Nonfiction

This Is Your Mind On Plants: Opium—Caffeine—Mescaline

This Is Your Mind On Plants: Opium—Caffeine—Mescaline

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  • Create Date：2022-09-16 07:53:02
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Michael Pollan
  • ISBN：0141997338
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Summary

THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR NEW NETFLIX SERIES， HOW TO CHANGE YOUR MIND

'It's a trip - engrossing， eye-opening， mind altering' New Statesman

'Fascinating。 Pollan is the perfect guide 。。。 curious， careful， open minded' The Guardian

Of all the many things humans rely on plants for， surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate， calm， or completely alter the qualities of our mental experience。 In This Is Your Mind On Plants， Michael Pollan explores three very different drugs - opium， caffeine and mescaline - and throws the fundamental strangeness 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。

In a unique blend of history， science， memoir and reportage， Pollan shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively。 In doing so， he proves that there is much more to say about these plants than simply debating their regulation， 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。 This ground-breaking and singular book holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations， the operations of our minds and our entanglement with the natural world。

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Reviews

Corn ，

as a coffee addict， I was sooooo interested in the history of coffee as well as the potential ways caffeine may worsen our quality & quantity of life。 The last chapter on mescaline was so interesting， appreciated the many insights on how native Americans view decriminalizing nature & plants （spoiler alert - their viewpoint is not what ur thinking）。 Will be thinking about this one for a whileeeee。

Karen S ，

I really wanted to like this book。 This was my first Michael Pollan book and after hearing all of the rave reviews of his previous books， I wanted to give this a try。 However， his white privilege and memoir-writing disguised as non-fiction have overshadowed a lot of the history and cultural significance behind the use of mescaline。Pollan calls out the racialized war on drugs and advocates for a more accepting society。 However， once the reader gets to the section on mescaline， Pollan's opportunis I really wanted to like this book。 This was my first Michael Pollan book and after hearing all of the rave reviews of his previous books， I wanted to give this a try。 However， his white privilege and memoir-writing disguised as non-fiction have overshadowed a lot of the history and cultural significance behind the use of mescaline。Pollan calls out the racialized war on drugs and advocates for a more accepting society。 However， once the reader gets to the section on mescaline， Pollan's opportunism to try the sacred medicine comes at the expense of Indigenous Peoples。 Despite the multiple accounts that he describes of Indigenous leaders asking him to respect their cultural boundaries， he remains steadfast in trying to acquire the experience in different ways when one fails。 His attitude each time an attempt is made to experience the medicine reeks of entitled white privilege male energy。 His "woe is me" attitude whenever things do not work out is indicative of the lack of respect he actually has for the people， culture， and so forth that concern mescaline。 If you fail at acquiring the experience of the medicine multiple times， maybe the universe is telling you it's not meant to be！ Why force it？Overall， I left with a sour taste in my mouth upon finishing the book。 。。。more

JennerallySpeaking ，

3/5 - Three separate essays on: poppies， caffeine， and mescaline。 It was interesting to read， but I felt like the chapters on mescaline was a little bit "why can't I experience this？ The universe is working against me。 I 'understand' it's sacred but why is it so difficult to get people to talk to me about it and the rituals associated with it。" Weird vibes from the chapters。。。 3/5 - Three separate essays on: poppies， caffeine， and mescaline。 It was interesting to read， but I felt like the chapters on mescaline was a little bit "why can't I experience this？ The universe is working against me。 I 'understand' it's sacred but why is it so difficult to get people to talk to me about it and the rituals associated with it。" Weird vibes from the chapters。。。 。。。more

Tré ，

I'm a big Michael Pollan fan。 Another job well done。 I'm a big Michael Pollan fan。 Another job well done。 。。。more

Quintn ，

In general， I'm a huge Michael Pollan fan。 The Botany of Desire pretty much got me into nonfiction as an adult。 In my opinion this isn't his best work。 It's high on filler and low on content， and a decent amount of the content that is there is recycled from his older works。 To me it felt less like his other books and more like a homework assignment slapped together at the last minute to meet a deadline。 If you've never read him before， please don't make this the first book of his you pick up。 He In general， I'm a huge Michael Pollan fan。 The Botany of Desire pretty much got me into nonfiction as an adult。 In my opinion this isn't his best work。 It's high on filler and low on content， and a decent amount of the content that is there is recycled from his older works。 To me it felt less like his other books and more like a homework assignment slapped together at the last minute to meet a deadline。 If you've never read him before， please don't make this the first book of his you pick up。 He has much better to offer。 。。。more

Steve Baker ，

So Pollan realized he was on a long slippery slope on his poppy plant article years ago， and stopped further writing at that time。 Now， the statue of limitations has expired， and he has trotted out the old writing。 Then， how to make it a full book of material？ Blather on about caffine， with no creative new coverage。 Add an article about mescaline， again more slap dash words。 I wish I could get back the time I spent reading this book。 Thank goodness it was from the library， so I didn't have any o So Pollan realized he was on a long slippery slope on his poppy plant article years ago， and stopped further writing at that time。 Now， the statue of limitations has expired， and he has trotted out the old writing。 Then， how to make it a full book of material？ Blather on about caffine， with no creative new coverage。 Add an article about mescaline， again more slap dash words。 I wish I could get back the time I spent reading this book。 Thank goodness it was from the library， so I didn't have any out of pocket。。。 。。。more

VampDiva ，

I found this interesting and explained in a conversational tone。 It was not a scientific lecture but rather easy to listen to and could relate to the authors experiences。 The three plants discussed are very common and really leave you pondering about how many other plants are out there that perhaps "they" don't want us to know too much about。 I found this interesting and explained in a conversational tone。 It was not a scientific lecture but rather easy to listen to and could relate to the authors experiences。 The three plants discussed are very common and really leave you pondering about how many other plants are out there that perhaps "they" don't want us to know too much about。 。。。more

Meg ，

Sort of interesting。 I mostly learned that growing poppies is more controversial than you would have thought。

Marina ，

This was fairly interesting， but it's focused a lot more on telling history and stories about the three plants/drugs （opium， caffeine， and mescaline） from his own personal experience， research， and interviewing people。 While it was interesting to read about someone's first hand accounts on experimenting with those three plants/drugs， Pollan's forays are just someone looking to see what's it's about， and not necessarily an experts stories or experience。 He does interview subject matter experts， w This was fairly interesting， but it's focused a lot more on telling history and stories about the three plants/drugs （opium， caffeine， and mescaline） from his own personal experience， research， and interviewing people。 While it was interesting to read about someone's first hand accounts on experimenting with those three plants/drugs， Pollan's forays are just someone looking to see what's it's about， and not necessarily an experts stories or experience。 He does interview subject matter experts， which gives him a lot of credibility， but these read more like published articles （and one of them was）， than an actual deep dive into the three plants that hold or have held so much power over humanity。 。。。more

Heidi ，

Middle aged dude who didn't experiment with drugs in college decides *now'sthetime*。 I dunno。。。reading about other people's experiences with getting high and then thinking that everyone else needs to know about it is sort of boring。 Middle aged dude who didn't experiment with drugs in college decides *now'sthetime*。 I dunno。。。reading about other people's experiences with getting high and then thinking that everyone else needs to know about it is sort of boring。 。。。more

Laura Kearney ，

Hard to get through for me。 Not a bad book， so much went into it clearly， just wasn’t for me

Roger Morgan-Grenville ，

Just a delight。 Thought-provoking as well。

DaShannon ，

This is a great listen read by the author。 I admit I was more interested in the part about caffeine than the other two- opium and mescaline- but I enjoyed Pollan's gift of storytelling with science and personal experience。 My books that mention the pandemic are becoming ordinary but Pollan weaves his experience in this book and journey too。 Like his other books I've read， Omnivore and Food Rules， Pollan is able to make his subjects personable and applicable to daily life。 It feels a bit New Age This is a great listen read by the author。 I admit I was more interested in the part about caffeine than the other two- opium and mescaline- but I enjoyed Pollan's gift of storytelling with science and personal experience。 My books that mention the pandemic are becoming ordinary but Pollan weaves his experience in this book and journey too。 Like his other books I've read， Omnivore and Food Rules， Pollan is able to make his subjects personable and applicable to daily life。 It feels a bit New Age at time but he gives good stories and advice on how to view these mind altering plants。 I learned about customs， science， and experience just by listening to his book。 。。。more

Courtland Bethune ，

I thoroughly enjoyed this！Always and interesting mix of history and personal insight。

Sunhawk ，

Somewhat derivative -- I had read two thirds of the book in earlier， slightly reduced forms -- but Pollan's writing is always enjoyable， his insights familiar and welcome （and I always like to know 'the rest of the story'）， and the underlying message is valuable。 Interesting choice of three psychoactive plants， or their active chemicals: opium， caffeine， mescaline。 The over-caffeination of western culture， and the way almost all of us are unwittingly addicted to this drug， is especially interest Somewhat derivative -- I had read two thirds of the book in earlier， slightly reduced forms -- but Pollan's writing is always enjoyable， his insights familiar and welcome （and I always like to know 'the rest of the story'）， and the underlying message is valuable。 Interesting choice of three psychoactive plants， or their active chemicals: opium， caffeine， mescaline。 The over-caffeination of western culture， and the way almost all of us are unwittingly addicted to this drug， is especially interesting: do we use caffeine， or do the plants that produce it use US？ My internal jury is still out on the peyote controversy that Pollan manages so well， and on the general topic of cultural appropriation。 If the medicine and its powerful associated ritual are so healing， why （except for scarcity， and shouldn't that be addressed？） shouldn't it be shared？ And while I am completely embarrassed by my forefathers' treatment of First Peoples ） -- how is it any different than the Nazi's treatment of Jews？ -- I can't completely forswear my own sense that living closely with the land for a long time allows me （and even them （as I'm not so sure the present 'Indians' or whatever it's politically correct to call them these days） were truly the first on this continent） to approach indigeneity， and be in need and deserving of the earth-born sacraments that empower First Peoples。 I think we become greater when we share。 。。。more

Tyler ，

Informative and fun but not that informative except on the incredible grayness of growing opium poppies which I still do not entirely understand。

