High Price
is a thrilling journey into chasing the American Dream during a brief window when it was open to anyone willing to take the risk: the Wild West days of California's early medical marijuana markets. Luke Scarmazzo, a working-class kid from Modesto, California, started the first state-legal cannabis dispensary in the conservative Central Valley. From humble beginnings and hard work, it seemed Luke and his team of high school friends were on the verge of establishing generational wealth and getting in on the ground level of what would become a multi-billion dollar legal industry. This page-turning tale chronicles the rise and tragic fall of Luke's pioneering cannabis empire. Written from solitary confinement in a federal prison ten years later as a pardon languished on President Trump's desk,
is a mature and poignant reflection on poverty, opportunity, and the devastation left in the wake of America's War on Drugs.
"This book is likely to become a canon in the chronicles of cannabis history, and is required reading for anyone seeking to understand where humanity went wrong regarding marijuana prohibition and criminalization." - Jackie Bryant, journalist