NOTE: This list is a republication- Source: CrimeReads.
In honor of 4/20, we’ve brought together a list of the best stoner mysteries, in print and on screen.
The obvious definition of a stoner mystery would be a work in which there are elements of the detective story or mystery, where marijuana plays a role in the narrative. Beyond the obvious, stoner mysteries (in print) all seem to share a hazy, meandering nature, and erratic, syncopated plot, as opposed to their goofier on-screen cousins.
Most of these stories draw their conflict from clashes between the ordinary stoner, or low-level drug dealer, who’s just trying to get by, and forces greater and more organized than themselves, whether cartels, police, capitalists, or adulthood. In a sense, the stoner mystery mimics the genre’s overall fascination with the struggle of the individual against the masses. Mild transgressions are acts of independence and are treated, more often than not, with tenderness, though they sometimes spiral into larger and more chaotic problems. Just as the classic PIs of the early hardboiled days indulged in copious amounts of drinking, these shamuses have their own forms of indulgence, irreverence, and self-medication and -exploration.
To read the full list click here