03044cam a2200397 i 4500 3231 FISKH 20240220161717.0 130405t20142014nyuab b s001 0 eng 2013008590 9780231161343 (cloth : acidfree paper) 0231161344 (cloth : acidfree paper) 9780231535564 (electronic) 9780231161343 DLC eng DLC rda DLC pcc a-th--- HD9019.M382 T553 2014 363.4509593 23 Maguire, Peter (Peter H.) Thai stick : surfers, scammers, and the untold story of the marijuana trade / Peter Maguire and Mike Ritter ; foreword by David Farber. New York : Columbia University Press, 2014 236 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm text rdacontent unmediated rdamedia volume rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-225) and index. Foreword -- Introduction -- Surfers, scammers, and the counterculture -- The Hippie trail -- Kuta beach -- Thai sticks -- Pattaya Beach ground zero -- The sea of grass -- The gold rush -- Pirates and perils -- Multitons and mother ships -- The Dea gains ground -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index. Located on the left bank of the Chao Phya River, Thailand's capital, Krungthep, known as Bangkok to Westerners and "the City of Angels" to Thais, has been home to smugglers and adventurers since the late eighteenth century. During the 1970's, it became a modern Casablanca to a new generation of treasure seekers, from surfers looking to finance their endless summers to wide-eyed hippie true believers and lethal marauders left over from the Vietnam War. Moving a shipment of Thai sticks from northeast Thailand farms to American consumers meant navigating one of the most complex smuggling channels in the history of the drug trade. Many forget that until the mid-1970's, the vast majority of marijuana consumed in the United States was imported, and there was little to no domestic production. Peter Maguire and Mike Ritter are the first historians to document this underground industry, the only record of its existence rooted in the fading memories of its elusive participants. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with smugglers and law enforcement agents, the authors recount the buy, delivery, voyage home, and product offload. They capture the eccentric personalities of the men and women who transformed the Thai marijuana trade from a GI cottage industry into a professionalized business moving the world's most lucrative commodities, unraveling a rare history from the smugglers' perspective. Marijuana industry Thailand. Drug traffic Thailand History. Smugglers Thailand Biography. Ritter, Mike. Author 7 cbc orignew 1 ecip 20 y-gencatlg ddc BK 0 3231 3231 0 0 ddc 0 0 NFIC 001 001 TKSNF 2024-02-20 0 MAG 363.4509593 HD9019.M382 FISSE02592 2024-02-20 16:16:54 2024-02-20 BK