Howard Marks - Former Drug Smuggler. Author and After-Dinner Speaker.


Howard Marks aka MR NICE was Born in 1945 in Kenfig Hill, a small Welsh coal-mining village near Bridgend.

Howard Marks rose to become “the most sophisticated drugs baron of all time” (Daily Mirror). With the help of  friends and fellow students at Oxford University, Howard built a world-wide smuggling network that allegedly became responsible for the majority of marijuana smoked in the western world throughout the 1970’s and most of the 1980’s.

Once an agent for MI6 (Her Majesty’s Secret Service) and the orchestrator of  major cannabis deals direct with members of  the American CIA,  Howard had 43 aliases and over 25 companies world-wide as cover for his truly international smuggling  empire. His motivation became the legalisation of  cannabis / marijuana, and a determined will to beat the system (he would not trade in any other drug and gave away most of the profits).

Howard Marks writes for The Observer, Time Out and The Times and is respected as an international expert on the pros and cons for the legalisation of cannabis. Howard has appeared on numerous TV shows discussing his life and views, from Richard & Judy to the 11 o’clock show to BBC Panorama to the Jonathan Dimbleby programme, and is extremely active within the UK debating forum circuit, including Oxford and Cambridge Universities to Government advisory panels.

After two biographies High Times by David Leigh, and Hunting Marco Polo by Paul Eddy & Sara Walden, Howard set about writing his autobiography – Mr Nice (named after his most famous alias - Donald Nice).

First published in 1996, Mr Nice has now sold over 780,000 copies in the UK alone, and still remains an international best seller.  Mr Nice has been translated into German, Hebrew, Spanish, Italian and French.

Howard’s second book, The Howard Marks Book of Dope Stories is an anthology of short stories by both Howard and writers as diverse as Aldous Huxley to Bez from the Happy Mondays, was published in the UK on 1st November 2001 by Vintage/ Random House. The anthology has already sold in excess of 250,000 copies in the UK and continues to sell over 1000 copies per week.

An Audience with MR NICE

In December 1997, Howard Marks performed his first live shows - extracts taken from Mr Nice, followed by often very feisty question and answer sessions. The five sell-out nights at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire, were followed by excellent reviews throughout the national press. Over the past 10 years Howard’s show has developed into a one man stand-up cutting edge comedy show “layered with enough hilarious imagery to rival any stand-up comedian in the UK” Loaded

Howard can provide a shortened version of his stand up show for after dinner speaking at corporate events and indeed private events of all kinds. He can adapt this to humorous tales from his life as a cannabis smuggler and former M16 agent to life in the US’S toughest penitentiary with a 25 year sentence.

Reviews:

The narcotic Tommy Cooper 
The Evening Standard

A folk legend... Howard Marks has huge charisma. He sounds like Richard Burton and looks like a Rolling Stone
The Daily Mail

A maverick phenomenon....... Marks is the Guv’nor!
The Sunday Times

A man most wanted.. his one man show is the biggest draw in town 
The Independent

Frequently hilarious, occasionally sad, and often surreal 
GQ


Fee Group: £1k - £3k

Books available include: