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Thai Stick: Surfers, Scammers, and the Untold Story of the Marijuana Trade
Thailand's capital, Krungtep, 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 1970s, 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 leftover 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.
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. Conducting hundreds of interviews with smugglers and law enforcement agents, the authors recount the buy, the delivery, the voyage home, and the product offload. They capture the eccentric personalities who transformed the Thai marijuana trade from a GI cottage industry into one of the world's most lucrative commodities, unraveling a rare history from the smugglers' perspective.
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. Conducting hundreds of interviews with smugglers and law enforcement agents, the authors recount the buy, the delivery, the voyage home, and the product offload. They capture the eccentric personalities who transformed the Thai marijuana trade from a GI cottage industry into one of the world's most lucrative commodities, unraveling a rare history from the smugglers' perspective.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published November 12, 2013
70 people are currently reading
354 people want to read
About the author
Peter Maguire
4 books21 followersPeter Maguire is the author of Thai Stick: Surfers, Scammers, and the Untold Story of the Marijuana Trade, Law and War and Facing Death in Cambodia.
Peter is a historian and former war-crimes investigator whose writings have been published in the International Herald Tribune, New York Times, The Independent, Newsday, and Boston Globe. He has taught law and war theory at Columbia University and Bard College.
Watch interviews and videos with Peter:
Peter speaks about his book, Facing Death in Cambodia on CSPAN Book TV: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Fa...
The Origins of the Cambodia War Crimes Tribunal: http://vimeo.com/28287579
Interview with Radio Australia: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/inte...
Interview from the film "Brother Number One": http://brothernumberone.co.nz/cambodi...
Interview with France 24: http://www.france24.com/en/20090217-l...-
Interview on the origins of Mixed Martial Arts: http://archive.org/details/NoHoldsBar...
Article about John Danaher: The Professor is The Madman: http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-maga...
Article about Strategic Legalism as defined in Peter's book, Law and War: An American Story: http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/stra...
2001 Interview about Peter's book Law and War: An American Story: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national...
Peter is a historian and former war-crimes investigator whose writings have been published in the International Herald Tribune, New York Times, The Independent, Newsday, and Boston Globe. He has taught law and war theory at Columbia University and Bard College.
Watch interviews and videos with Peter:
Peter speaks about his book, Facing Death in Cambodia on CSPAN Book TV: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Fa...
The Origins of the Cambodia War Crimes Tribunal: http://vimeo.com/28287579
Interview with Radio Australia: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/inte...
Interview from the film "Brother Number One": http://brothernumberone.co.nz/cambodi...
Interview with France 24: http://www.france24.com/en/20090217-l...-
Interview on the origins of Mixed Martial Arts: http://archive.org/details/NoHoldsBar...
Article about John Danaher: The Professor is The Madman: http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-maga...
Article about Strategic Legalism as defined in Peter's book, Law and War: An American Story: http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/stra...
2001 Interview about Peter's book Law and War: An American Story: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 18, 2022
This is a wild document of a period in American history which morphed from bold idealism to dark greed. A very fascinating picture of surfer “scammers”, dedicated to breaking America’s 1960’s prohibition on marijuana by bringing it into the country by any which way they could.
This is an interesting look at the conjunction of surf culture and international maritime smuggling. Fascinating stuff.
This is an interesting look at the conjunction of surf culture and international maritime smuggling. Fascinating stuff.
September 23, 2020
Lots of adventures, money, and weed. A global logistics network of unreliable participants and even more unreliable support infrastructure (i.e. janky boats). Everybody goes to jail.
August 13, 2016
I found the writing style to be too journalistic and dry, a recounting of the facts without much attempt to put them into context beyond "we were surfers, this was the counterculture". As I am not American, nor a student of American history, a lot of the references to historical events and people were lost on me. After the first couple of chapters it became an endless repetition of "someone bought pot, smuggled it and sold it", and I stopped reading.
