John Veit | About

Portrait of Jonathan Veit

John Veit

Journalist | Author | Environmental Sociologist | Publisher

Ojai, California
johnveit25@gmail.com
(917) 213-77nine0
veitpublishing.com

Biography

John Veit is an investigative journalist, photographer, editor, and environmental sociologist who has spent nearly four decades reporting from the front lines of cannabis legalization, drug-policy reform, and harm reduction movements around the world. Working across mainstream, independent, and radical media, including High Times, Vice, Revista Cáñamo, ABC News, MSNBC, and Wall Street Journal TV, Veit has documented the social, political, cultural, and environmental consequences of drug prohibition. His multimedia guest lectures combine investigative journalism, sociology, and anthropology with firsthand accounts and an extensive photographic archive. His photographs do more than illustrate the reporting: they contextualize historical events, illuminate the people and environments affected by drug policy, and immerse audiences in the communities and conflicts under examination. Drawing on intersectionality and critical environmental justice, Veit uses these presentations to develop his theory of Botanical Apartheid, which examines how the prohibition and regulation of plants and drugs function as instruments of social control, economic exclusion, and environmental transformation. Building on his 2026 journalism anthology of the same name, the lectures contribute to a forthcoming theoretical book exploring these relationships across nations, institutions, and historical periods.

Education

M.A., Environmental Sociology
Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt), Arcata, California, 2018.

Thesis: How Anthropogenic Climate Change Exacerbates Vulnerability in Prison Communities: A Critical Environmental Justice Analysis.

B.A., Summa Cum Laude, International Studies
City College of New York, 1994.

Area of concentration: World Bank/International Monetary Fund environmental policy.

Research and Practice Interests

  • Critical environmental justice
  • Environmental sociology and political ecology
  • Global drug prohibition and international drug policy
  • Race, class, inequality, and intersectionality
  • The treadmills of production and destruction
  • Cannabis and hemp policy
  • Human rights and criminal justice
  • United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
  • Environmental impacts of illicit and regulated drug production
  • Journalism, media representation, and public policy

Available Guest Lecture Topics

Available for presentations and classroom discussions in sociology, environmental studies, criminology, anthropology, journalism, political science, and related fields.

  • Botanical Apartheid: Race, Environment, and the Global War on Drugs
  • Critical Environmental Justice and Drug Prohibition
  • Racial Inequality, Policing, and Drug Policy
  • Cannabis, Hemp, and Sustainable Development
  • Cannabis Cultivation, Labor, and Environmental Impacts
  • The Political Economy of Drug Enforcement and Legalization
  • International Drug Policy and Human Rights
  • Reporting on Global Drug Policy Since 1992

Invited Lectures and Presentations

Critical Environmental Justice, Intersectionality and Global Drug Policy

John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Departments of Sociology and Anthropology.

Drug Use and Abuse class, October 16, 2026.

Drugs, Journalism and Sociology

These Days LA - Gallery presentation, October 24, 2026.

Can South Africa Create The World’s Most Inclusive, Sustainable, Logical and Sensible Cannabis Laws?

Cannatech, Cape Town, South Africa - Lecture and Slide Show, November 26, 2019.

Cannabis Around the Globe; New York, Jamaica, California and Mexico

Cannabis Craft Sessions - Cheeba Academy - Johannesburg, South Africa, December 10, 2019.

Intersectionality, Sports and Human Rights

Capitalism: Culture and the Individual Conference.

San Diego State University, Department of Sociology, April 14, 2018.

Analysis of Marijuana Markets and the Emergence of Ancillary Industries

Presentation examining public health and lessons from cannabis industries in Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Israel, Jamaica, and Spain.

Humboldt State University, College of Continuing Education, February 19, 2016.

Cannabis Business and Law

Lecturer and Producer, Cannabis Career Institute, 2012–2015.

Seminars in California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington.

Funding, Fellowships and Research Grants

Humboldt State University / California Department of Public Health, 2016
Research grant: Cannabis Manufacturing Methods and Products.
Research identifying and categorizing cannabis consumption and production methods.

New York City Department of Education, 2001
Making Opportunities for Upgrading Schools and Education (MOUSE).
Producer of a training film teaching middle school students how to repair computers.

Bergen County / Passaic County, New Jersey Departments of Public Health, 2000
Grant to produce the training video Protecting Client Confidentiality.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice / National Institute of Justice, 2000
Researcher, We Deliver: The Gentrification of Drug Markets on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice / U.S. Surgeon General's Office, 1999
Grant to produce a documentary examining intravenous drug use in Newark, New Jersey.

City College of New York, Winston Fellowship, 1992
Grant to study World Bank environmental policy at the Global Forum and Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

University of California, Berkeley, Minority Summer Research Opportunity Program, 1990
Grant to study environmental policy at UC Berkeley's School of Public Policy.

