Maverick Marijuana Publisher Hits Big
m.prnewswire.com
OAKLAND, Calif., March 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when the publishing
industry's profits seem to be going up in smoke, one publisher's business is
smoking hot. Publisher and author Ed Rosenthal, founder and owner of Quick
American Publishing in Piedmont, California, doesn't have to worry about the
fact that U.S. book sales have dropped rather than grown over the last decade,
because Rosenthal has carved out a publishing niche that's on fire.
Since its inception in 1984, Rosenthal's Quick American Publishing has seen
more than three decades of steady growth. 2010 book sales hit the million
dollar mark, doubling from just two years prior. And the Ed Rosenthal Zero
Tolerance garden products, sold under his umbrella company, Quick Trading
Company, reports sales in 2010 tripling to $300,000 from $100,000 in 2009. Zero
Tolerance Natural Garden Solutions include an herbal pesticide and fungicide
that offer a safe way to control pests and diseases for any edible plants.
The success of Rosenthal's businesses can be attributed to their single focus:
marijuana. "More people are buying books about cannabis cultivation," he says.
"What makes Quick American an even more attractive proposition is that our
backlist (list of a publisher's earlier titles still in print) holds so steady.
Our backlist sales decline more slowly than normal - just 10 to 15 percent. In
addition, our returns are nominal, less than 8 percent compared to the
publishing industry's average 30 percent rate."
With the advent of legalized medical marijuana, which has already been voted
into law in 15 states and legislation currently pending in ten others,
Rosenthal's marijuana publishing empire hasn't even begun to peak. Simply put,
more legalized growing will mean more people looking for cultivation
information on marijuana.
And now that digital devices are becoming better suited to illustrated books,
Rosenthal noted that eBook sales, which represented less than 1 percent of the
company's volume last year, are already exceeding the publishing industry's 10
percent average to date. Apple's iBooks featured Ed Rosenthal's Marijuana
Grower's Handbook (Quick American/2010) in the Lifestyle & Home category in
February and March.
Rosenthal was involved with the creation of High Times Magazine in 1972 and his
"Ask Ed?" marijuana advice columns continue to be syndicated globally. The more
than one dozen books that he's written and/or edited on marijuana have
cumulatively sold more than two million copies. Recognized worldwide as a
leading authority on marijuana and dubbed the Guru of Ganja™, Rosenthal has the
distinction of having authored the only book about marijuana cultivation ever
to be reviewed by the New York Times.
Ed's lifelong efforts to reform marijuana laws extend way beyond publishing,
and can be described as the driving force of Rosenthal's life. He serves as
executive director of Green Aid: The Medical Marijuana Legal Defense and
Education Fund. The non-profit organization was originally formed to support
Rosenthal in 2003, when he was indicted and tried by the U.S. Attorney's office
for marijuana cultivation even though he had been deputized by the City of
Oakland to grow marijuana for medical use. He was convicted, sentenced to a day
and released for time served. Rosenthal appealed the conviction, arguing that
the jurors had been denied evidence showing that his work was actually
sanctioned by Oakland government officials. California's 9th Circuit of Appeals
ruled in his favor in 2006. Green Aid now supports others being prosecuted for
implementing state medical marijuana laws. Although recent polls show that as
many as 80 percent of Americans support safe access to medical marijuana, the
federal government still does not recognize the legitimacy of the laws passed
by individual states.
Judicial badgering has only encouraged Rosenthal, whose books on cultivation
have always been part of a plan for DIY civilian activism. Rosenthal continues
to advocate for the rights of marijuana users and growers through writing,
publishing, speeches, seminars and direct activism. In addition, Rosenthal
functions as an advisor to activists and legislators looking to write and to
pass marijuana legislation.
Rosenthal, who also takes center stage - literally - as a standup comic, shares
his cannabis-related passion on his blog. Entries range from growing tips and
entreaties on behalf of individuals being tried for medical marijuana use to a
campaign to help out overworked DEA agents by seeking out and destroying as
much cannabis as possible. His plan of attack involves, in his words, a
"'portable hazardous waste incinerator,' otherwise known as a pipe."
That kind of irreverent humor coupled with unparalleled expertise has earned
Rosenthal a dedicated following. Those fans are expected to turn out for a book
signing at San Francisco's Book Passage in the Ferry Building in celebration of
420* on 4/20. Rosenthal can also celebrate the fact that his new book, The
Marijuana Grower's Handbook, is already in its third printing just six months
after its release and is the designated course book at Oaksterdam University in
Oakland, California. "This is literally a growing industry," he says with a
smile. He should know.
*420 -- Coined in 1971 by teens in San Rafael, CA who met after school -- at
4:20 p.m. -- to smoke pot; 420 was then picked up by The Grateful Dead and
others, and April 20 has since become a global celebration of cannabis.
Original Page:
http://m.prnewswire.com/news-releases/maverick-marijuana-publisher-hits-big-118070544.html
Shared from Read It Later
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Sixties-L" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