July 31, 2015
Very interesting history of a unique time and culture in our world. Makes good arguments for legalization and covers lots of geography. A bit rough around the edges as far as writing style but i read it in two days ... so there's that.
April 27, 2023
An entertaining read, especially if your a surfer on a surf trip. And more so if you get a chance to meet (or have met in the past) any of those old time "legends". The true legends before legends became just another phrase of surfer lingo.
I was lucky enough to meet a legend and he told me about this book, knew many of the players, vouched for the story and provided some interesting colour.
Great surf trip reading.
I was lucky enough to meet a legend and he told me about this book, knew many of the players, vouched for the story and provided some interesting colour.
Great surf trip reading.
October 15, 2019
To me, this book brought me to a reality that I was never made aware of previously. It is not a book that will get you hooked because of the storyline or because of the characters in it, but I do not think that is the point also. It is a recollection of what happened during those years brought to you by Maguire in a realistic and direct way.
August 3, 2018
A familiar cast of characters, since I grew up in the California '70s. An easy, interesting read that not only documents some of the drug trade, but explores a bit of drug policy history and its failings.
October 4, 2022
Bought this one on a whim, thinking it would be tangentially related to my new obsession with Thailand's loosening laws. Blew my mind! Very American, but a lot about Thailand back in the day that has only raised more questions for me - ideal outcome!
August 25, 2018
excitement wore off around half way when the book became a account after account of failed and successful scams but was light on character and plot development.
October 8, 2020
Some pretty epic tales here but the telling is quite dry and academic, so you get the gist but somehow the real spice is lost.
January 3, 2021
Such a great book, real tales that bring you back in time. Should be on many surfers lists!
January 25, 2023
Interesting story; helped me to understand surfing culture and to see how the drug trade/ smuggling changed in the late 70s and 80s
February 25, 2019
Thai Stick: Surfers, Scammers, and the Untold Story of the Marijuana Trade by Peter Maguire and Mike Ritter (Columbia University Press 2014) (363.4509). This is a must read for hippie types of all ages and especially for those who missed the Sixties. This tale represents a previously untold group of stories from the 1960's and 1970's from the grand old days of marijuana smuggling. More specifically, this book tells the story of how one of the most legendary strains of marijuana which was known as “Thai Stick” came to be imported into the US.
In the 1960's and 1970's, the US had no domestically grown marijuana crop. Close to a hundred percent of the marijuana consumed in the US in those days was flown / trucked / shipped / hand-carried across the Mexican border. This Mexican dope was plentiful, it was cheap, and it would get you stoned. Most of the Mexican pot which was brought into the US had been cut and left in the field until it was dry, and then the tops were compressed into hard dry bricks for transport to the US. Once these bricks arrived at their final destination, they were broken apart to be sold by the ounce or in even smaller quantities to the end users.
This type of dope was referred to colloquially as Mexican Dirt Weed. This pot was of variable potency. Since each individual plant grows from a seed, it stands to reason that individual seeds (and therefore individual marijuana plants) would be of variable potency. This Mexican weed would get one high, it was cheap, and it was as easy to locate as a McDonald's.
However, not all of the marijuana coming into the US was of such low quality. While tons of low-to-middling grade Mexican weed were pouring across the border, US smokers and importers were occasionally also bringing in tons of a much higher grade of marijuana. Smugglers who did business in South America were routinely bringing in a higher grade of field pot from Columbia (known unsurprisingly as “Columbian”), and members of the US military were bringing home with them from Vietnam and other points of Southeast Asia a devastatingly strong variety of the weed which was known as “Thai stick.” The label “Thai stick” refers to the way that Thai marijuana was packaged for transport and sale. A “Thai stick” was a bamboo sliver about six inches long to which buds of Thai marijuana had been tied with a thread from a bamboo stalk.
This Thai stick was a wonder to US smokers. One must understand that this Thai marijuana was many multiples stronger than typical Mexican marijuana. It was many times more expensive as well, but no pot smoker was ever heard to decline Thai stick.
