In 1970, Bill Drake wrote the first modern guide to growing cannabis. Despite an FBI campaign to suppress this groundbreaking book, The Cultivator's Handbook of Marijuana would change the game forever by teaching millions of people how to overgrow the government.
Based on his journeys around the world—including Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Mexico—Bill's writings on cultivation and connoisseurship over the last fifty years have served as the first draft of the modern history of this plant we all love.
And at 81, he's most definitely still smoking.
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Meet the Brains Behind the OG Guide to Growing Weed

Great Moments in Weed History delves deep into humanity's 10,000+ year relationship with cannabis (a.k.a. marijuana) to explore the humor, heart, and historical importance of the planet's most revered and maligned plant. Hosted by David Bienenstock.

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Society & Culture

From starring in the first-ever movie about hip-hop and graffiti, to hosting Yo! MTV Raps, Fab 5 Freddy has been a weed aficionado at the forefront of underground culture for more than four decades. He's also the filmmaker behind the groundbreaking Netflix documentary "Grass is Greener," and the founder of the cause-based B. Noble cannabis brand.
Tracing the history of weed from the jazz era to the modern day, F5F recalls a journey that took him from throwing in on nickel bags to working directly with one of the world's largest legal cannabis brands.
EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History, and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
PATREON
Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Hip-Hop Lit The Fuse of Weed Freedom w/ Fab 5 Freddy

Breeder Steve started growing weed in Canada in the 1980s, and went on to create some of the most popular strains of the last thirty years. So he's the perfect person to explain the process of crossing two different types of cannabis to produce a distinct hybrid.
Much of Steve's work took place in the outlaw era of Canadian cannabis, as part of a thriving grey market of seed merchants selling through the mail. His Spice of Life seed company was among the finest, and his high-level breeding work continues today.
EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
PATREON
Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Where Do Weed Strains Come From?

On April 19, 1943 Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hoffman took the world's first LSD trip, which included a rather harrowing bicycle ride home from his lab that day. For the next sixty years, Hoffman would be fascinated by his famous "problem child," a powerful molecule that changed the course of history. 
Comedian Shane Mauss ("A Better Trip") tells us the story of Bicycle Day, which is now celebrated around the world. 
EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
PATREON
Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Dropping Acid on Bicycle Day (4/20 Special Episode w/ Shane Mauss)

As we gaze upon the Cosmos, let's remember Carl Sagan, the famed astronomer who attributed his most powerful epiphanies to the creative influence of cannabis. And his best bud Dr. Lester Grinspoon, who set out to make the definitive scientific case against weed and ended up becoming one of the plant's greatest champions.
Their friendship truly changed the course of weed history, with some incredible stories along the way.
EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
PATREON
Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Carl Sagan and His Best Bud Get Blazed and Save the Universe

What's the most psychedelic experience you can have on Earth without ingesting so much as a microdose? A solar eclipse, no question—but you've got to be in the path of totality. 
Our guest on this episode, astronomer Nour Skaf, from the Black Rock Observatory, explains what exactly happens during an eclipse, and why it's such a profoundly trippy phenomenon. 
Nour will be presenting a talk at the upcoming Texas Eclipse Festival outside Austin, Texas on April 5th-9th. Bean will be there too, reporting for DoubleBlind magazine.
If you have the time and resources, please don't miss a chance to see an eclipse. It is truly life-changing. 
PATH OF TOTALITY
Check out this map to track the path of totality, and find the closest location for you to experience the eclipse. 
EPISODE ARCHIVE
Visit our podcast feed for 100+ episodes of Great Moments in Weed History , and subscribe now to get a new weekly podcast every Weednesday.
PATREON
Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video versions of this podcast and private seshes, plus cool rewards like a signed book. And it truly helps us make the best show possible

Meet the Brains Behind the OG Guide to Growing Weed

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