This Is Your Mind On Plants: Opium-Caffeine-Mescaline
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- Create Date：2021-07-04 04:51:47
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Michael Pollan
- ISBN：0241530792
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Summary
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Pollan， a radical challenge to how we think about drugs， and an exploration into the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants -- and the equally powerful taboos
Of all the things humans rely on plants for--sustenance， beauty， fragrance， flavor， fiber--surely the most curious is our use of them is to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm， fiddle with or completely alter， the qualities of our mental experience。 Take coffee and tea: people around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds。 We don't usually think of caffeine as a drug， or our daily use as an addiction， because it is legal and socially acceptable。 So then what is a "drug？" And why， for example， is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable， but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime？
In This Is Your Mind on Plants， Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs -- opium， caffeine， and mescaline -- and throws the fundamental strangeness， and arbitrariness， of our thinking about them into sharp relief。 Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs， while consuming （or in the case of caffeine， trying not to consume） them， Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants， and the equally powerful taboos with which we surround them。 Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness， and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and such fraught feelings？
A unique blend of history， science， memoir， as well as participatory journalism， Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts， and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively -- as a drug， whether licit or illicit。 But that's one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants， Pollan shows， for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds， we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can。 Based in part on an essay written more than 25 years ago， this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants， and our attraction to them through time， holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations， the operations of our minds， and our entanglement with the natural world。
Of all the things humans rely on plants for--sustenance， beauty， fragrance， flavor， fiber--surely the most curious is our use of them is to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm， fiddle with or completely alter， the qualities of our mental experience。 Take coffee and tea: people around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds。 We don't usually think of caffeine as a drug， or our daily use as an addiction， because it is legal and socially acceptable。 So then what is a "drug？" And why， for example， is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable， but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime？
In This Is Your Mind on Plants， Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs -- opium， caffeine， and mescaline -- and throws the fundamental strangeness， and arbitrariness， of our thinking about them into sharp relief。 Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs， while consuming （or in the case of caffeine， trying not to consume） them， Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants， and the equally powerful taboos with which we surround them。 Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness， and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and such fraught feelings？
A unique blend of history， science， memoir， as well as participatory journalism， Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts， and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively -- as a drug， whether licit or illicit。 But that's one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants， Pollan shows， for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds， we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can。 Based in part on an essay written more than 25 years ago， this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants， and our attraction to them through time， holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations， the operations of our minds， and our entanglement with the natural world。
Reviews
J。A。 Ironside
，
Audio arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewMichael Pollan narrated his own audio and it worked really well。 When author's have decent voices and read well， it can work better than hiring a narrator since the author knows exactly the intonation and delivery they want and exactly how they want to convey the information。 Pollan was interesting to listen to and having him narrate his own book added a personal touch。 The book itself is fascinating。 I have a life long interest in Audio arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewMichael Pollan narrated his own audio and it worked really well。 When author's have decent voices and read well， it can work better than hiring a narrator since the author knows exactly the intonation and delivery they want and exactly how they want to convey the information。 Pollan was interesting to listen to and having him narrate his own book added a personal touch。 The book itself is fascinating。 I have a life long interest in plants （which resulted in a degree in plant biology and genetics）， though only a theoretical knowledge of psychotropic/ psychedelic plant substances！ My interest in plants was kindled as a very young child by my father - who clearly thought that if his children were going to roam wild in rural Dorset， they ought to know which plants were poisonous and which were safe if handled respectfully。 The idea that a plant could be a thing of beauty， a source of food， a source of medicine and an organism which helped renew the soil and assist the overall ecosystem took root early。 I'm not sure how Pollan got into plants but the way he speaks about them echoes my own feelings and thoughts。 There is as much poetry in the science when you know it as there is feeling in the poetry surrounding plants。 This book focuses on mind altering substances derived from prepared plants。 Pollan has not been shy about experimenting either - something which I have never really wanted to do。 Specifically， these substances change how you， the ingestor of said plant， perceive reality。 Weaving together strands of history， culture， law and religion， Pollan looks at the human fascination with being able to take short trips to Wonderland。 He does not obfuscate the perils nor does he downplay the benefits。 There's certainly a lot of evidence that psychedelics can assist with a number of mental issues such as PTSD and depression。 Finally， he discusses the questionable practice of making some plant substances illegal and calling them 'drugs' when very similar， potentially more harmful substances are manufactured， licensed and sold enriching Big Pharma。 The law around these substances is idiosyncratic， capricious and badly enforced。 And ultimately futile because it is a war on human desire。 While laws such as those that protect Native American rights with regard to Peyote must remain in place， other laws are somewhat asinine。 I am curious to find out what the corresponding situation is here in UK （although we don't really have the climate for growing Peyote！）Overall a fascinating book， told in an accessible and engaging manner。 Very enjoyable。 Highly recommend if you have an interest in this area。 。。。more
Kevin Morgan
，
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Heather
，
a book full of facts， urban myths， history， culture and a lot of science。 The subject is three plant based drugs caffeine， opium and mescaline， whilst i understood the downside of a coffee habit but knew nothing about the other two。 except they are additive。 The author explained in a fairly simple language the science and agri science behind these plants。 A great deal of historical information relating to harvesting， export， demand， income and trends during the centuries。 Fascinating stuff and i a book full of facts， urban myths， history， culture and a lot of science。 The subject is three plant based drugs caffeine， opium and mescaline， whilst i understood the downside of a coffee habit but knew nothing about the other two。 except they are additive。 The author explained in a fairly simple language the science and agri science behind these plants。 A great deal of historical information relating to harvesting， export， demand， income and trends during the centuries。 Fascinating stuff and interested in reading more from this author。 Thank you #NetGalley for the audio book。 。。。more
Cecile
，
I received a copy of the book by NetGalley but the opinions in this review are my own。In depth work of research done on 3 different plants that naturally produce opium， caffeine， and mescaline。 The subject is incredibly interesting and the information is there and as far as I could tell reliable and factual。 The only thing that makes me decrease my mark is that the book was written like a newspaper or magazine article， rather than what I envision being a science book。 There are a lot of personal I received a copy of the book by NetGalley but the opinions in this review are my own。In depth work of research done on 3 different plants that naturally produce opium， caffeine， and mescaline。 The subject is incredibly interesting and the information is there and as far as I could tell reliable and factual。 The only thing that makes me decrease my mark is that the book was written like a newspaper or magazine article， rather than what I envision being a science book。 There are a lot of personal stories about the making of this work and the author’s experience with each plant which I did not particularly enjoy at times。 。。。more
Georgina Collins
，
This Is Your Mind On Plants encouraged me to question the whole concept of what is and what isn't a drug。 It questioned how I see caffeine and opium， and introduced me to mescaline， which I wasn't aware of。 I was less keen on the opium section， although I still found it interesting; I found that there was a lot of discussion of what is and is not legal， when I was more interested in， for example， Pollan's experiments to grow the poppies and make an infusion， and his experience of drinking this， This Is Your Mind On Plants encouraged me to question the whole concept of what is and what isn't a drug。 It questioned how I see caffeine and opium， and introduced me to mescaline， which I wasn't aware of。 I was less keen on the opium section， although I still found it interesting; I found that there was a lot of discussion of what is and is not legal， when I was more interested in， for example， Pollan's experiments to grow the poppies and make an infusion， and his experience of drinking this， as well as the history of our relationship with opium。 I really enjoyed the section on caffeine， possibly because I am familiar with this and it is such an everyday drug， and this book really opened my eyes to the politics of caffeine。I was also surprised that there was not an epilogue of some kind to tie the three sections together。 。。。more
Jen Burrows
，
This is Your Mind on Plants is a thoughtful， informative exploration of three plants and their effects on the human mind， as well as our history， society and culture。It feels a little disjointed in places， reading more like three separate essays on a theme rather than cohesive long-form nonfiction， and I was a little confused at the absence of an epilogue to tie it all together。 But the individual sections themselves are interesting， and I enjoyed the blend of journalistic memoir， psychology and This is Your Mind on Plants is a thoughtful， informative exploration of three plants and their effects on the human mind， as well as our history， society and culture。It feels a little disjointed in places， reading more like three separate essays on a theme rather than cohesive long-form nonfiction， and I was a little confused at the absence of an epilogue to tie it all together。 But the individual sections themselves are interesting， and I enjoyed the blend of journalistic memoir， psychology and history。*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review* 。。。more
