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A review by caitlin21521
Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market by Eric Schlosser
4.0
This book is divided into three sections: one on marijuana, one on cheap labor/immigration/etc, and one on pornography. However, it would have been much better had Schlosser devoted a book to each topic. They are all fascinating, and it's interesting to see just what a huge part of our culture and government each of these taboos are.
The first section on marijuana seems the most thoroughly researched and the most fascinating. It is scary to consider how much time and effort the government puts into banning marijuana when there are so many other dangerous drugs (more dangerous even) out there that should have just as much attention, if not more. Some of the stories concerning the individuals were heart-breaking, such as the veteran who was kicked out of his home for growing medical marijuana -- and he had no other place to go.
The second section on cheap labor laws and Mexican immigrants was also fascinating, but it was far too short. Basically, it is a brief overview of what most of us already know and I think if Schlosser had written on separate book on this topic, he could have done so much more.
The third section on pornography was also interesting, particularly about the porn mogul (who is not Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt) who rose to the top during the seventies, I think it was. Other than that, this topic too was comprised mainly of what most of us already know about the dark side of the pornography world.
It is not nearly as good as Fast Food Nation, but that is probably because Schlosser tries to cram too much into one book. While they are all tied together under the category of "The American Black Market", each one is so convoluted and complex that they deserve books of their own rather than short chapters within one book. Thus, Schlosser can prevent recycling data that we already know and instead devote his time to presenting us with more unknown ugly facts and more solutions.
The first section on marijuana seems the most thoroughly researched and the most fascinating. It is scary to consider how much time and effort the government puts into banning marijuana when there are so many other dangerous drugs (more dangerous even) out there that should have just as much attention, if not more. Some of the stories concerning the individuals were heart-breaking, such as the veteran who was kicked out of his home for growing medical marijuana -- and he had no other place to go.
The second section on cheap labor laws and Mexican immigrants was also fascinating, but it was far too short. Basically, it is a brief overview of what most of us already know and I think if Schlosser had written on separate book on this topic, he could have done so much more.
The third section on pornography was also interesting, particularly about the porn mogul (who is not Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt) who rose to the top during the seventies, I think it was. Other than that, this topic too was comprised mainly of what most of us already know about the dark side of the pornography world.
It is not nearly as good as Fast Food Nation, but that is probably because Schlosser tries to cram too much into one book. While they are all tied together under the category of "The American Black Market", each one is so convoluted and complex that they deserve books of their own rather than short chapters within one book. Thus, Schlosser can prevent recycling data that we already know and instead devote his time to presenting us with more unknown ugly facts and more solutions.