Many people have heard of what is called the Underground Economy. Some may know it a s the shadow or illegal economy, others know it as the black market. Even though many have heard of it, some don't know exactly what it is or how it is ran or even the amount of money it produces. According to Eric Schlosser in his book Reefer Madness this economy is described as "where economic activities remain off the books, where they are unrecorded, unreported, and in violation of the law." (RM, 4) Schlosser reveals to his readers some of the workings and also an inside look to the underground economy by looking at three major areas and producers to the economy of the black market. He looked at marijuana as being one of the largest cash crop, even more than corn in some cases. He also looked at migrant workers who are illegal being exploited at working for very little money. The last area he spoke about in his book was the porn industry going from illegal to legal in some areas, and being a very successful business here in the United States. He explored everything from how each industry began, to the legalities involve, also to the government and the American people's involvement with each growth, wether they were direct or indirect.
Marijuana, also known as pot, weed, ganja here in the U.S.A., is one of the largest producer of money in the underground economy. It produces an estimated 4 billion to 25 billion dollars a year. Marijuana however, has not always been an illegal drug. At various times in history, marijuana usage and growth was not such a bad thing as it is viewed today. Marijuana was first used to make oil, rope, paper, boat sails, and clothes. Actually, one of the marijuana laws was to grow the plant in the state of Virginia, even though president Thomas Jefferson grew the plant. So when did this plant become bad. It became bad when the Mexicans introduced it to America as an intoxicant at the recreational level in the 1920's.
