The Dune is a multi-level compound with driftwood furniture sitting rooms, sand and shell-filled tables for dining by the sea, and a large boat-shaped stage and observation area for concerts. There is also a small stage in the dining area for Bankie’s one-man show every Wednesday and Friday night, and Sunday afternoon. Later we kicked back in his understated — always under construction — house in what can only be described as the Smoking Room. Bankie lit a small fire in the very small fireplace, where several tiny piles of small twigs were lined up near the opening. He then relaxed into his favorite chair and began to roll a joint of what he said was the best Jamaican pot available. He handed me a large bud with an even larger Bambu rolling paper, then pointed to a little coconut bowl and said, "I don’t roll for guys, roll your own joint." As he beckoned me to a driftwood bench in front of the fire, we began our chat about sailing, the upcoming Moonsplash concert, and, of course, smoking pot. I then asked him, "What about the
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Often called the Anguillan Bob Dylan, Banx has his own distinctive musical style. It's easy to catch his act at The Dune.
many tiny blood vessels in the lungs that help to expedite the THC into the blood stream and thus to the brain?" He waved me off and explained, "The marijuana needs to get to the brain, and the nose and throat are much closer than the lungs. After all," he continued, "look at the American Indians with their peace
pipe; they didn’t inhale, they held it in their mouth and throat and blew it out their nose. Look at the cigar smokers, they don’t inhale either." This was an interesting approach to pot smoking, I said. He responded, "It’s not interesting at all, it’s just the way it is. No one inhaled until the Indians gave Columbus the base ingredient of what they were smoking, that being tobacco. They also used herbs and other mind-altering ingredients, but only gave Columbus the tobacco. When he brought it back to Europe, they made little cigarettes with it and that required a harder pull on the smoke, and thus people began to inhale. Smokers who used hookahs for centuries never inhaled the smoke into their lungs, and no one got lung cancer. Smoke is not good for the lungs," he emphasized again. We were interrupted by one of several old friends who was helping to repair and improve the compound in preparation for the 21st annual Moonsplash concert the following week. "What do you want?" Bankie asked.
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• October, 2011