I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.

I live in Washington state, where we have legal recreational marijuana, and the town I live in has its first marijuana shop. I liked the idea of seeing what the business is like from the other side. I found this book informative and interesting. It flowed well and I learned about parts of the legal marijuana business that I didn’t know. The author obviously has a bias but I thought he did a good job of not preaching too much and trying to educate instead. I’m not sure how likely he is to convince people but the tone was more open than I expected.

I received this book from St. Martin's Press for an honest review. The official release date is April 21st 2015

My toking days are long behind me, but I have always been a huge supporter of not only medicinal marijuana legalization, but also on a recreational level as well. When Colorado voters cleared the path for recreational use in 2014, it was a landmark moment in our country's history - a moment that millions longed to see. Christian Hageseth was at the forefront of this waging battle, running his marijuana dispensary Green Man and BIG WEED is the story of how all of this came to be and the hurdles that still need to be leapt over to legalize weed in the entire country.

Chris is a businessman that lead a couple of different businesses to success before losing it all on his last venture which in turn, lead him to jump bong first into the medical marijuana business in 2009 to partake in what has came to be known as a Ganjapreneur.

He describes in great detail all of the obstacles, hardships, failures, successes and joys along the way. His Green Man business started in 2009 as a two person team; himself and a grower, and in 2015 has grown into a multi-million dollar company with several employees and two Cannabis Cup awards under their belt: the highest honor in the industry!

If you're like me and interested in what is happening out there in the mountains of Colorado and the changes that are underway throughout America where ol' Mary Jane is concerned, this is a great book to read! Chris isn't blind to the fact that there are MANY things that still need to happen for this plant to become the next nationwide industry boom, but the footwork is being laid, the foundations are being set and in BIG WEED, he explains exactly and plainly what has been done and what still needs to be done. This was a very educating read and I give it 4/5

Green Man was actually the first dispensary I ever visited on a trip to Colorado last summer. I wasn't impressed with them simply because of whoever was budtending that day. Now that I've read this book, I want to give them another chance.

This book is all about Christian's journey to opening Green Man. As a future ganjapreneur myself, I found his story inspiring. He talks about how he got into the industry and how he dealt with the naysayers. He also offers advice to future industry newcomers. I found this to be a great addition to the cannabis literature making its way through the publishing companies right now. Highly recommended!

Excellent book. Humorous in places. Inspirational for any prospective business owners. A real page turner. Read it to get a first hand look at what it costs to get in on the ground floor of a burgeoning business.

Engaging and informative overview of the incredible changes taking place in the world of marijuana cultivation, sales and legal issues with a particular emphasis on all things business related. Not so much a "how to" more of a "how did I". It's inspiring and entertaining largely because the author shares his personal journey and genuinely seems to have had quite the transformation. If he is to be believed and trusted then the future of craft, quality marijuana is in reasonably good hands as he appears to be strongly positioned to be the big 'green guy'.

There are times where he blows his horn and repeats his journey and achievements to a fault but I forgive him because it's balanced by his awakening, higher calling and connection with the plants themselves. It's a light, fast read - entertaining, thoughtful and and fairly harmless.

Interesting, and self-promotional, and either naive or arrogant in one spot.

Hageseth, through his personal tour of his move from failed/overexposed real estate commodities speculator to self-described "ganjapreneur," gives a decent overview of the business of legal marijuana in Colorado.

He gives even more of an overview of himself as an entrepreneur. Read the book and listen to the man sell *his ideas* for marijuana, etc.

I probably could have done without some of the new agey type references, especially in the last few pages.

And, I laughed at what I can only describe as **marijuana snobbery.**

He talks about Ben & Jerry's, and people's loyalty to its particular flavors, not just B&J.

And, makes two huge mistakes, whether more from naivete or from distortion, I don't know.

First, Ben & Jerry's hasn't been some small hometown outfit for decades. It's part of Unilever, for doorknob's sake.

Second, when he wonders if people are loyal to particular roasts of coffee, life French roast, as he wants smokers to be to his marijuana lines? What planet is he from? Many of us focus on particular roasts, often from particular beans in particular areas, very much. And, he conveniently ignores comparing pot to booze at this point, though he's done it often before, when he knows well from his own experience — standard bar drink for him, by his own description, being Dos Equis plus a shot of Patron — that people are loyal to particular wines, beers and spirits. Oh, and tea-philes are loyal to particular leaves, too, Hageseth.

While there is nothing earth shattering here if you've been following legalization issues, Big Weed is a quick, entertaining read. There are some basic business ideas that could apply in any entrepreneurial enterprise.

I would recommend this more for people who are simply curious and want a peek behind the curtain. For anyone seriously looking for resources to start a grow operation or other marijuana-related business, you'll want to look elsewhere.

I recieved this book as a Goodreads First Read.

Big Weed is an exciting, fast tale of capitalist struggle and success. I was distracted by some tonal shifts--sometimes Hageseth talks business, sometimes he tells personal stories, sometimes he takes an activist tone. For example, did you know that marijuana was first outlawed to limit its usage by Mexican laborers, under the thought that it might cause them to act erratically and violently? Hageseth knows, and the fact is shocking. But several pages after reading that fact, we're back into learning more about his early failures in his fledgling business.

The book tries to be a little bit of everything to everybody: from marijuana neophytes to people who understand entrepreneurship to people who need convincing as to why legalization is important. It's a quick, easy read, and a solid overview of the marijuana industry so far.