Dopeland

DOPELAND follows cult author John Birmingham as he gets paid to travel around Australia in search of its marijuana culture. On his tour JB meets the dope smokers of Australia - and finds that they're not what you might expect. Yes, there are some sci-fi geeks, some student activists, and the obligatory Nimbin ferals, but JB also finds himself smoking with conservative politicians, lawyers, cops, merchant bankers and school teachers. Given that thirty to forty per cent of the adult population have smoked marijuana, and that dope is one of Australia's biggest cash crops, worth roughly five billion dollars a year, maybe we shouldn't be so surprised.The hordes of FELAFEL fans out there won't be disappointed. DOPELAND has more bong-smoking dog stories and Tim Tam references than Perth has micro-beers or Melbourne has retro bars. When JB waves a microphone in their faces, most dope smokers are happy to give it up for their fifteen minutes of fame - like Tim, the guy who wanted JB to use his real name because he was so proud of his ten thousand plant crop, or Rutger and Malcolm X, the Queensland stoners who go on cross-country missions to find the comfiest place to smoke some cones.But it's not all choofing. JB explores the politics of marijuana, from the medieval drug laws of Queensland, where possession of four joints could be punished with life imprisonment, to South Australia's decriminalisation, where the locals believe that smoking and growing pot is perfectly legal, but the government thinks otherwise.DOPELAND is for anyone who's ever fired up a choice fatty, wondered whether you can drink the bong water, gone on a Mars Bar run, or just considered watching daytime TV a worthwhile way to spend your twenties.