Book Review: An American Cannabis Story, by David Goodman 

Powerhouse Books, 207 pages.

David Goodman opens An American Cannabis Story by detailing his initial visit to see his niece, Jade Stefano. It wasn’t an average familial visit because he was arriving at Jade and her husband Ben’s cannabis cultivation operation in Ellensburg, Washington, to photograph the annual harvest at Puffin Farm. What ensued was a photographic and journalistic pilgrimage to record and report on an entire year of full-scale Washington State cannabis cultivation. While you read the story of the trials and travails of negotiating the complex experience of participating in the West Coast cannabis industry, you are exposed to a comprehensive photographic journey through all the phases and aspects of commercial cannabis.

Presented in five sections: The Evolution of Puffin Farm, A Year in the Life of Puffin Farm, The Process, Signature Cultivars, and Good Night Puffin Farm, An American Cannabis Story is replete with many dazzling full-page color images of weed from the seed to the shelf and explanatory narrative the whole way through.

Every aspect and phase of commercial cannabis production is documented, from seedling to packaging, including great detail on various premium cultivars and forms of cannabis, with many close-up images that collectively constitute a cannabis curriculum that will render the reader a novice cannasseaur.

Photographs include those of the processes of cultivation, from germination to product drying. An American Cannabis story also presents detailed photography of products and processes such as pre-roll joint production, oil extraction, making bubble hash, dry sift hash, flower rosin, and hash rosin. Detailed cannabinoid and terpenoid content of multiple signature strains are also included in this examination of a full year at a professional pot farm, making An American Cannabis Story an ultimate cannabis coffee table book.

In a world rife with “weed porn,” David’s new book genuinely includes some of the finest cannabis photography to be found complimented by extensive text telling the story of cannabis production.

All photos credit: David Goodman