The Stories We Tell About Cannabis and What They Can Tell Us About the Plant and Ourselves
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The Stories We Tell About Cannabis and What They Can Tell Us About the Plant and Ourselves
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Anthropologist and author Jeremy Narby joins Jon Christensen, Director of LENS, for a book talk recorded live in the UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden. Delving into Narby's new work, The Book of Cannabis: The History and Future of the Plant and the Drug, the conversation traces cannabis from its role as one of the world’s first domesticated plants (used for fiber, food, oil, and medicine), to the colonial and prohibitionist narratives that recast it as a dangerous and heavily politicized substance, to our current era of patchy liberalization and legalization worldwide. Narby and Christensen discuss how cannabis can play a role as an indicator species of its environment because of its ability to hyperaccumulate environmental contaminants. Their conversation also explores the plant’s future in an era of increasing potency, regulation, and commercialization, alongside a broader inquiry into plant sentience, agency, and narratives.
Music: “Concrete River” by Elori Saxl. Courtesy of Western Vinyl. Used by permission.