Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs and Cheap Labor in the Black Market

Eric Schlosser

ISBN 10: 0743530209 ISBN 13: 9780743530200

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2003

Synopsis

An exploration of the marijuana, pornography, and illegal migrant worker industries in America notes their connections to Fortune 100 companies and traces the growth of the black market throughout the past twenty-five years.

About this title

Review:

As much as 10% of the American economy, and perhaps more, is comprised of illegal "underground" enterprises, according to author and Atlantic Monthly correspondent Eric Schlosser. And while this segment is never discussed in the newspaper business pages, Schlosser tackles it with the same in-depth analysis and compulsive readability that made his Fast Food Nation a best seller. Reefer Madness spotlights marijuana, migrant labor, and pornography, three of the most thriving black market industries, and analyzes the often-tenuous place each holds in society as a whole. While each of the three could be the subject of its own book, Schlosser keeps his scope narrow by concentrating on the lives of the participants in the underground economy, especially Mark Young, an Indiana man given a life sentence for participating in a marijuana sale, and Ohio porn magnate Reuben Sturman. At just 21 pages, the treatment of migrant laborers in the California strawberry fields is dealt with more briefly but is just as compelling thanks to the first-person narrative of Schlosser’s investigation. In telling these stories, which are both personal and universal, Schlosser deftly explores the manner in which his subjects are treated (and punished) compared to others in more above-ground ventures. Along the way, he asks hard questions as to what that treatment says about America. Schlosser writing is passionately opinionated, but this is no mere opinion piece: his perspective is amply supported by extensive research and clearly reasoned interpretation of data. His direct and forceful writing style makes the impact greater still. After reading Reefer Madness, readers are likely to be shocked, appalled, and flat-out bewildered by what’s happening in the cracks and crevices of American business. --John Moe

About the Author:

Eric Schlosser is a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly and the author of Fast Food Nation. He is currently at work on a book about the American prison system.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0743530209
• ISBN 13: 9780743530200
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 5