The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing: An Almost True Account
- Downloads：4534
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-14 08:51:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Matt Taibbi
- ISBN：168219406X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
n real life， there is a person like "Anonymous"， who， for the sake of this story， I'll call Huey Carmichael。 I was friends with this person for a while before I learned about his other life。 The real Huey knows more than a thing or two about the weed business。 He keeps rules。
The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing tells the story of a hyper-observant， politically-minded， but humorously pragmatic weed dealer who has spent a working life compiling rules for how to a） make money and b） avoid prison。
Each rule shapes a chapter of this fast-paced outlaw tale， all delivered in Huey's deliciously trenchant argot。 Here are a few of them:
- No guns but keep shooters。
- Stay behind the white guy。
- Don't snitch。
- Always have a job。
- Be multi-sourced。
- Get your money and get out。
Part edge-of-the-seat suspense story， part how-to manual in the tradition of The Anarchist Cookbook， The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing is as scintillating as it is subversive。 Just reading it feels illegal。
The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing tells the story of a hyper-observant， politically-minded， but humorously pragmatic weed dealer who has spent a working life compiling rules for how to a） make money and b） avoid prison。
Each rule shapes a chapter of this fast-paced outlaw tale， all delivered in Huey's deliciously trenchant argot。 Here are a few of them:
- No guns but keep shooters。
- Stay behind the white guy。
- Don't snitch。
- Always have a job。
- Be multi-sourced。
- Get your money and get out。
Part edge-of-the-seat suspense story， part how-to manual in the tradition of The Anarchist Cookbook， The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing is as scintillating as it is subversive。 Just reading it feels illegal。
Reviews
Saatwik Katiha
，
When Matt says this is semi-fictional， it doesn't just mean that the book is partially based in reality - it also means that the narrative style is different from a work of fiction， which usually has a well-defined storyline。 There's a progression of events here （sometimes a little hard to follow with all the characters and incidents， and a frayed timeline） but it reads more like a stretched out journalistic piece than a story。 Interesting nonetheless， though it'd have been more rewarding knowin When Matt says this is semi-fictional， it doesn't just mean that the book is partially based in reality - it also means that the narrative style is different from a work of fiction， which usually has a well-defined storyline。 There's a progression of events here （sometimes a little hard to follow with all the characters and incidents， and a frayed timeline） but it reads more like a stretched out journalistic piece than a story。 Interesting nonetheless， though it'd have been more rewarding knowing which parts constitute fiction and which are real。 。。。more
Michael Guzman
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An interesting look from the inside of a mid-high level marijuana dealer。 It doesn't lay out the business plan entirely but rather provides basic rules on how not to get caught by police。 The ending was strange and seemed rushed。 An interesting look from the inside of a mid-high level marijuana dealer。 It doesn't lay out the business plan entirely but rather provides basic rules on how not to get caught by police。 The ending was strange and seemed rushed。 。。。more
Kshitij Dewan
，
lol。It was fun！ good fictional fun。
Nate Lorenzen
，
Little disjointed at the end but well worth the read。 Going to print the rules out for reference！
Lehnar Seyer
，
how to download somebody help me pls。
Adam
，
Not as good as Taibbi's non-fiction， but not bad。Petty sure the Huey Carmichael co-author is a fiction to let Taibbi use AAVE without justifying himself， just as the idea of of it being a novel is way to get around the rigours of fact checking if it'd been a journalistic work。 But you know what， who cares？ It was an interesting read。 Not as good as Taibbi's non-fiction， but not bad。Petty sure the Huey Carmichael co-author is a fiction to let Taibbi use AAVE without justifying himself， just as the idea of of it being a novel is way to get around the rigours of fact checking if it'd been a journalistic work。 But you know what， who cares？ It was an interesting read。 。。。more
Micah
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A fun read， well-told， and an interesting insight into pot economics in the era just before wide-spread legalization and corporatization。 It’s great to see Taibbi branch out in this direction too。
Peter
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I think good
Casey
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I would recommend this book to any good and earnest person who is seeking a career in the military or in law enforcement。Definitely goes into to the list of media I've consumed that people will look at me weird for。 Why read a book on dealing drugs when I have not nor plan on committing such a crime？ Well I guess it's the same reason I read Sun Tzu or Carl Von Clausewitz's doctrines on war。 Or why， as a Christian， I read Proverbs or the Epistles。 They're doctrines or philosophies on how to carry I would recommend this book to any good and earnest person who is seeking a career in the military or in law enforcement。Definitely goes into to the list of media I've consumed that people will look at me weird for。 Why read a book on dealing drugs when I have not nor plan on committing such a crime？ Well I guess it's the same reason I read Sun Tzu or Carl Von Clausewitz's doctrines on war。 Or why， as a Christian， I read Proverbs or the Epistles。 They're doctrines or philosophies on how to carry yourself and be successful。 They have their specific areas of study （war， business， morals， closeness with God， etc。） but if they work then they usually work when applied to other areas。 Nearly every Sun Tzu book has an introduction by some guy saying how the rules in "The Art of War" apply not just to war but to business as well。 How can drug dealing relate to anything I'm interested in？ Well take for example: the Dark Web。 You may know the Dark Web as a scary place where things are traded on the black market， but did you know that it's also the only internet service available to people in authoritarian countries where free speech and communication is able to take place。 This is because the same anonymity people take advantage of to commit crimes and get away with them， is also the same anonymity that grants security to those who need to communicate freely with each other。 The Dark Web has many good faith users， they have freed sex-slaves， and even uncovered black market operations。Bad people develop methods in order to escape punishment for their crimes and ill-gotten gains， however sometimes good people have to use similar methods to save lives。 Consider this: Paul was once snuck out of city via basket and rope。 Who thought of doing that first？ The person with a clean record or the outlaw turned saint？ 。。。more
Aaron Arnold
，
Great use of the serialized novel concept， even though I didn't read it until the whole thing had already been finished。 Written as both a memoir and a Seven Habits of Highly Effective Drug Dealers by "Huey Carmichael" （yes， as in "P。 Newton" and "Stokely"）， an anonymous friend of Taibbi's， this literary treatment/extension of Biggie's famous "Ten Crack Commandments" offers the aspiring young criminal an interesting real-life account of the heady days of marijuana growing and distribution in the Great use of the serialized novel concept， even though I didn't read it until the whole thing had already been finished。 Written as both a memoir and a Seven Habits of Highly Effective Drug Dealers by "Huey Carmichael" （yes， as in "P。 Newton" and "Stokely"）， an anonymous friend of Taibbi's， this literary treatment/extension of Biggie's famous "Ten Crack Commandments" offers the aspiring young criminal an interesting real-life account of the heady days of marijuana growing and distribution in the Wild West pre-legalization pre-corporate era， as well as， more relevantly， a bunch of practical advice on how not to get busted should you wish to continue running drugs outside the confines of the law。 As he says， most drug dealers learn their jobs from movies， so it's neat to see a more detailed and practical set of guidelines than you can get from， say， watching New Jack City over and over again。 While in literary terms it's not written with the gripping intensity of a classic like Clockers， the steady rotation of characters throughout the narrative， most notably his on-again/off-again girlfriend Courtney， gives the slow accumulations and rapid dissipations of his various drug empires a poignancy that a more clinical instruction manual would lack。 Taibbi's forays into the criminal justice system in his previous books The Divide and I Can't Breathe were phenomenal， and this detour into the life of someone who neatly avoided that system is worth a pass as well。Carmichael grew up "between two worlds"， as they say， shuffling between upper class and working class communities in New Jersey in his youth。 His leap to dealing was prompted by his discovery that he was good at it。 Throughout the book he's clear-eyed about his place in America， particularly when he had a （fortunately） brief experience with prison。 "I believe in money。 So does America。 Beyond that we don't have a relationship。。。。 America and I， we were two ships that passed in the night。 The mindless experience of prison was the only thing we ever shared。" Since marijuana is on a seemingly inevitable march towards full legalization， one wonder how well these insights will translate to other drugs and future times。 Would a non-fictional Scarface still offer useful lessons for someone running ecstasy？ But on that subject， Carmichael made a great point about what the likely effects of legalization will be on the existing drug industry， particularly black people who don't have the access to capital it takes to get big: "People think racism in America is in a word or an image。 It isn't。 It's in money。 The history of our country is that as soon as Black people find a way to build up anything， rich people find a way to take it。 Doesn't matter if it's rock n' roll， rap， or subprime real estate。 They buy it up and bust it from the inside。 This country was founded on capitalism， and Black people were the first commodity sold on Wall Street。 Now we'll be the first to be stripped of a business that we built， and in exchange some of us will get housing in Wall Street-backed private prisons。"Bleak stuff， and he's probably right。 His complete list of rules， for the curious:- Always have a job。- Never let business partners know where you stay。- Never trade minutes for years。- Align incentives with potential antagonists。- Minimize your risk。- In every deal， at least double your money。- Never write down anything you wouldn't want printed on the cover of the New York Times。- Keep your face off the Internet。- Deal with as few people as possible。- No guns， but keep shooters。- Always stay behind the white guy。- Don't fuck with nobody else's girl， not even an enemy's。- Always store in a place with a doorman。- Always leave a dummy stash。- Always get a pay lawyer。 And get the best one there is。- Always under-promise and over-deliver。- Always keep your money neat。- Patronize casinos。- Trust the postal services。- Try to work with people you know。- If you can't afford a hotel room， I'm not doing business with you。- No business at night。- Be the last person in any group that walks into any space。- When dealing with new people， Keep the purse small。- A loss isn't a loss。 It's a lesson。- Always carry an Allen wrench。- Embrace racial stereotypes。- Every time you enter a state， change out your cars。 Drive rentals but make sure you've got in-state plates as often as possible。- Keep your business and your family separated。- Dress like an off-duty Applebee's waiter。- Always have a lawyer on retainer。- Always pay the plug - unless you can't。- Don't get attached。- Treat your cash like kids， don't let it stay inside all day and get soft。- I watch sixty seconds tick off on my watch before I say anything I might regret。- Plan for the worst。- If you talk long enough to hear yourself giving a speech， you're probably fucking something up。- When you do any work， no matter how menial， always find out exactly how much you're worth。 Because someone will always try to pay you less。- In any big operation， don't weigh your foot soldiers down with too many different orders。 Work hard to focus on a few simple goals。- Always be willing to spend money for goodwill。- Get your money and get out。- Never count the next man's money。- Never touch your savings。- Never run from the front。 。。。more
Ben Pothecary
，
Loved it
Aaron Kheifets
，