Dr. Kush

This New Yorker article by David Samuels on the economics of the semi-legal California marijuana business is fascinating - or at least I think it was, I was stoned for most of it. But seriously it’s a good read if a bit demeaning toward the trade at times, particularly in the second to last paragraph where the Samuels seems to draw conclusions that are very loosely based on his reporting throughout the story. Regardless, his reporting is excellent even if his conclusions lack support, he gets involved in all aspects of the trade and generally writes from a detached observers angle.

Another article worthy of note is Condoleezza Rice’s Rethinking the National Interest in Foreign Affairs July/August issue (btw, Condoleezza does not have squiggly lines indicating a misspelling as I type this on Microsoft Word, goddamn the Bush administration, they have their hands in everything!). Ms. Rice also wrote an essay for FA in 2000 and it is interesting to see her address (and in some ways backtrack from) what she wrote then in light of the events of the last eight years.