SelfMadeHero is delighted to announce the publication of Box Brown’s CANNABIS: An American History.
From the acclaimed creator of Tetris and Andre The Gianta timely and revealing history of cannabis in America. Box Brown traces the long and troubled relationship between cannabis culture and the U.S. establishment, from the drug’s arrival in the country (by means of an immigrant labour force), through dishonest and discriminatory campaigns spearheaded by legislators and the press, to the drug’s Schedule 1 classification. At a time of widespread legalisation in the States and fierce debate over the drug’s use for medicinal purposes in the UK, Box Brown hits a new high.
It was in the 16th century, during his violent colonial campaigns, that Cortés introduced hemp farming to the Americas. Locals then secretly began to cultivate the plant for their own consumption. It made its way to the US, via the immigrant labour force, where it was eagerly shared by black labourers. It didn’t take long before U.S. law-makers began to decry cannabis as the vice of “inferior races”, beginning a propaganda campaign that led to the drug’s Schedule 1 classification – one shared with heroin. Box Brown traces the long and troubled relationship between cannabis culture and the U.S. establishment. Expertly crafted and deeply researched, Cannabis offers a persuasive, eye-opening guide to the drug’s complex history. At a time of widespread legalisation in the States and fierce debate over the drug’s use for medicinal purposes in the UK, Box Brown hits a new high in bringing this extraordinary history to comic book form.
About the creator
Box Brown is an Ignatz Award-winning cartoonist, illustrator and comics publisher from Philadelphia. His book Andre the Giant: Life and Legend spent three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. His other graphic novels include Tetris: The Games People Play and Is This Guy For Real?, a biography of Andy Kaufman.
