the Plant is a gripping tale of the near future, on a global scale, and follows the story of two friends - Johnson, the businessman, and Smith, the dreamer, both staunch supporters of Marijuana and Hemp legalization - who had founded an activist magazine in the 1990s.

Smith had become disillusioned with the seemingly unwinnable struggle, and disappointed with American society and its resistance to change, even when it means dramatic improvements to the economy and environment. He moves to Venezuela where he believes he can spend the rest of his life in peace and quiet, living off the land, and forgetting about the failing push toward a better world. Meanwhile, his friend, Johnson, continues to fight against insurmountable odds, adding a small team of bright, ambitious go-getters to his cause. With growing global terrorism and a near-World War at hand, federal and public fears due to the confusion between Marijuana and Industrial Hemp, and increasing and deadly opposition to the battles for Marijuana law reform, they truly have their work cut out for them.

Nearly two decades later, Smith returns from the depths of seclusion to discover that the world is nothing like what he left behind. What has happened is not only shocking, but, for him, life-altering.

From the Author, Dan L Dudgeon
'The story within the Plant spans over twenty years, and encompasses the recent past, the present, and the possibilities for the future. And although the cultivation of Industrial Hemp as a natural resource is not my only desire for the future of America, and inevitably the entire planet, I feel it is a very significant one.
The question posed by the book is: Can one plant bring about all the positive results promised by the research of the past, and the present struggles of so many Hemp supporters? The answer is of course my own personal perspective. But it is a great surprise, and you will have to read it to find out!'

From Skunk Magazine, www.skunkmagazine.com
Gas prices are ballooning ridiculously, the environment is turning to shit, the Middle East crisis is escalating to biblical proportions, prohibition has brought the War on Drugs to a head, and it seems global nuclear destruction is nigh. Yeah, so what else is new?

The plot of the Plant reads like a CNN ticker... Set in the not-too-distant future, Dan L Dudgeon seamlessly pieces together history, current events, and conjecture, making the plot that much more plausible.

Smith, the disillusioned anti-hero, is dragged back from the jungles of South America by his cannabis activist buddy from days gone by to help him lead a new revolution with the power of his mighty pen. A sweet love story is dispersed throughout between our protagonist and Annalisa, an ex-goth, gung-ho ingénue of the pro-hemp rag The H.E.L.P. Chronicles. She's no Mamakind, but I saw much of myself in her eager-beaver attitude. --Mamakind, Senior Editor
Copyright (c) 2006 Skunk Magazine. All rights reserved.

More information from www.daggerhandle.com
About the Author: Dan L Dudgeon is also a photographer, songwriter, and musician. He lives in Colorado, travels, speaks German, and continues to create works of music, poetry and literature.