Legal High (novel)


Legal High is a 2016 novel by German author. Originally written in the German language, it is a social satire concerning a near-future Germany where a legalization of cannabis is imminent. The book's author is also a journalist and as of 2016, the editor in chief of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungs cultural magazine Frankfurter Allgemeine Quarterly. The novel's protagonist, der Dude, is based on a German cannabis grower with whom Schmidt became acquainted while doing journalism research.

Reception

Critics called the book a parody of political and economic strategies in Doppelmoral in den Hinterzimmern der Macht, asking questions about the winners and losers of the "U-turn" on cannabis. A German business magazine included it in a review of several books concerning legalization, noting its clever examination of the schwerwiegende Auswirkungen where it has already occurred, such as the U.S. state of Colorado. The novel was referred to in a pro-legalization op-ed in Die Welt by Cem Özdemir, the co-chair of Alliance 90/The Greens.