Cannabis, Forgetting, and the Botany of Desire

I first met Michael Pollan about seven years ago, on a less than auspicious occasion. It was a conference that had been put together by the environmental historian, Bill Cronon, for both academics and non-academics. We were going to talk about the direction of American environmentalism. This was a pretty good idea in that it had
just been the time that Newt Gingrich was in power and was viably discussing the Contract with America. The conference had a few little problems, though, and probably the biggest one was actually the title. It was called ‘Beyond Environmentalism.’This was like bringing together a room full of very devout Catholics, Buddhists, and Muslims to discuss something called ‘Beyond Religion.’ The tension was a bit palpable. And what I remember very definitely from the conference, among other things, was Michael Pollan, sitting there with a calm—I might even say a strategic obviousness—that one can only envy. I also remember Michael asking extremely thoughtful questions, and I remember above all his curiosity when people answered. He was maybe the only one of the whole group who managed to convince both sides that he was a member of their team. That’s enviable.