David Korobov ，

As another reviewer noted - this is a memoir disguised as a science book。 So many words， so little new information。 Skip this unless you are interested in the personal life of Michael Pollan。

Hazel Hinton ，

An interesting， quick and insightful read。 The chapter on tea and coffee I found to be particularly more interesting then I would have guessed。

Sasha Rogelberg ，

I like michael pollan but he rlly had no business reporting on Native peyote use。 He was irresponsible in doing whatever it took to attend a Huachuma ceremony， which was NOT w a Native guide; in fact， many of the Native ppl he talked to dissuaded him from participating！ The first two parts of the book were good for the most part though， but the third part on mescaline kind of soured it for me

Sherri Anderson ，

3。5 stars。 Some interesting facts about opium， caffeine， and Peyote （mescaline）。 This book is written from the perspective of the author， so there is a lot of commentary on his research process and personal experimentation， some of which was interesting and some not so much。

Siri ，

It was a good book but I don’t like reading about other peoples psychedelic experiences。 I felt second hand embarrassed for how hard he tried to be a part of a peyote ceremony。 The best chapter was opium and the worst was mescaline。

Andre Harden ，

Michael Pollan is a great writer and performer of his own work。 I listened to the audiobook and was reminded of Stuart McLean， a Canadian raconteur， but instead of humorous small town tales， Pollan fascinates with high quality long form journalism - almost always with a food or plant connection。 This book examines the history and current milieu of three mind-altering plants: Opium， Coffee and Mescaline。

Amy ，

4。5/5 🌟 This was a really interesting take on certain drugs， whether “illicit” or not。

Carol McCarthy ，

The author has a very readable style。

Julia Lich ，

This is my first time reading Michael Pollan's work and I was disappointed。 He is incredibly self-centered and always positions himself in the middle of topics。 The book has 3 main segments and these are my biggest take-aways per section:Opium - I did actually enjoy this section， but he should have omitted the sentences that degraded his acquaintance。 The sentences were also a little hard to get used to with all the commas。 Caffeine - Read like disjointed blog posts with a lot of unnecessary ref This is my first time reading Michael Pollan's work and I was disappointed。 He is incredibly self-centered and always positions himself in the middle of topics。 The book has 3 main segments and these are my biggest take-aways per section:Opium - I did actually enjoy this section， but he should have omitted the sentences that degraded his acquaintance。 The sentences were also a little hard to get used to with all the commas。 Caffeine - Read like disjointed blog posts with a lot of unnecessary reflection on him needing coffee。 Mescaline - He writes with some consideration of indigenous people in mind， but ultimately favors white explorers and his own experiences。 When he had little to say， he wrote about his wife's experience。 。。。more

Julia Troy ，

I would love to sit down with this man and pick his brain

Nathan ，

Fairly interesting， perhaps eye opening if you aren't familiar with psychoactive substances， their recreational and traditional uses， and the laws and culture surrounding them。 We learn about several psychoactive plants across time， geography， and culture。 As always， Pollan's writing is informative but personal and casual。 Equal parts memoir and history， social science and spirituality， This is your mind on plants goes down easy and lingers in your brain。I listened to the audiobook， narrated wel Fairly interesting， perhaps eye opening if you aren't familiar with psychoactive substances， their recreational and traditional uses， and the laws and culture surrounding them。 We learn about several psychoactive plants across time， geography， and culture。 As always， Pollan's writing is informative but personal and casual。 Equal parts memoir and history， social science and spirituality， This is your mind on plants goes down easy and lingers in your brain。I listened to the audiobook， narrated well by the author。This is a "pretty good nothing earth-shattering but no complaints" 4-/5。 。。。more

Alyssa ，

The caffeine section was the best！

Lukas Stock ，

A really fun read with numerous insights that will stick with me。 The opium chapter is an eye opening first hand description of just how deranged the war on drugs was。 The caffeine chapter raises questions about how I think of drugs， consciousness， and the way I interact with the world。 The mescaline chapter felt like an outlier。 Some tone deaf liberal elite whining about the pandemic being inconvenient lands poorly， even after it’s prefaced with “I know this sounds entitled， BUT…。”A great read， A really fun read with numerous insights that will stick with me。 The opium chapter is an eye opening first hand description of just how deranged the war on drugs was。 The caffeine chapter raises questions about how I think of drugs， consciousness， and the way I interact with the world。 The mescaline chapter felt like an outlier。 Some tone deaf liberal elite whining about the pandemic being inconvenient lands poorly， even after it’s prefaced with “I know this sounds entitled， BUT…。”A great read， especially the caffeine chapter。 。。。more

Rachel ，

I love Michael Pollan but this book didn’t interest me all that much （especially when compared to Botany of Desire）。 The three sections felt like three separate books and I had already heard a lot of his musings on these topics in his other writings。 Probably my mistake in choosing it to read。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=This Is Your Mind On Plants: Opium—Caffeine—Mescaline

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=This Is Your Mind On Plants: Opium—Caffeine—Mescaline&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,This Is Your Mind On Plants: Opium—Caffeine—Mescaline&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0