Book

Veit, Jonathan. Botanical Apartheid: Impacts of Drug Wars on Politics, Culture, and the Environment. Veit Publishing, 2026. ISBN 979-8-9853019-1-5.

BROWSE THE COMPLETE BOOK ONLINE

Featured Investigative Journalism

Selected reporting and interviews addressing international drug policy, political economy, environmental sociology, human rights, criminal justice, and popular culture.

Click any article title to read it in Botanical Apartheid.

1. Legal Weed Didn't Fix South Africa's Cannabis Problem

High Times, January 13, 2026.

An investigation into South Africa's contradictory cannabis laws, police corruption, and export-oriented medical cannabis industry, which marginalizes traditional farmers. Relevant to post-apartheid political economy, environmental justice, human rights, and international drug-policy reform.

2. Regulations Are Choking Out California's Legal Weed Industry

Vice, March 7, 2019.

Reporting on the regulatory pressures affecting California's legalized cannabis industry. Relevant to political economy, public policy, and the transition from prohibited to regulated markets.

3. UN Drug Commission Delays THC Rescheduling at 61st Session in Vienna, Austria

High Times, January 1, 2019.

Reporting from the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs meeting in Vienna, where international efforts to reschedule cannabis encountered political and bureaucratic obstacles. Relevant to international drug treaties, global governance, sustainable development, and drug-policy reform.

4. Trimmigrant Song: The Emerald Triangle

Revista Cáñamo, September 2014.

A feature about cannabis cultivation and the seasonal workforce of Northern California's Emerald Triangle. Relevant to labor, migration, rural economies, and environmental sociology.

5. The Birth of the Green Gold Triangle: Jamaica and the Future of International Marijuana

Revista Cáñamo, May 2014.

Reporting on Jamaica's emerging cannabis economy and its relationship to international markets and drug policy. Relevant to development studies, Caribbean politics, and international cannabis regulation.

6. American Rules: Marijuana, Beer, Guns and Penny Stocks

Revista Cáñamo, April 2013.

A feature examining the commercialization of cannabis in the United States, including marijuana legalization, alcohol, firearms, and speculative cannabis investments. Relevant to political economy, drug policy, financial speculation, and the social and economic consequences of legalization.

7. Tony Serra

High Times, April 2008.

An interview with prominent criminal defense attorney Tony Serra, known for representing political activists and defendants in controversial criminal cases. Relevant to criminal justice, civil liberties, constitutional rights, and the relationship between law enforcement and political dissent.

8. Noam Chomsky

Revista Cáñamo, May 2007.

An interview with linguist and political theorist Noam Chomsky examining political power, U.S. foreign policy, and drug prohibition. Relevant to political sociology, international relations, state power, and the ideological foundations of drug enforcement.

9. Marijuana 'Detainee' Exposes INS Concentration Camps

High Times, February 2000.

Reporting on immigration detention and drug enforcement, connecting immigration policy, incarceration, and human rights.

10. Lemmy Kilmister

Grindline, Summer 1998.

An interview with Motörhead founder and frontman Lemmy Kilmister, exploring his music, lifestyle, and perspectives on drugs and popular culture. Relevant to cultural sociology, music history, counterculture, and the relationship between substance use and artistic expression.

11. Guatemalan Death Squad Boss Linked to CIA, Drug Trade

High Times, July 1995.

Reporting on connections between political violence, intelligence agencies, and drug trafficking in Guatemala. Relevant to international relations, human rights, and state violence.

12. The Celerino Castillo Story: DEA's Finest Details Agency Corruption

High Times, May 1995.

An investigation centered on former DEA Special Agent Celerino Castillo and allegations concerning U.S. government involvement in Central American narcotrafficking. Relevant to criminology, state power, and international drug enforcement.

13. Hemp Makes Grand Appearance at Earth Summit

High Times, October 1992.

Reporting from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where hemp advocates promoted the plant's industrial and environmental applications. Relevant to sustainable development, environmental policy, international environmental governance, and the relationship between drug prohibition and ecological sustainability.

Complete Bibliography

Works included in Botanical Apartheid: Impacts of Drug Wars on Politics, Culture, and the Environment, arranged in reverse chronological order, 1987–2026.

Linked titles open directly to the corresponding page of the online book.

2020–2026

2018–2019

2015–2016

2014

2013

2000–2009

1998

1997

1996

1996–1997: Recurring Media Column

"The Third Eye." High Times.

Individual installments included in Botanical Apartheid:

1995

1992–1994

1987–1990

  • Veit, John. "Meanwhile, for White Suburbia, It's No Sweat." Op-ed, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 8, 1990.
  • Veit, John. "The Invisible Empire Rallies in Ephrata, PA." The Radnorite, May 1988.
  • Veit, John. "Beetlemania." Fiction, Thrasher Magazine, August 1987.

Contact

Jonathan Veit
Veit Publishing LLC
Ojai, California 93023
johnveit25@gmail.com
(917) 213-77nine0
veitpublishing.com