Dopeworld

Adventures in the Global Drug Trade

By: Niko Vorobyov

Narrated by: Alexi Armitage

Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

In this irreverent ode to gonzo journalism, one writer travels the globe to explore the use of recreational drugs in cultures around the world.

After I got out of jail, I was determined to find out more about how the issue of drugs not only landed me there, but has shaped the entire world: wars, scandals, coups, revolutions. I read every book, watched every documentary. I saved up to buy plane tickets. I went to Colombia, Mexico, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the Afghan border - all in all, 15 countries across five continents.

Call me Narco Polo.

Just as Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations did for the world of food, Dopeworld is an intoxicating journey into the world of drugs. From the cocaine farms in South America to the streets of Manila, Dopeworld traces the emergence of psychoactive substances and our intimate relationship with them. As a former drug dealer turned subversive scholar, with unparalleled access to drug lords, cartel leaders, street dealers, and government officials, journalist Niko Vorobyov attempts to shine a light on the dark underbelly of the drug world.

At once a bold piece of journalism and a hugely entertaining travelogue, Dopeworld is a brilliant and enlightening journey across the world, revealing how drug use is at the heart of our history, our lives, and our future.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

©2020 Niko Vorobyov (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

All in all

This listen was much different then most addition on bios. It took you to different parts of the world. This guy did a lot of information into other countries. Of addiction

Uniquely functional and funny.

I enjoyed the author's voice.... all over map, yet still on course. A bit slow at times though.

An honest look into a parallel world

Dope world review

Niko Yorobyov is one of those people that if you were to meet him in real life, I have the feeling that on the face of it he would be almost entirely unassuming. He grew up the son of what we would consider white-collar workers. Goes to University and becomes a small time drug dealer, eventually evolving into a much larger time drug dealer LOL. You spent time on the inside of a British prison, he’s listened to the stories of people convicted for nonviolent drug offenses as well as horribly violent ones, and by the time he gets out he is inspired to turn his life around, and to shed light on what he thinks is a gross misapprehension of the problem our society has with drugs.

Armed with the background knowledge given to him that most people with the humanities related degree will be familiar with, a healthy heaping of a dark sense of humor and a comfortability with irony, a healthy heaping of skepticism and brutal honesty, he delivers one of the best examinations of the “drug problem! That our society finds itself in.

He talks about his own experience both dealing Molly, LSD, weed, cocaine. And a small handful of other elicited substances along with his experience with smuggling something we might not think of: gray market cigarettes. What we don’t realize is that things like that are baked into the business strategies of companies like we find with big tobacco. The taxis in the strongest markets are so high that they often “intentionally lose“ part of a shipment in some Eastern European country where they can be snatched up by enterprising young people and turn for about a 500% profit easily.

Along with that we get a historical and sociological examination of the Italian mafia, the American war on drugs and how it impacts various regions of the world like in Latin America, how drugs are different in Asia… With a healthy sprinkling of various interviews so we can get a sense of the actual people behind the stories and the environments they developed in.

All of this in my opinion, leaves you with a pretty delightful book that takes an extremely honest look at drugs, and our relationship to them. If you like creative nonfiction, and are fascinated by what you might consider true crime, and the effect of black markets around the world, this book is definitely right up your alley… Especially if like me, you have watched a whole lot of Vice over the years!

At the end of the book he talks about his motivations for becoming a journalist, wanting to turn his life around and hoping his parents are proud of him. I’m glad that people like him or writing books that are this honest and forthright. I can only hope his parents are proud of him for turning his life around and turning his attention to a really large issue.

Subject matter

Was expecting more gonzo personal accounts, while fruitful, there was way more drug use history.

Amazing!!

I listened to the whole thing in two days. Its amazing! As well as educational

early review (will do another later)

this book never has a dull moment!! every chapter is highly informative and very educational while not being boring

it's worth a try

starts off with a bang for the first half the second half is just the war on drugs overall still pretty good book