Marijuanamerica: One Man's Quest to Understand America's Dysfunctional Love Affair with Weed

Alfred Ryan Nerz is a Yale-educated author, journalist, and TV producer. He is also a longtime pot smoker who wanted to better understand the drugs use and abuse in the United States. Marijuanamerica is the story of his trek across the country, where he encounters an eclectic and eccentric group of dealers and users, medicinal marijuana advocates and legalization opponents, and even ends up apprenticing to a major grower-distributor. Along the way, he asks the questions: Are Americans becoming more dependent on marijuana physically, spiritually, financially? Should we legalize it? Does he need to quit? Entertaining and illuminating, Marijuanamerica is one mans attempt to humanize some very hot-button topics and learn something about himself along the way.

Alfred Ryan Nerz is a freelance journalist whose pieces have appeared in Esquire, the Village Voice, and Time Out New York. In addition, he has written for NPR and produced television shows on Spike TV and the Biography channel. He lives in Brooklyn.