The Essay: Herb

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Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

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The Essay: Herb: The Fall of the House of Crosskill

Herb

The Fall of the House of Crosskill

BBC Radio 3 - The Essay, Herb, The Fall of the House of Crosskill

Colin Grant wonders to what extent cannabis can be deemed a 'gateway drug'.

Writer Colin Grant wonders how much cannabis was responsible for the tragic path trodden by a former BBC colleague, asking whether it can truly be labelled a 'gateway drug'.

Writer Colin Grant guides us through a nuanced story of cannabis use... and abuse. 

As he states at the beginning of the series, Colin carries ‘no lawyer’s brief for marijuana’. In previous programmes, he has explored how it helped his epileptic brother and also how he believes it has provided a form of social service to subsistence communities. But in this essay, Colin explores one of the negative consequences; the role it might have played in the tragic demise of former editor and respected BBC World Service journalist, Hugh Crosskill. 

With decriminalisation increasing and cannabis use continuing to grow globally, Colin feels it’s a story that may have implications for us all. The warning it carries is not perhaps the one we might expect, but one far more connected with the perils of how little we really know about the drug in its 21st-century form.

Producer: Kirsty Pope
A Far Shoreline production for BBC Radio 3

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Writer Colin Grant's personal take on the cultural history of cannabis.

In a landscape in which almost all discussion about cannabis is polarised, writer Colin Grant seeks to explore a range of more nuanced aspects of the drug.

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