Stu Stall, Dark Side, San Diego authors

Memoir by Stu Stall

Reviewed by Pennell Paugh

April 1, 2025 (San Diego) -- Stu Stall, a life-long resident of Coronado, has released a second memoir -- Dark Side: True Stories from a Teenage Pot Smuggler.

The book is filled with tales of adventure, danger and betrayal. Stall’s life in his twenties seemed carefree — full of parties, women, surfing and marijuana highs. When he expanded his drug trafficking terrain, he exposed himself to greater danger, coercion, manipulation and schmoozing. He ends up being lucky to get out of the business.

Though Stall is caught and has several periods in court, he manages to get off without any jail time. However, he sadly recalls many of his friends were ground up by the War on Drugs and by heroin and cocaine addiction. He ends the book with the controversial conclusion that the War of Drugs seems more harmful than making drugs legal and providing treatment.

To show the author’s easy writing style, here is an excerpt from the book:

“It had been a great morning. The surf was perfect. Now, I was resting before work began. I’d been working as a waiter and maître d’ at Chez, a French restaurant, while attending college. Just then the phone rang. It was Judy Jordan, my dearest and most treasured friend from childhood. I would do anything for Judy. She was my favorite person since I was a kid. Sure, I had buddies at school and in sports, but when I was on my block, I was usually with Judy. Not only did I love her, but my sisters loved her and my mom loved her; she was part of the family.

“More than a big sister, Judy was my best friend. She taught me how to dance and so many other things about life too. Her dad dressed her in boy’s clothing and called her a tomboy, but she was super pretty. I don’t know if they were her brother’s old clothes (Navy guys were notoriously cheap) or if he was trying to protect her from the boys. All I know is he had to know how beautiful she was.

“As the years went on, we became slightly estranged, but our bond remained strong. Judy had a disastrous marriage when she was younger and ended up staying with me for a couple of months when she was down and out. She just showed up one day, and there was no way I could say no to her. I wouldn’t let her sleep with me, however, even though she wanted to (as I still thought of her more as a sister).

“I, Stuart Stall, did not let one of the most beautiful women I ever met in my life sleep with me. I still don’t know why. I guess I wanted to keep the status quo. But only a couple of years later, when I had a safe house in Cardiff, I acquiesced and had a night I will cherish for the rest of my existence.”

Stuart Stall obtained a finance degree from San Diego State. Before that he worked for many years as the maître d’ at Chez Loma. He raised two sons who graduated from Coronado High School (CHS) and is himself a class of ’72 graduate (his father was CHS class president in 1942). Stall is fond of saying he’s “a recovering mortgage and real estate broker.”