Nicola
，
I was definitely drawn in by the title here， as it seems such an interesting topic！ The subject matter was really interesting and I really liked how the author wrote this and weaved in a mix of personal experiences， scientific research and information about the plants and effects included throughout the book As there’s so many subsets and different things to talk about and potentially cover in this book， to whittle down the breadth of this field， the author split the book into three parts with o I was definitely drawn in by the title here， as it seems such an interesting topic！ The subject matter was really interesting and I really liked how the author wrote this and weaved in a mix of personal experiences， scientific research and information about the plants and effects included throughout the book As there’s so many subsets and different things to talk about and potentially cover in this book， to whittle down the breadth of this field， the author split the book into three parts with one plant dedicated to each。 Starting with Opiates， it’s history， relations to the law and its effects in part one， the book then goes into part two on caffeine （something I think most people will have a vested interest in！） and then reaching the third part on Mescaline。 My only small point is that the title might be a bit misleading as there’s less effect of these plants on the mind and neuroscience/ behavioural science than I was expecting but it was delved into on the caffeine chapter。 It was great to learn about the culture of caffeine and I really enjoyed learning more about this！I really loved hearing about the authors own encounters and experiences too。 And I also thought the covid and pandemic tie in within the third chapter was great as well！It was really interesting and worked well in audiobook format too。 I always love it when the author narrates their own books and this one was easy and effortless to listen to。 Plenty of interesting points and facts here: I’ve definitely come away knowing a lot more about this subject than when I started！ （Although frankly not hard as I self confess I didn’t know a lot to begin with- it was interesting to learn！）All in all， a good listen and of interest to anyone who would like to know more about these three important plants that can have such an impact。 Thank you to the author and publishers via NetGalley for this audiobook in return for my honest thoughts and review。 。。。more
Lee Lee
，
This is your mind on plants - Michael PollanWasn’t either good or bad。 In parts informative and cleverly written， just not my type of book。 Thanks for the opportunity to read this。
Rebecca Sims
，
This is an informative， involved account of natural substances， where they come from and how we consume them。 It was well narrated and kept me interested in each subsequent chapter with its well written book。Many thanks to the author， publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest， unbiased review。
Aaron Akbar
，
At first glance this seems like a strange hodgepodge of information compared to his last books。 The book is separated into three parts。 The first， which was originally published as an article in the '90s， is about opium during the height of the drug war。 The second part， which was written a few years ago， is on caffeine and the interesting relationship we have between it and modern living。 And then finally， the last section is on mescaline， which was written during the pandemic。 Obviously all th At first glance this seems like a strange hodgepodge of information compared to his last books。 The book is separated into three parts。 The first， which was originally published as an article in the '90s， is about opium during the height of the drug war。 The second part， which was written a few years ago， is on caffeine and the interesting relationship we have between it and modern living。 And then finally， the last section is on mescaline， which was written during the pandemic。 Obviously all this is about drugs。 but just in hearing that， it seems hard to find what the through line would be。 In actuality the book is much more about the strangeness that occurs when you try to draw a hard lines of what's okay and what's not okay。 You have one drug that is totally outlawed， one that is never outlawed， and one that is only legal in religious settings。 At first it seems like these things would be really connected， but each drug has its own setting and character， and that comes through in the writing。 This is less a single book than it is a compilation smaller books around a common theme。 And it works really well！ Overall you get a good sense of the strange way we treat drugs in the modern age， as well as possible ways forward that both remove the stigma and allow for healthier use that both honors the individual and honors the cultures from which the drugs come from。 This is very fascinating read that would be fun to read alongside How to Change Your Mind。 。。。more
Kate Henderson
，
**Listened to the audio book**What the hell was this book？ This book really wasn't what I was expecting。 I expected this book to be filled with more facts and science， but it felt almost like a memoir at times。 It felt very self indulgent on the author Michael Pollan's life。 I didn't really read the book to hear his life story。 I wanted to know more about the psychedelic properties and science of some of these plants - there wasn't enough of that。As a reader/listener in the UK I did feel that a **Listened to the audio book**What the hell was this book？ This book really wasn't what I was expecting。 I expected this book to be filled with more facts and science， but it felt almost like a memoir at times。 It felt very self indulgent on the author Michael Pollan's life。 I didn't really read the book to hear his life story。 I wanted to know more about the psychedelic properties and science of some of these plants - there wasn't enough of that。As a reader/listener in the UK I did feel that a lot of the book was very USA specific and not always totally relevant to me in the UK。 I didn't enjoy this read， and it certainly wasn't the book I was expecting。 。。。more
Verity Halliday
