cannabisnews.com: French Writers Went to Pot! French Writers Went to Pot! Posted by FoM on June 27, 1999 at 20:11:02 PT Author : Adam Sage Source: CLCIA FRANCE's greatest literature, from the 19th century onwards, has almost all been the work of authors who were high on pot, according to a new book described as the first anthology of dope-taking. Alexandre Dumas, who wrote The Three Musketeers, used narcotics to give his heroes a little extra cut and thrust, according to two French academics, Tigranne Hadengue and Hugo Verlomme in The Book of Cannabis.In The Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas wrote: "The world is grateful to the merchant of happiness" - a reference to 19th-century drug dealers.Another user was Balzac, whose social realism it seems was tinged with a little smoke-fuelled fantasy. In 1845, he wrote to Eweline Haniska, who was to become his wife: "My mind is so powerful I needed a more powerful dose. I heard celestial voices and saw divine paintings..."Napoleon Bonaparte played an unwitting role in the spread of drugs. His decision to take a host of intellectuals on his expedition to Egypt in 1798 brought them, and his troops, into contact with hashish. The habit soon took hold, forcing Napoleon to promulgate one of the world's first anti-drugs laws. "The habitual smokers of this plant lose their heads and fall victims to violent delirium which makes them abandon themselves to all sorts of excesses," he said.The great Romantic poet Baudelaire never bothered to hide the origins of his sky-high muse. Andre Malraux, the 20th-century writer, wrote: "Hashish does not bring illumination in itself, but it destroys the shell that separates us from illumination."But it will come as a shock that Rene Descartes, the 17th-century mathematician and philosopher, enjoyed an early form of narcotics. If so, the entire basis of Cartsian thought - the foundation of French intellectual life 0 could be shaken. "I think, therefore I am." said Descartes. But how could he have known if he was out of his head at the time? News supplied by Pat Whelan & Alun Buffry!Thanks! Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by Pat on June 30, 1999 at 01:35:04 PT No Answer from article's author, or paper, yet.... I tried to write the author of this story, at The Times, to find out more info, but I did'nt get a response. Maybe I'll try again. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on June 29, 1999 at 11:06:13 PT Thanks! Thanks! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Nevor on June 29, 1999 at 08:33:37 PT Enlightenment a la francais Merci! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Tom Paine on June 28, 1999 at 15:16:04 PT The Times (UK). June 12, 1999. Article on French writers was published in The Times (UK) on June 12, 1999. Saw this info in the Politics message board at Cannabis.com____ CLCIA sent this article out, and Pat posted it on the message board. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 28, 1999 at 08:05:17 PT Still Looking! We are trying to find the information and when we do I'll post it for you! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Nevor on June 28, 1999 at 07:19:37 PT The French "Illuminati" And the name of the book is? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: