As the Joint Burns is a raw, unapologetic memoir from Patti O'Brien—an Appalachian-born single mother who became a pioneering force in California’s cannabis industry. With grit, humor, and hard-earned wisdom, Patti recounts her 25-year journey from her rural roots to managing one of Oakland’s first dispensaries, to owning her own Stores while navigating a minefield of shady partners, evolving laws, and systemic inequities.

This gripping narrative weaves together personal transformation, underground activism, and entrepreneurial resilience in an industry where survival is a revolutionary act. Through courtroom showdowns, late-night garden prayers, and storefront rebuilds, Patti brings readers into the backrooms and boardrooms of cannabis culture—before it was cool, legal, or profitable.

Part business memoir, part cultural commentary, As the Joint Burns is a tribute to the unsung trailblazers of the cannabis movement and a blueprint for anyone bold enough to build something real in a broken system. Patti doesn’t just light the joint—she burns down the myths and leaves behind the lessons.

Perfect for readers of memoirs, cannabis history, social justice, and women-in-business narratives.

  • One Woman. One Industry. One Unfiltered Truth.

    Before cannabis was mainstream, Patti O’Brien was already deep in the trenches—risking everything to build dispensaries, navigate raids, and outlast shady partners and broken systems. As the Joint Burns isn’t just a memoir—it’s a survival story from the front lines of a billion-dollar industry that was built on the backs of people like her… and nearly erased them in the end.

    Told with unapologetic honesty, fierce wit, and the kind of grit only a single mom from the Appalachian mountains could muster, Patti pulls back the curtain on the cannabis movement—from the grassroots raids of Oakland to the cold boardrooms of corporate takeovers.

    Book is coming to shelves soon. Stay Tuned.