A former editor at Cannabis Now, Elaine Holland has collaborated with acclaimed Oakland master Ed Rosenthal on several books and is currently editor-in-chief for High times. with the release of Cannabis: A Connoisseur’s Guide. Holland pulls from its full pedigree to offer a wonderful coffee table book that will appeal to beginners and seasoned stoners alike.
Laid out as an easy-to-read guide to finding successful cannabis, the book also features beautiful photos from acclaimed cannabis photographers, including Candid Kush’s Chris Romaine and Christine Angelo. Packed with helpful guidance on everything from terpenes to wellness practices, the volume’s main idea is to classify strains into four distinct categories: fruit, flower, fuel, and earth.
With this label, Holland illustrates the botanical history and significance of popular strains such as Super Lemon Haze. combined, hashish Succeeds in her ambitions to earn a true appreciation of the cherished tradition of cannabis cultivation and the variety of strains available today. Plus, by enshrining the history of these strains in paper and ink, Holland ensures that this knowledge is not lost to the whims of time and THC.
“A lot of the reporting I do, in terms of cannabis writing, turns out to be oral history,” says Holland. “It’s like the gas station that Bob gave to Tom, who gave it to Joe, etc., so I’m glad I was able to write some of these oral histories on the page. It’s important that there’s a lot of misinformation out there these days, in terms of lineage and things like that.” .
for this effort, hashish He also devotes pages to stories of notable names from around Holland’s time as a reporter on cannabis hits. They include clips on influential activist Dennis Perron, beloved junkie maker Frenchie Cannoli and farmer Swami Chaitanya of Swami Select in Humboldt.
Perhaps no name in Holland’s book looms larger than that of Ed Rosenthal, her longtime mentor. Known for his farming skills and for his role in pioneering the concept of cannabis book publishing, Rosenthal’s green thumb appears to be a guiding force in Holland’s latest literary effort.
“Ed and I worked on a bunch of books,” Holland says. “He’s my teacher all the time. You could say this book is an evolution of the things I learned working with him. A lot of the research I did for this book on taxa, specifically, came from Ed’s Big Buds Books Because he always gets his information directly from the breeders.”
Offering an eye-catching survey of cannabis from the perspectives of botany, wellness, culture, and history, hashish is a brief, clear tribute to a plant that has often been the victim of myth, misinformation, and downright ignorance. Holland’s work is a major achievement.
The author also points out that her latest book arrives at a time when cannabis culture finds itself at a remarkable crossroads.
“There is a struggle going on between the cannabis business and the cannabis industry,” she says. “I feel like our job is to preserve cannabis culture, what we love about it, and make sure we focus on the plant. My mind always is that I don’t want cannabis culture to be defined by press releases. I don’t want cannabis culture to be defined by an offensive Informative. I want cannabis culture to stay organic and with people, so that’s what I’m trying to do.”
