The book is a trade paperback and its official category according to Random House is general non-fiction. Its ISBN is 1740510305, it is 258 pages long, and is close to a B' size of standard novel. Bookshops across Brisbane have chosen to group it into different areas of their store and under varying categories. After a difficult search of most bookstores Dopeland' was normally found at the back of the store, in the Humour section with only a few copies remaining. International conglomerate Borders was the exception, with plenty of copies placed in a central, easy to find New Releases' position at the front of the store.
Those bookstores selling dubious amounts of Dopeland' can't be too confident in it's market appeal. Are they right in assuming the demand isn't there? Birmingham must have a lot of loyal readers that he has gained from past books such as "He Died With A Felafel in His Hand-, "Off One's Tits- and "How To Be A Man-. Who else, then, would be the readers of such a book? It is a different commodity than the average fiction book, and would therefore attract a much different reader. Instead of the focus being on reading for pleasure or relaxation, the reader of Dopeland' is more of a knowledge and experience seeker. .
If the sensation surrounding Dopeland' is to be attributed to anything, it is not the fact that it is an honest book about Australia's marijuana culture; it is Birmingham's admittance of being a part of that culture. Although largely niche, books on cannabis are already prevalent in the Australian book market. Released just this month by Random House under it's Doubleday imprint is Martin Booth's "Cannabis: A History-, selling for an even pricier $34.95. Late last year also saw the release of Jonathon Greer's "Cannabis- from Hardie Grant Books, selling for $39.95. .
Even considering there is a semi-established cannabis literature market, John Birmingham has overcome a certain amount of risk to write Dopeland'.