Dennis Howard Marks, also known as Mr. Nice, (born August 13 1945 in Kenfig Hill, near Bridgend, Wales) achieved notoriety as an international hashish smuggler through high-profile court cases, supposed connections with groups such as MI6, the IRA, and the Mafia, and his eventual conviction at the hands of the American Drug Enforcement Administration. He attended the Garw Grammar School, followed by Balliol College, Oxford between 1964 and 1967 to study Natural Science, Physics (B.A., Oxon). After this he studied Physics (Grad. Inst P.) at the University of London (1967 to 1968). Then, back to Balliol, Oxford (1968 to 1969) to study History and Philosophy (Dip. H.Ph. Sc.) and then on to the University of Sussex (1969 to 1970) to study Philosophy of Science (M.A., Oxon). He now lives in Palma de Mallorca. He spent seven years imprisoned in the United States Penitentiary, in Terre Haute. During his smuggling career, he allegedly did not use violence and refused to deal with hard drugs. Both he and his now ex-wife Judy Marks were extradited from Mallorca, Spain to Florida. They have three children together; Amber, Francesca and Patrick. He has an older daughter, Myfanwy, from a 5 year relationship with Rosie Lewis. Since his release, Marks has published a best-selling autobiography, Mr Nice (Secker and Warburg, 1996), which has been translated into many languages. Along with 'Mr Nice', Howard has also compiled an anthology called The Howard Marks Book of Dope Stories (Vintage, 2001) and more recently a follow on from his autobiography; Señor Nice: Straight Life From Wales to South America. In 2003 one of Howard's partners in the 'movement of beneficial herbs industry', Phil Sparrowhawk published his autobiography, written with Martin Knight, entitled Grass, (Mainstream 2003). Marks is a campaigner for the legalisation of cannabis and tours the world with a one-man show. He also appeared in the documentary Stoned in Suburbia aired on Sky One in the UK. Judy Marks has also written her autobiography of their life together entitled "Mr Nice and Mrs Marks" published by Ebury Press, 2006. Howard Marks stood for election to UK Parliament in 1997, on the single issue of the legalize cannabis campaign. He contested four seats at once: Norwich South (against future Home Secretary Charles Clarke), Norwich North, Neath and Southampton Test. The average vote was over 1%. This led to the formation of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance (LCA) by Alun Buffry in 1999.
Popular Culture References
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- Howard Marks makes a cameo appearance in the movie Human Traffic, describing Spliff politics.
- He makes another cameo in episode one ("Germination") of the MTV UK sitcom about a pair of drug dealing flatmates, Top Buzzer.
- He also appears as the Devil in Dirty Sanchez: The Movie
- He is the subject of Hangin' with Howard Marks a song by the Super Furry Animals released on their Fuzzy Logic album, and appeared on the album cover in a variety of disguises - allegedly passport photos from his time as a drug trafficker. They later became friends with him, and earned a mention in his autobiography.
