This Is Your Mind On Plants

Last week I was in my local library branch to print some documents. I hadn't been in the library for quite a while, so after my printing I decided to browse the shelves. The first book that leaped out at me was on the New Books shelf. It is a book on wild-crafting plants in the Southeastern United States. Cool. I held onto that one and went over towards the non-fiction section. Michael Pollan's new book, This Is Your Mind On Plants called to me.I was kind of surprised to see that book because it was just released a few months ago. Usually new books are reserved. Perhaps my fellow citizens are not reading much. I decided to run with the plant theme an check out these two books.

I read the Pollan book within a few days. It surprised me how much I enjoy his writing. I read How To Change Your Mind a few years ago and thought that it was a significant work. A noted writer with literary cred experimenting with psychedelic plants? Yes.

This Is Your Mind On Plants could be considered an extrapolation of This Is How To Change Your Mind. The book is a collection of three essays exploring a different plant in each one.Opium, Caffeine (Coffee and Tea), and Mescaline (Peyote).

It is a fascinating glimpse at these powerful plants and their influence on human lives. The author is well qualified to write about these plants because he describes his own personal experience with them. For the caffeine essay he actually abstained from drinking caffeine for over three months. That has me considering my own caffeine intake, a full French press every morning. Brewing and drinking coffee is an automatic ritual for me every day. The consumption of coffee is so ingrained in modern life in the US. Maybe it isn't so good for us. What would happen if I tried to quit coffee for a month?

I don't have any experience with Opium or Mescaline. As a father of a young child, I think that ship has sailed for now. It is still interesting to read about them. We are still dealing with the fallout of The War On Drugs in the United States. The fact that plants, natural things, are illegal in this country is fucked up. I know that drugs can be a problem for people and communities. I have people in my own family who are in recovery. However, I think these plants can be powerful tools for humanity. Peyote seems like good medicine. The power of that cactus has the power to save us from ourselves.

Fortunately attitudes are changing in this country. We realize that these plants can help people. It seems as if the US government is beginning to relax the prohibition against these gifts of nature.

The times they are a' changing. Hopefully it isn't too late.