as your others, but still good.
ReplyDeleteBut I also agree. Just like tobacco and coffee, there is really no way to stop the use of this 'taboo' from becoming an everyday thing.
From reading your reply to Nathanial's comment, I see you found this writing a bit difficult to read. I too have difficulty focussing on Pollan's writing and when trying to blog about it, I find myself just producing a broad summary. Nonetheless, I your post was well written and I liked your title!
ReplyDeleteI loved your first little intro paragraph, it caught my attention right off the bat and made me want to read more! You brought up some great points throughout this blog post and I found your analysis of the chapter to be very interesting. I especially like the point where you talked about the "wild west" and how their taboo became widely accepted, and how the same will happen with marijuana in our society. Keep up the good work MK chicken lady!
ReplyDeleteI also found it really interesting when he was discussing how a plant that causes pleasure is almost always seen as a taboo to some. I'm very curious what the outcome with marijuana is going to be, and if it will continue to be such a "taboo" in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how the stigmas around using marijuana as both a medicinal drug and as a recreational drug changes throughout the next few years. I never really thought about how drinking coffee and smoking tobacco was frowned upon in the Wild West, but it is quite similar to how many things that alter our consciousness are viewed by society.
ReplyDeleteNice review of the chapter!