Howard Marks reveals he has inoperable cancer

[geardaddy]

The notorious former drug smuggler, known as Mr Nice, tells the Observer he has no regrets as messages of support pour in from celebrity friends
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/24/howard-marks-inoperable-cancer-mr-nice

Howard Marks, the notorious former dope smuggler known as Mr Nice, has told the Observer he has been diagnosed with inoperable bowel cancer.

“I’ve come to terms with it in my own way – which for me was about learning how to cry,” Marks, 69, said this weekend. “It’s impossible to regret any part of my life when I feel happy and I am happy now, so I don’t have any regrets and have not had any for a very long time.”

Marks, a long-time campaigner for the legalisation of cannabis, has already received messages of support from his wide-ranging group of friends. Artist Tracey Emin, the journalist Peter Hitchens, Sir Richard Branson, broadcaster Zoe Ball and DJ husband Norman Cook have all sent best wishes this weekend. Hitchens has praised Marks as a “principled defender of free speech” despite taking an opposing side on the legalisation debate. Cook and Ball have described him has “a ray of sunshine in our lives”.

Marks, who spent seven years in a high-security prison in America, has been raised by fans of his bestselling biography, Mr Nice, to the position of entertaining veteran of the drug-fuelled hippy scene of the 1970s. His confessional memoir, published in 1996, made Marks a household name and went on to sell more than a million copies.

The rest at link.

[Denzil_DC]

1. That's a shame.

Mr Nice was a damn good read.

[geardaddy]

2. I haven't read the book

but I did see the film. It was great.

[Denzil_DC]

3. I thought the film was a very decent adaptation - too rare nowadays.

It trod a fine line between glamorizing cannabis and Marks's lifestyle, and showing the sordid underworld behind the drugs supply chain, including the IRA connections at the time, along with the consequences for Marks in terms of his eventual incarceration.

With their parents' permission, I've lent it to teenagers who were dabbling, as a realistic, cautionary tale, and to provide a bit of an insight into the supply chain.

[geardaddy]

4. I'll have to put it on my book list.

Diolch!

[Denzil_DC]

5. Â chroeso.

I think what you get in the book is a bit more insight into Marks's internal motivations, which the film did a pretty good job of conveying. I think Rhys Ifans (pronounced EE-vans - he must have gotten fed up with correcting, judging by the movie trailer voiceovers) was born to play the role.

I recall people's experiences of some of that IRA dope from the circles I moved in in my dissolute youth. People tended to give it a wide berth even though it was relatively cheap, aside fom any moral considerations, because the damn stuff was cut at least 50/50 with beeswax. Which made for an interesting smoking experience.

[geardaddy]

6. Yep, I know it's EE-vans.

I've seen him on talk shows where he's introduced as "Rees Eye-ffans" and it makes me scream "coc oen!" at the tv.

Dach chi'n siarad Cymraeg 'ta?

[Denzil_DC]

7. Ydw.

Ond rwy'n credu efellai mae'n well siarad Saesneg yma.

(Transl.: In answer to the question, "Do you speak Welsh, then?" - "Yes. But I think perhaps it's better to speak English here." - I know some folks have gotten jumpy about people posting in languages other than English on DU in the past, and it could be seen as rude/exclusive. "Coc oen" is a new one on me, but I think it translates as "lamb's dick", or "idiot".)

[geardaddy]

8. Yes, "lamb's cock"

it's a common in North Wales where I learnt Welsh.

[Denzil_DC]

9. I came to DU to learn! n/t

[geardaddy]

10. Haha!

Chwarae teg (fair play)