Weed Man

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that Americans in theearly 1970s were smoking upwards of 35,000 pounds of marijuana per day.By the time the decade drew to a close, Time magazine reported that reeferhad become "the most widely accepted illegal indulgence since drinkingduring Prohibition." You can thank Jimmy Moree for helping to feed America's insatiable pothabit. Nicknamed "Jimmy Divine" for his teetotaling ways, he would becomeone of the most successful marijuana traffickers of the 1970s, smugglinghigh-grade South American weed across the tempestuous seas into NorthAmerican ports of call. He was born and grew up poor in the Bahamas. Thatlife was forever changed on a morning jog when Jimmy literally stumbledonto several million dollars' worth of prime Colombian grass. He disposed ofthe weed with a little help from a law-enforcement friend and was surprisedto earn over three hundred thousand dollars for his trouble. It was the firstdeal of many. The money was easy, and the perks fantastic. Jimmy went onto make?and give away?a fortune. And now award-winning journalist John McCaslin is telling Jimmy'sstory. Several of the characters are identified by their actual names or bynicknames. Identities of others have been changed to protect the guilty.Rest assured, you're in for a white-knuckle ride on the open seas whereadventure, enterprise, and entire fortunes go up in smoke. "McCaslin brings his exceptional reportorial talent to bear in afascinating exposé of the drug trade." -G. GORDON LIDDY "Told in a breezy, witty style, McCaslin's book captures momentsin relatively recent Caribbean history when it was . . . possibleto make a fortune by the ability to steer a boat stealthily throughdangerous seas." -MARK BOWDEN Endorsements "I'm delightedto seethat John McCaslin has climbed out of hispolitical trench in Washington long enough to set sail on thisastonishing journey throughthe precarious Caribbean reefs, and beyond.Somehow,in typical McCaslinfashion, he manages to bringhis readersback tothenation's capitalin achapter thatwill certainly haveofficial tongues wagging in Washington." -- Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News and formerco-host of NBC's Today "This story is so compelling . . .John McCaslin has put it all together in a way that simply made me want to just keepon reading. Wow." --Wolf Blitzer,anchor and host of the CNN newscast The Situation Room "For years everybodyin Washington has turned to John McCaslin'sInside The Beltway column for the inside skinny onwhat isgoing on in our nation's capital. Now, in Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine,McCaslinbrings his exceptional reportorial talent to bear in a fascinating expose of the drug trade." --G. Gordon Liddy,Watergate figure and nationally-syndicated radiohost