CHILL

McAskill demystifies marijuana in this nonfiction guide.

Early on in her nonfiction debut, the author outlines the challenges involved in moving from working as a buyer in the familiar old wine industry to Canada’s burgeoning young cannabis industry. The substance was only legalized in Canada in 2018, which means that, in the 2020s, entrepreneurs in the field had to deal with a limited supply of resources and varying levels of public education and acceptance. McAskill understands the reservations many entrepreneurs in the wine world may have toward cannabis; she felt them herself. She uses these pages to explain the history and basics of cannabis, pointing out its use since antiquity and peppering her chapters with “Chill Facts” like, “Cannabis bath bombs are an increasingly popular dispensary product.” She describes the various means of ingesting cannabis, from smoking to eating to placing “tincture” strips under the tongue. She breaks down the chemical makeups of all the various cannabinoids and popular commercial strains, and details the various different physical effects they have, discussing specifics like solvents, distillates, and TCH and CBD levels. The book’s chapters are all playfully and helpfully illustrated, with subsections and numbered points aimed both at the general reader and the budding (no pun intended) businessperson looking to learn the mechanics and nuances of this new industry. McAskill makes the very wise decision to address potential anxiety on the part of newcomers by adopting a happy, joshing tone throughout, whether describing the nuts and bolts of the industry or the different types of cannabis products (“On the herbal side, Maui Wowie is the perfect beach babe,” she writes. “She has a way of making stress melt away”). The author adopts a calm, funny, self-deprecating tone that’s perfect for defusing the tension around her subject as she urges her readers to “Just keep it low and slow.”

A colorful and winningly friendly guide to the world of cannabis.