，
This is your Mind on Plants is an。interesting book about three different plant-based mind-altering drugs。 The text is free ranging， covering many aspects of each substance， from the effect on the human mind to horticulture， to the vastly different government attitudes to each drug。 I found the analysis of the US government’s War on Drugs since the 1990s to be particularly interesting， as the author had quite a bit of first hand knowledge。 I appreciated the author’s commitment to his book which m This is your Mind on Plants is an。interesting book about three different plant-based mind-altering drugs。 The text is free ranging， covering many aspects of each substance， from the effect on the human mind to horticulture， to the vastly different government attitudes to each drug。 I found the analysis of the US government’s War on Drugs since the 1990s to be particularly interesting， as the author had quite a bit of first hand knowledge。 I appreciated the author’s commitment to his book which meant that he gave up caffeine for over a month， which is something I wouldn’t want to do myself！The audiobook was read by the author and I enjoyed his pleasant American accent and relaxed pace。 The only thing I missed from the audiobook was the footnotes。Thanks to the author， publisher and NetGalley for providing a pre-release copy of both the text and the audio in exchange for honest feedback。 。。。more
Janet
，
Date reviewed/posted: June 26， 2021Publication date: August 5， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （ #fourthwave #fifthwave？） is upon us， superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。 Plus it is hot as all heck and nothing is more appealing than sitting in front of a fan with a kindle。！I requested and receive Date reviewed/posted: June 26， 2021Publication date: August 5， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #thirdwave （ #fourthwave #fifthwave？） is upon us， superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。 Plus it is hot as all heck and nothing is more appealing than sitting in front of a fan with a kindle。！I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley， the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review。 From the publisher， as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews， I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸。Of all the things humans rely on plants for--sustenance， beauty， medicine， fragrance， flavour， fibre--surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm， fiddle with or completely alter， the qualities of our mental experience。 Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds。 But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug， or our daily use as an addiction， because it is legal and socially acceptable。 So， then， what is a "drug"？ And why， for example， is making tea from the leaves of a tea plant acceptable， but making tea from a seed head of an opium poppy a federal crime？In This Is Your Mind on Plants， Michael Pollan dives deep into three plant drugs--opium， caffeine， and mescaline--and throws the fundamental strangeness， and arbitrariness， of our thinking about them into sharp relief。 Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs while consuming （or， in the case of caffeine， trying not to consume） them， Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants。 Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness， and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and fraught feelings？In this unique blend of history， science， and memoir， as well as participatory journalism， Pollan examines and experiences these plants from several very different angles and contexts， and shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively--as a drug， whether licit or illicit。 But that is one of the least interesting things you can say about these plants， Pollan shows， for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds， we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can。 Based in part on an essay published almost twenty-five years ago， this groundbreaking and singular consideration of psychoactive plants， and our attraction to them through time， holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations， the operations of our minds， and our entanglement with the natural world。I love how on "Murdoch Mysteries" and "Frankie Drake" that they speak of opium dens and how they are legal but that there is still a Temperance Union trying to rid the world of alcohol！ I live for my morning caffeine - it used to be tea but I took up coffee about 6 years ago。。。as long as it is a cold brew I love it。 Every day getting to and from work in this city I see the effect of narcotics （mostly opioids） so I am not a fan of letting those be had by everyone willy-nilly and most people don't have the ability to get mescaline which in the end， to me， is good。 Great。 Fantastic。 I had actually read a coworker's copy of this book when I was approved， so I was able to review it right away。 It is well written and easy to understand and I can see a lot of personal opinions being made and a lot of discussion about this book by people and book clubs。。。where we serve tea， coffee and wine。 I will recommend this book to friends， family， patrons， book clubs， and people reading books in the park as we do … I have had some of my best conversations about books down by the Thames！As always， I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis （outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc。 " on Instagram and Twitter。。。 Get a real job， people！） so let's give it ☕☕☕☕☕copy - https://www。facebook。com/janetsbookco。。。 https://www。facebook。com/janetsbookco。。。copy - https://janetcousineau。wixsite。com/we。。。 。。。more
Justin Hall
，
What a wonderful and informed book。 Easily comprehensive and like so many other of his works dispells myths about plants and foods and our cravings or addictions to them。 I had read the Caffeine section but the begin on poppies and peyote at the end were really great。
Kristy
，