Author Mike Ritter weaves an engrossing spell from the perspective of one who was right there in the middle of the smuggling routes from Southeast Asia, and Peter Maguire helps to tell the tale effectively. My rating: 7.25/10, finished 1/10/19. I purchased my HB copy of this from Amazon 12/15/18. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
In the 1960's and 1970's, the US had no domestically grown marijuana crop. Close to a hundred percent of the marijuana consumed in the US in those days was flown / trucked / shipped / hand-carried across the Mexican border. This Mexican dope was plentiful, it was cheap, and it would get you stoned. Most of the Mexican pot which was brought into the US had been cut and left in the field until it was dry, and then the tops were compressed into hard dry bricks for transport to the US. Once these bricks arrived at their final destination, they were broken apart to be sold by the ounce or in even smaller quantities to the end users.
This type of dope was referred to colloquially as Mexican Dirt Weed. This pot was of variable potency. Since each individual plant grows from a seed, it stands to reason that individual seeds (and therefore individual marijuana plants) would be of variable potency. This Mexican weed would get one high, it was cheap, and it was as easy to locate as a McDonald's.
However, not all of the marijuana coming into the US was of such low quality. While tons of low-to-middling grade Mexican weed were pouring across the border, US smokers and importers were occasionally also bringing in tons of a much higher grade of marijuana. Smugglers who did business in South America were routinely bringing in a higher grade of field pot from Columbia (known unsurprisingly as “Columbian”), and members of the US military were bringing home with them from Vietnam and other points of Southeast Asia a devastatingly strong variety of the weed which was known as “Thai stick.” The label “Thai stick” refers to the way that Thai marijuana was packaged for transport and sale. A “Thai stick” was a bamboo sliver about six inches long to which buds of Thai marijuana had been tied with a thread from a bamboo stalk.
This Thai stick was a wonder to US smokers. One must understand that this Thai marijuana was many multiples stronger than typical Mexican marijuana. It was many times more expensive as well, but no pot smoker was ever heard to decline Thai stick.
Author Mike Ritter weaves an engrossing spell from the perspective of one who was right there in the middle of the smuggling routes from Southeast Asia, and Peter Maguire helps to tell the tale effectively. My rating: 7.25/10, finished 1/10/19. I purchased my HB copy of this from Amazon 12/15/18. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
December 20, 2022
I had no idea that the marijuana trade was so I influenced by surfers. Not the best book but entertaining and easy to read.
December 29, 2013
Thai Stick: Surfers, Scammers, and the Untold Story of the Marijuana Trade. Peter Maguire and Mike Ritter
Peter Maguire and Mike Ritter are historians documenting the underground industry of Thai sticks, from northeast Thailand to American consumers. I found the book very dry – mainly recounting facts, in a journalistic style. I struggled to read it and proceeded to pick at sections which I read thoroughly. I would give this book 3 stars. It deserves more because of the research involved and meticulous details – however it did not appeal to me as much as I hoped.
Peter Maguire and Mike Ritter are historians documenting the underground industry of Thai sticks, from northeast Thailand to American consumers. I found the book very dry – mainly recounting facts, in a journalistic style. I struggled to read it and proceeded to pick at sections which I read thoroughly. I would give this book 3 stars. It deserves more because of the research involved and meticulous details – however it did not appeal to me as much as I hoped.
March 24, 2015
I liked this book ok, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I probably would have liked it better if it was written more as a memoir. I was hoping for more stories about travelling and the culture outside of smuggling. Co-author Mike Ritter brought the first hand knowledge and I think it might have been more entertaining (for me) if he had written more from his perspective. It was written by an academic, and reads much like a research essay. I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the surf culture of the 1960s.
May 17, 2014
A bit repetitive when it came to the scenery descriptions . Its small cast of characters and the short list of locales can keep most daily tokers entertained. Sadly, the book goes the way of most made-for-Hollywood perhaps to keep the privacy of those still living high on the hog.
December 2, 2013
A very interesting story of surfer smugglers of Thai stick marijuana. This was a fun book to read.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews