Bizarro: The Surreal Saga of America’s Secret War on Synthetic Drugs and the Florida Kingpins It Captured

by Jordan Rubin

Inside a drug war so screwy that people don’t know what’s illegal—until it’s too late.
 
Bizarro is a page-turning tale of the unprecedented prosecution of Burton Ritchie and Ben Galecki, the Florida-based founders of a sprawling “spice” (synthetic cannabinoid) operation. With this book, journalist and former New York City narcotics prosecutor Jordan S. Rubin exposes a Reagan-era law called the Analogue Act, which targets dealers selling drugs that are “substantially similar” to controlled substances—an unwieldy law that produces erratic results in court.
 
Rubin brings readers deep inside the synthetic war, exploring how Ritchie and Galecki landed in its crosshairs and why one of the DEA’s own chemists may have been their best chance at freedom, until he was arrested too. This stranger-than-fiction narrative is backed by thousands of pages of court records and exclusive interviews with defendants, lawyers, law enforcement, celebrities, and more. Bizarro reveals the world of underground chemists making drugs faster than the government can ban them, dealers making millions in a gray market, and a justice system run amok.

Genres: Audiobook, Drugs, American, Nonfiction, Politics, Crime

277 pages, Hardcover

Published April 18, 2023

Reviews

[Andrew Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

A valiant effort to untangle the legal quagmire of the Analogue Act, and specifically the government’s attempt to crack down on synthetic marijuana, or “spice.” Ultimately I was left wanting a bit more storytelling and a bit less rehashing trial transcripts - but very interesting, nonetheless.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting true crime story, meh audiobook, writing got a little repetitive sometimes.

[Kaylee · Rating 2 out of 5]

like 2.5, way more of a court trial book than i thought it would be