Michael Pollan does a fantastic job explaining the history of opium, caffeine, and mescaline (peyote) and explaining how the perception of these three plant-born substances has changed as government policies and the world’s perception of these three chemicals offered by the plants have morphed. He describes the positive and negative aspects of these mind-altering chemicals. He provides his knowledge on gardening and self-experimentation with these plants. I think most will enjoy the chapter on caffeine as this is the one legal highly addictive stimulant that has control of most of our lives.
I first heard about Michael Pollan’s book This is Your Mind on Plants on The Joe Rogan Experience episode called What Michael Pollan Learned from Quitting caffeine for 3 Months. His work about caffeine intrigued me as I have focused my research on the impacts of what we consume on achieving quality sleep. .
On opium, he discusses the historical use of this drug for medicinal purposes and how its perception had shifted from abuse and Clinton’s 1996 war on drugs. In this book, you will also learn about cultivating poppies and the illegal actions that can get you in trouble when growing these flowers for sole purpose of admiring their beauty around your home look.
On caffeine, you will learn about the physiological effects of caffeine on sleep and cognition, but what I found most informative was the history of caffeine and how caffeine has influenced innovation and efficiency across the world. Pollan describes his experiences with a three month fast from caffeine and how he has now begun to use caffeine sparingly when it’s needed to improve cognition and efficiency. Try this three months fast from caffeine; I’m struggling through it now as I write this review.
On mescaline, he provides a historical look and the benefits in healing and helping discover innovative solutions to ones problems. This chemical is used in a holy sacrament, and it’s not a drug, which is what those who use it in their religious ceremonies will tell you. I thought I knew a lot about peyote growing up near the Navajo and Ute reservation, but I learned a lot from Pollan’s book. I really enjoyed reading this book to not only learn the history of these three plants but both their positive impacts as society and the government tend to hide this from the world.
