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Follow on Google News |  First Official Vote to Legalize Marijuana in New Novel"WITCHGRASS: a pipe dream," acclaimed novel by Dave Wilkinson, portrays shattered lives and conflicted families as a New England town splits apart in literary activism out of Ed Abbey's "The Monkey Wrench Gang," based on actual events.
By: Dave Wilkinson Carolyn Chute, author of best-selling "The Beans of Egypt, Maine", “cry-laughed and laugh-cried through a book more important than most of what they give kids to read in school.” "WITCHGRASS: School children, sheriffs, professors and prosecutors play their parts in a story about one of America’s major social issues. Emotions boil in the culture clash over cannabis, a matter which divides parent from child, employee from company, husband from wife. As the story comes to its unexpected and riotous climax, Maine in the Bush One era becomes a positive vision of future enlightenment. In its non-judgmental portrayal of cannabis users, this novel brightens the image of much-maligned pot smokers. "WITCHGRASS: Starks, Maine is small, but the vote was legal. There has never been a similar vote. No other town, city, county or state has ever voted to allow cultivation and possession of two pounds of cannabis. That unique event suggests that WITCHGRASS: a pipe dream may help change the narrative about cannabis/hemp in America. About the author Dave Wilkinson wrote ordinances which produced the first and only official vote for marijuana legalization ever in history. The vote of Starks, Maine in 1992 was years ahead of California’s Proposition 215 in 1996 and Maine’s Medical Marijuana Act of 1999. In 2006, with Producer Marilyn Taylor, Wilkinson created incredibleMAINE, a half-hour weekly TV show on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. He has twice been Emmy nominated for Directing the award-winning show. Witchgrass: a pipe dream is his first novel. http://www.amazon.com/ http://www.youtube.com/ http://www.facebook.com/ REVIEWS "Wilkinson's incredible writing washes away any initial reader skepticism within the first ten pages -- he's that good. And he excellently performs the novelist's magic trick of creating living, breathing characters that we care about, laugh with, cry with, and even take "Safety Meetings" with (read the book)." --- Steve Elliot, TOKE OF THE TOWN, Village Voice Media "There are two sides to the pot debate, and Wilkinson gives us a very informed take on both sides...Witchgrass is additionally a fun ride, with interesting, well-wrought characters, humor, real drama, and an excellent sense of place...Wilkinson, though a first-time novelist, showed as much confidence and command of his language as he did of his subject. The man knows his way around a sentence, and for someone who takes pride in crafting good ones, I found that Witchgrass really delivered, down there on the level of the line...Everything about the presentation, from syntax to physical production, was first rate." --- John Vorhaus, (CALIFORNIA ROLL, UNDER THE GUN) "Dave Wilkinson's new book, Witchgrass, does not disappoint. It has the entire gamut of insanity that results from marijuana prohibition...The story moves through its pages in punchy prose. As the seasons change the story of a small town's battle with the marijuana law and its consequences unfolds. The reader is provided with a world filled with vivid scenes and true characters...This is the sort of story that needs to be told...Read "Witchgrass" --- Hoam Rogh (SATAN'S SMOKE) "Wilkinson delivers some history, a lot of fact, a sense of Maine culture AND a compelling story...The characters are well-crafted, the history and fact about the War on Drugs are entwined in a fashion that doesn't disrupt the story, or make it a lecture. At the same time, it provides a snapshot of life in Maine...Witchgrass is a compelling story with a lot of dividends." --- Rachel Hawkridge, Libertarian Party "Not many helpful books dealing with cannabis are available. Most are propaganda or at least heavily slanted in one direction or the other. For academic knowledge related to farming or processing industrial hemp some great studies are available. But there are also times when academic papers just don't cut it, and it would be helpful for a more personal and holistic approach...Witchgrass, written by Dave Wilkinson, is a novel written for just such purposes. It aims to clarify the effects of America's drug war on society and civil liberties...To an audience familiar with the struggle to legalize cannabis, Jack Herer's influence will be noticeable...Witchgrass will certainly frustrate many readers with its ideology, as any good book dealing with controversial issues should. But Wilkinson makes a decent effort to represent both sides of the infamous drug war, even while it is clear on which side he stands...Witchgrass: --- David Mark Brown, Amazon reviewer "We have all heard of the "war on drugs," more correctly termed drug prohibition, but many of us are unfamiliar with its workings and are unaware of the devastating effects it can have on average individuals and families who, for one reason or another, get caught up in its enforcement. In Witchgrass, the author Dave Wilkinson weaves together the story of some rather ordinary people with the reality of zealous enforcers of drug prohibition. Though clearly an advocacy book for change, the book also presents a human side of the drug enforcers, who are doing their jobs because they believe they doing good... The book presents a lot of facts about drug prohibition and its effects. Based on other research I have done, all the facts about drug prohibition and its effects that the author presents are true. The events he describes have happened and continue to happen. Mr. Wilkinson has a good ear for narrative and a good way with description. The scenes and characters have fullness and depth. The reader can find interest in them and care about what happens. It's not a fluffy mindless novel one would read to kill time if you like it better dead, as somebody once said. It would be, however, a good book to read if one is looking for an easy and entertaining way to be educated about the reality of drug prohibition." -- Anonymous, because it is dangerous to speak out "WITCHGRASS is a must read for marijuana activists. The novel illustrates how far staying on a positive side of marijuana activism can take you. Whether seeking knowledge about cannabis or trying to educate another, this novel is a powerful tool." -- Narin Selthofner Mother, Marijuana Activist and wife of Jay Selthofner, Independent Candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly "Educate yourself on the war on drugs - aka the war on American citizens. READ THIS BOOK. You won't be able to put it down once you start it." -- greenandlegal "Run, don't walk to Amazon.com and order a copy of this insightful, suspenseful, heartfelt and humorous book that takes direct aim at prohibition's soul. " --- John Dvorak http://www.hempology.org/ # # # WITCHGRASS: a pipe dream, a novel by Dave Wilkinson portrays shattered lives and conflicted families as a New England town splits apart. WITCHGRASS: a pipe dream is novelistic activism in the tradition of Ed Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang. Dave Wilkinson wrote ordinances which produced the first and only official vote for marijuana legalization ever in history. The vote of Starks, Maine in 1992 was years ahead of California’s Proposition 215 in 1996 and Maine’s Medical Marijuana Act of 1999. In 2006, with Producer Marilyn Taylor, Wilkinson created incredibleMAINE, a half-hour weekly TV show on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. He has twice been Emmy nominated for Directing the award-winning show. Witchgrass: a pipe dream is his first novel. End
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