Travel and Marijuana: The Best Books for Backpacking Stoners

by Harry Whitewolf
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5 books
If, like me, you’re a stoner who likes to backpack around different countries, why not read some books while you’re away (whether lying on the beach or embarking on that horrendous twelve-hour bus journey) that combine travel with marijuana?
Here are five that I HIGHLY (get it?) recommend.
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The Beach

Alex Garland, 1998
No book perhaps better sums up backpacking in the ‘90s than The Beach, but Alex Garland’s masterpiece isn’t just about trying to get off the worn tourist trail to find the ultimate private paradise destination. It’s also about the concept of whether paradise can be kept once it’s found. Anyway, paradise wouldn’t be paradise for most travelling backpackers unless it includes an endless supply of weed. Any stoner is sure to be envious when reading of the fields of marijuana that the group on their private Thai island have access to in Garland’s captivating debut novel.

The Road to Purification

Hustlers, Hassles & Hash
Harry Whitewolf, 2014
Even though many backpackers engage in the art of buying weed abroad, there seem to be very few books that feature first-hand accounts of this nefarious, risky, and adrenaline-pumping activity. That’s why I’m – perhaps cheekily – including one of my own books on this list: The Road to Purification: Hustlers, Hassles & Hash, which is the true story of me quitting my job after breaking up with my girlfriend, spontaneously booking a flight to Egypt, and finding myself embarking on some sort of f***ed-up month-long pilgrimage that continually involves hustlers, hassles and a hell of a lot of hashish.

On the Road

Jack Kerouac, 2003
Weed and the Beatnik Generation go hand in hand, and you’ll find various anecdotes of Kerouac and his buddies smoking the ol’ tea in this classic. While this isn’t Kerouac’s best (that would be a toss-up between Desolation Angels and The Dharma Bums), this was the first book of his that I read, and it paved the way for my great interest in the Beats; whose works and values I still resonate with deeply. On the Road, in which Kerouac bums around the United States, was responsible for the birth of the backpacking generation – so, it’s importance can’t be overstated!

Mr Nice

Howard Marks, 2010
No one combines traveling and weed-buying quite like the infamous Mr. Nice – aka Howard Marks. And we’re not talking about purchasing an eighth from some dodgy geezer on a street corner. As the blurb for this book says: “At the height of his career (Marks) was smuggling consignments of up to thirty tons of marijuana.” Whether in Europe, Asia, or South America, and whether working for the CIA, the IRA or the Mafia, Marks’ drugs tales are a must-read for any stoner who likes to travel.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
Hunter S. Thompson, 2010
Non-smokers might think that “two big bags of grass” is a lot. But that’s just a small part of the drug arsenal that Thompson and his attorney stock up on before heading to the Las Vegas Mint 400 off-road race in a red Chevy convertible in this wild tale. They also take with them seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, numerous uppers, downers, and in-betweeners, two dozen amyls (I don’t even know what amyls are), a pint of raw ether, and plenty of alcohol. This sensational classic blew me away when I first read it – and it’s continued to do so with every re-read.