Born in 1945 in Kenfig Hill, a small Welsh coal-mining village near Bridgend, Howard Marks AKA Mr Nice attended Oxford University where he earned a degree in nuclear physics and post graduate qualifications in philosophy.
Described by the Daily Mail (UK Tabloid) as ‘the most sophisticated drugs baron of all time’, Howard Marks has worked with the British Secret Service and has been connected with the Mafia, the IRA, MI6 and the CIA.
Busted in 1988 by the American Drug Enforcement Agency and sentenced to twenty-five years at America’s toughest federal penitentiary; Terre Haute, Indiana. He was released on parole in 1995 after serving seven years.
In 1996 he released his autobiography, Mr. Nice, which remains an international best seller in several languages and was the best selling non-fiction book of 1997. On the subject of his book, he says:
“Through a plethora of media interviews and several public book readings, it became clear that the predominant reason why so many adolescents and university students read and enjoyed Mr Nice was their frustration with the law prohibiting cannabis consumption and trade. Until then, I had no idea of the extraordinary extent of cannabis use by young people today.”
During 1997, he performed his first live shows, which discussed his life as a marijuana smuggler and his views on drug use and legalisation. The shows received excellent reviews throughout the national press, and his now legendary one-man comedy show, An Audience with Mr Nice, continues to sell-out at venues throughout Britain and Europe.
Howard Marks wrote a monthly column for Loaded for five years and has written features for the Observer, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Time Out, GQ, and the Guardian. He continues to campaign vigorously for the legalisation of recreational drugs.
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