Crafty and Reef Maderoni
From the crafty mind of Eric Schlosser, the man who made us scared of Happy Meals with his much-acclaimed Fast Food Nation, comes Reefer Madness, the story of the American black market and how our obsession with getting stoned, watching live lesbian peep shows, and eating the finest vine fresh strawberries keeps this country going strong. Nothing rallies the family around the old plasma screen Sony quite like a close-up of anal sex, and Schlosser skillfully demonstrates why us filthy animals love putting down our hard earn money to see it, only to lie about it later.

For the sake of convenience, Reefer Madness is divided into three large essays, which makes me wonder whether this book was quickly compiled from already written work, in order to capitalize on the recent success of Fast Food Nation. Regardless, the formula works and we are presented with convincing evidence that the marijuana trade, the illegal immigrant work force and the porn industry are quietly saving and ruining a lot of lives.

The book's most poignant moment is when it questions the necessity of a black market, and suggests that the market would not be able to exist if Americans did not publicly claim that they wanted one thing, only to privately let their wallets speak another truth. Schlosser excels in exposing elected officials who demand the death penalty for drug dealers, only to have their next of kin be busted with a truck load of pot, leaving them to answer that, well, their boy is "good at heart." If you like that "politicians-biting-themselves-in-the-ass" type of writing, then this is the book for you.

Sad to say, the migrant worker section is the least interesting of the three, but, hey, it's tough to compete with weed and porn. It's the shortest essay, and its human touch just seems to get lost when it is sandwiched between bongs and butt plugs.

Where do we go from here?
Despite all that is good about Reefer Madness, it is hard to imagine where Schlosser will go from here. Where the book comes up short is that in many points, especially in his essay on Reuben Sturman, the man who revolutionized the porn industry, his style seems to focus too closely on the mythology of the events. It often feels as if we're not getting the whole picture, for the benefit of a good story. His books toe a fine line between entertainment and well-researched investigative reporting, and he does so in a way that makes Dateline Tuesday look like Dateline Sunday, or even worse, Dateline Thursday.

All in all, Reefer Madness is just what Dr. Greenthumb ordered, and Schlosser will have a long and healthy career, so long as America never gets tired of pointing out the many embarrassments suffered by the government, and quietly laughing at it's few, watered down successes in the name of conservative rule.