Pothead

My Life as a Marijuana Addict in the Age of Legal Weed

By: Neal Pollack

Narrated by: Tim Paige

Beginning innocently enough in his 20s, Neal Pollack discovers that pot makes everything - food, music, sex - better. Getting married, having a kid, and enjoying professional success didn't tamp down Pollack's addiction. As cannabis grew stronger and more widely available, Pollack's dependence was shadowed by the expansion and acceptance of the marijuana Big Business.

By 2014, Neal was a correspondent for a national marijuana newspaper, mostly because it meant free pot. Diving into the wild, wicked world of weed with both lungs, Pollack proceeds to smoke, vape, and eat his way to oblivion, leading to terrible public meltdowns and other embarrassing behavior. After his mother dies in 2017, he spirals out of control, finally hitting rock bottom during a reckless two-day gambling and drug-filled binge, culminating in a public crack-up at the World Series in Dodger Stadium. Three weeks later, he quit.

Sober after joining a 12-step program, Neal outed himself publicly as a marijuana addict in a 2018 New York Times op-ed piece, leading to his decision to document his addiction experience as a cautionary tale for the millions of recreational users in the hazy age of legalized marijuana.

©2020 Neal Pollack (P)2020 Tantor

Only redeeming quality was the narrator’s voice

Tedious memoir offering little more than superficial insight. The book’s first chapters are stilted, boring, detailed accounts of an addict’s movements. Even the latter chapters aren’t especially honest or compelling. Not much here to help me understand more than what I already knew: addicts are self-obsessed and self-absorbed; the parents (and everyone else) are always implicated; and even after they quit they still don’t fully grapple with how much they’ve hurt and disappointed the people who love them.
I couldn’t wait for the end of the story just so I didn’t have to hear the word “hork” again.

4.5 I disagree with bad reviews

Some reviews called this messy, disorganized, and selfish. While I can see why some might be put off by the nonchronological order of the book, it made perfect sense to me to categorize the impacts of addiction and recovery by the areas of life and relationships rather than by the years. The language used to describe the addiction was familiar to me and something that felt good to hear from someone else. I've been sober for 4 years now without a 12 step community so it felt nice to listen to another addict. Maybe it's time to find an MA meeting.

Relatable

Love listening to Pollack Great stories as always. I loved how he highlights pos and neg sides of weed.

So FUNNY!

I am not a pothead but wasn’t sure what this book was about…I really enjoyed it. Very humorous to listen to. I have to admit his addiction was pretty scary as I have family members that are potheads. Too bad they have no interest in cutting back or changing. If you do have a weed addiction this book would be a benefit. It is not preaching to you at all. Pretty enjoyable & funny actually!

Thanks for sharing

I feel inhibited to write a real review, because in Marijuana Anonymous we mostly refrain from commenting when another member shares their story. This book is a lot like a much longer version of something you might hear at an MA speaker meeting - a member talking about their personal journey. Neal's story is pretty unusual in some specifics, but I also found a lot I could relate to. I was a little confused by the transition between his "bottom" and entering recovery - it seemed like there was no discussion of making the decision to try sobriety. Also I got a little confused because the story seemed to jump back and forth on the time line a little. Overall, it is great to see a prominent story about marijuana addiction and recovery because too many people (even some marijuana addicts) don't know that it is a real thing. Thanks for sharing Neal!

You are not going to like the author,but that is the point.

This is the life and times of a man with an addiction to cannabis, the so called harmless drug. It is true, Cannabis is a drug that you can use on a daily basis and get by in life, but you turn into a selfish P.O.S.. This is a message that is not expressed enough. Life with a stoner revolves around their next toke. The people around them will always have to take a back seat. Of course the stoner will not admit this. Ask friends and family and you will learn the truth of the affects of marijuana.

Finally! A groundbreaking memoir that exposes the the silent struggles of successful privileged white guy addicts.

As a white multi-decade pothead myself, I thought,
“Maybe I’ll relate to someone that could be a dad at my kid’s school.”
WRONG
The stakes never felt high. I was never worried he’d lose his wife, kids, job.
His well-told history of pot use, and when/how he got it and used it, the lengths he went to—all great detail.
But I felt no real sense of healing, full acceptance, a clear plan for lifelong recovery.
This is the only addiction memoir that did not show me, as much as tell me, that life was spinning out of control.
The writing is too good to believe that these experiences weren’t incredibly painful, but the feelings are never present in the retelling. 
Mr. Pollack they not have been ready to relive them on the page. That’s a fairly honest commentary on how difficult it is to let go of shame. Or acknowledge hubris.

The narrator is great at landing the dark comedic nuance. I laughed a lot. It made me really want weed. By the end of the book I was already on my way to a dispensary. I don’t think that was the author’s intent.

I look forward to a next-edition.

real

he's so honest you sometimes hate him but can also see yourself in him if you've ever been a w**d addict

Thanks for sharing!

There is some really important and useful information in this book if you are wondering about your own habit.

I'm into personal development and weed. I listened while on cloud 9

I loved his narcissistic ways, It kept me entertained. If you want to hear the story of someone who have achieved really awesome stuff and at the same time made things worst in his life while being high and also his take on being sober, go ahead and listen.