Reefer Madness

Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market

By: Eric Schlosser

Narrated by: Eric Schlosser

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

In Reefer Madness, the best-selling author of Fast Food Nation investigates America's black market and its far-reaching influence on our society through three of its mainstays - pot, porn, and illegal immigrants.

The underground economy is vast; it comprises perhaps 10 percent - perhaps more - of America's overall economy, and it's on the rise. Eric Schlosser charts this growth, and finds its roots in the nexus of ingenuity, greed, idealism, and hypocrisy that is American culture. He reveals the fascinating workings of the shadow economy by focusing on marijuana, one of the nation's largest cash crops; pornography, whose greatest beneficiaries include Fortune 100 companies; and illegal migrant workers, whose lot often resembles that of medieval serfs.

All three industries show how the black market has burgeoned over the past three decades, as America's reckless faith in the free market has combined with a deep-seated Puritanism to create situations both preposterous and tragic. Through pot, porn, and migrants, Schlosser traces compelling parallels between underground and overground: how tycoons and gangsters rise and fall, how new technology shapes a market, how government intervention can reinvigorate black markets as well as mainstream ones, how big business learns - and profits - from the underground.

With intrepid reportage, rich history, and incisive argument, Schlosser illuminates the shadow economy and the culture that casts that shadow.

©2003 Eric Schlosser (P)2003 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"Like Fast Food Nation, this is an eye-opening book, offering the same high level of reporting and research." (Publishers Weekly)
"Schlosser's precise outrage is as compelling off as on the page." (AudioFile)

Reefer Madness

<b>Reefer Madness</b> and <b>Fast Food Nation </b> are both MUST READS. Eric Schlosser has a gift for delivering non fiction in a totally engaging way.

Should Be Required Reading

Great book. Well researched and read. Tells us about about things and issues neither political party in the country wants you to know about. Tells is a lot about how free our country (and many others) really are plus how capitalism is ignored or exploited by our political system. It is a hard book to listen to because it tells us about things in a fair world, particularly one that claims to be Christian, these injustices should not stand.

Should be required reading in High School because it teaches us about how the world really is versus how society would like us to think it does. It also tells us a lot about our media (right and left) that totallly ignores what their audiences want to ignore.

Pot, Sex and Strawberries

I really liked this book. Eric Slosser always brings an interesting point of view to a topic. I found myslelf questioning my notions on drugs and immigration.

My only negative is Mr. Slosser's voice. I found it a little drab and boring. The subject matter made up for that, but it was a little ditracting in the beginning.

Content good, reader boring

I listened to and really enjoyed Fast Food Nation which prompted me to get this one. Eric writes an interesting book full of facts and details. The problem with Reefer Madness is that it has a different reader (Eric reads his own book this time) -- this is a problem because his voice puts you right to sleep -- it has a soft, almost monotone reading, no dynamics in his voice whatsoever. The content is very interesting, although to me it felt like it could have been a fair bit more focused - he seems to repeat himself a lot instead of taking thigs a bit more logically, I think - it may be intentional, I suppose.

Wake up America

All the facts you already think you know but don't confront. Listen, think, and take note. All this is real and needs to be fixed. Well read and an easy listen even if resulting in an uneasy feeling about California strawberries among other uneasy thoughts.

Excellent book

A beautifully researched book. Don't miss this one.

Fascinating and accurate

The reason I picked up this book was that a lot of my close friends are porn stars, and I was interested to see Schlosser's take on the industry, but the whole book was fascinating. The ultimate long, historical viewpoint that the book takes on the economy is what really struck me as profound. I was listening to it on my iPod as I rode the New York subways in October, and the combination of visiting the Occupy camps and thinking about the crappy economy and income inequality and "reading" this book (which was written before the collapse of '08, but warns of it) was a really... interesting experience, for lack of a better adjective. Like seeing several lines of thought and history converge.

The reefer part reminded in precise terms why we urgently need to legalize this drug, something I agree very strongly with even though I'm not a user. Being involved in sustainable food, I was glad to see such a thorough and unflinching look at the abuses of farm laborers. Both are discussed realistically and compassionately.

The porn section didn't disappoint either. I've met a lot of the people he interviews and I'd say he did them and the industry justice, which is to say he shows it for what it is. He doesn't get into any hysterical moralizing, respects the agency of the performers, and touches on the bad points in what I felt was an accurate matter, if a somewhat fleeting one. My only real complaint was that he seemed to be fooled to some extent by Bill Margold's act. The guy is a grade A asshole, which sadly doesn't come across here. He likes to paint himself as some sort of industry spokesperson when he's just another annoying small-time producer, and unfortunately Schlosser seems to believe him. But if you keep that in mind, the interview is still informative and interesting. So there's my insider's take, haha.

All in all a fascinating read backed with real facts and figures, and I like it when the author is able to narrate his or her own work well.

Lots of Facts

I found this book to be very factual in nature in that the author throws out fact after fact, seemingly in support of his implied position on the subject matter. At times he strings together facts but they sort of just hang there, leaving one saying and??However, the book is informative, entertaining and relevant. The section dealing with marijuana and its legalization seemed to be the author's most emphatic point and rightfully so.

Interesting Perspective

This was an interesting read and provided some shocking information on the ridiculous "war on drugs". It could have offered more background on how the drug war came to its present state, but this was well worth listening to.

Insightful read/listen

Eric Schlosser's expose on the controversial black market commodities that continue to be argued over time and time again by supposed "experts" is a prime example of just part of what is wrong with America.

While the drug wars in other countries have taken a more proactive and rehabilitive approach, America stands idle, sometimes moving in reverse of a policy that actually work. Meanwhile cheap labor continues to be a profitable tool for the wealthy while blame gets displaced on disparaged immigrants trying to survive in a system that is focused on corporate greed and class and economic warfare. And pornography? Well, as the books theme comes full circle we learn an important value in our society. The more our government doesn't want us to have something, the more we want that something.

Schlosser takes a hard look at three very important parts of our economy, although small in comparison to most of the economy, large in our culture. I am really looking forward to Fast Food Nation!