Famous 5 Questions: Ryan Grim

Only in America can a Congressional reporter take sabbatical in order to track the history of drug use in our country. Luckily, that reporter, Ryan Grim, took a few minutes to answer our Famous 5 questions. We hope you enjoy the interview and support your local author: buy the book.

1) Did research for your book, "This is Your Country on Drugs ," require much travel? Where did you go? Any crazy stories you’d like to share? Freebies?

I went to Costa Rica for the "Mind States Conference." Panel discussions on the latest psychedelics and an interesting and particularly fun group of conferees, for sure. Went to Bolivia to tour the coca fields and got caught in an uprising, which is a much better memory than it was to live through. Went to Burning Man. Lots of tough field research for this book. Went to a max security prison in San Bernardino to interview an acid king pin. And yes, I’ll take what freebies you have to offer. Thanks.

2) You’ve worked at the City Paper, the Politico, and now the Huffington Post. Which paper has the best restrooms and why?

HuffPo, by process of elimination. At City Paper you had to leave the office and use a can shared by WPFW and at Politico, in our congressional bureau, we shared a bathroom with a bunch of other offices and if you didn’t have your key you were screwed. One reporter working on a weekend had to hump it up to the Capitol because he forgot his. (He should have just used Charlie Palmer’s, now that I think of it.)

3) Would you give Michael Phelps a gold, silver, or bronze for his most recent performance ? And why?

I’d put him out of the money entirely. What a pathetic climb-down. If I were his PR guy, I’d have told him to say he was using it medicinally for stress, or something, and then gotten him a medical cannabis card from a California doctor.

4) When you were named as Director of National Drug Control Policy in the FamousDC Media Ticket , how did it change your life

It’s been a whirlwind since then, can’t quite describe how much that meant.

5) Barack Obama and family are thinking about getting a new dog. What should they call it? [Top 5]

George
Congress
Boehner
Half Smoke
Joe

*BONUS QUESTION: From Pamela’s Punch — If you were going to tell someone who was considering moving to Washington WHY they should live here, what would you say to them?

It’ll be the last city left standing once everything collapses.

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