Wheeling and Dealing

by Patricia A. Adler

Wheeling and Dealing is a vivid account of the world inhabited by "wholesale" illicit drug traffickers. Based on six years of participant observation, fieldwork, and extensive interviews in an elite Southern California community of dealers, the book gives a rare glimpse into the decadent yet fascinating "subculture of drug trafficking and unending partying, mixed with occasional cloak-and-dagger subterfuge."

This second edition brings the story up to date by revealing the fate of several of Adler's key informants. By tracing their lives over a fifteen-year span, Adler offers a unique longitudinal perspective on deviant careers and the reintegration of dealers into conventional society. She also analyzes the unintended consequences of the federal government's war on drugs, tying it to the increasing violence and organizational sophistication of drug traffickers and the rise of international cartels.

Genres: Sociology, Drugs

220 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1993

Reviews

[Rob1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique inside look at high level drug trafficking in the U.S.

[Nicole]

When you've read this point, you've about read it all-- the only way to collect valid data from drug smugglers and users is to be a user-- so saith the book. Not, as you hear elsewhere, that you have to sober up to be interviewed and to interview. Well, then.

The findings on drug dealing are not surprising. They are more common knowledge now, perhaps they were not in the late 1970s when the data was collected.

[Izzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like learning information that feels illegal to know.