The Connoisseur’s Handbook of Marijuana. By Bill Drake. First Softcover Edition, First Printing. Straight Arrow Books. San Francisco, 1972.

The criminalization and prohibition of marijuana throughout the twentieth century led to numerous underground and counterculture initiatives in sharing information about cannabis. Perhaps no text encompasses these initiatives more than The Connoisseur’s Handbook of Marijuana. It is considered a cult classic, a comprehensive text on all things cannabis. First published in 1971, it became one of the first relatively mainstream texts on the subject. It is one of several works credited to Bill Drake and the Tribe of Thumb in Berkeley. Because of the marijuana prohibition and the U.S. War on Drugs, it behooved the author to maintain some level of anonymity, but Drake is today a mainstream figure. Of the various works by him, The Cultivator’s Handbook to Marijuana is particularly noteworthy. Parts of it are excerpted in this volume alongside a history of hemp and numerous illustrations and photos. It is a fascinating version of a major counterculture text on marijuana.

This first softcover edition, first printing is in very good condition. In the original wrappers, very good with only rubbing and creases. Text block about-fine, only minor rubbing, soiling, and foxing to edges. Preceded only by the first hardcover edition.

A scarce first softcover edition of this major prohibition-era text on cannabis.