Drugs have always been a controversial issue in American cinema. There are a lot of thematic avenues that the drug phenomenon provides. Drugs are a natural source of conflict; they provide a real example of man’s self destructive nature. The subculture that drugs have created also creates an audience who revels in drug related humor. Here is a special mix of intoxicating drug movies; from the serious to the inane, from the obscene to the surreal, this is the top ten of all the drug themed flicks.

Tell Your Children (aka Reefer Madness) (1936)

Originally financed by a church group, this film has risen to a cult status. The movie was directed by Louis Gasnier and included a cast of unknown actors. The movie demeans marijuana, and regards it’s users as subject to raving madness. After trying the drug, the characters are subjected to tragic circumstances including: a hit and run accident, manslaughter, suicide, and rape. Tragedy plus time makes comedy, and Reefer Madness is a very funny movie seventy years later.

Easy Rider (1969)

A film that introduced American filmgoers to the 1960’s hippie drug culture, Easy Rider follows the voyage of two bikers through the southern United States. One of the lasting images of the film is a scene in which an alcoholic lawyer (Jack Nicholson) the bikers befriend in a small town tries marijuana for the first time. The movie also includes a five minute “bad trip” sequence in which the two bikers (Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper) and two prostitutes drop acid.

Cheech and Chong’s Up In Smoke (1978)

Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong’s first feature length film Up In Smoke became one of 1978’s highest grossing films, and achieved immediate cult status. Its success marked a point in which the drug-culture could be celebrated and accepted openly. The genius of this comic duo led to the creation of the “stoner comedy” genre. Since 1978 Cheech and Chong released six more movies, and there are rumors that they aren’t finished.

Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

The 1989 indie drama starring Matt Dillon as the leader of his “family” of drug addicts as they travel across the Pacific Northwest in the early 1970’s robbing pharmacies and hospitals. The film features William S. Burroughs a recovering addict and author of Naked Lunch, and a young Heather Graham in one of her better performances. Gus Van Sant went on to direct Good Will Hunting, and was most recently nominated for best director for the biopic Milk.

Trainspotting (1996)

Trainspotting features Ewan McGregor in the lead, playing Renton- one of a group heroin addicts in Edinburgh, Scotland. The film was adapted from a novel by the same name, written by Irvine Welsh. Expect to get an honest look at addiction; there is thematic material in this film much filthier than death. The cinematography in this film is something worth imitating. The movie which was acclaimed internationally director Danny Boyle recently won an Oscar for best director for his work in Slumdog Millionaire.

 Half Baked (1998)

Probably the quintessential stoner comedy of its time, the movie stars Dave Chappelle as Sir Smoke-a-lot, Jim Breuer as Brian, and Guillermo Diaz as Scarface; a group of nitwits who sell pot in order to help their friend get out of prison. The movie is structured around the “stoner comedy formula”. The synopsis: Three stooges, coupled with copious amounts of pot, fight the “man”, avoid the law to no avail, and eventually end up facing a vicious drug lord armed to the teeth.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

The film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s search for the American Dream stars Johnny Depp as Thompson, and Benicio Del Torro as his lawyer Dr. Gonzo. The film is actually an elaborate hoax, the whole journey is really a depraved unrelated subplot, and the real trouble doesn’t start until somewhere around Barstow. The movie makes you feel altered, and introduces you to all sorts of fantastic drugs you haven’t heard of.

Traffic (2000)

Traffic follows a number of different stories all related in one way: drugs. Benicio Del Torro won an Oscar for his role as a Mexican agent who gets mixed up in a plot to replace the Tijuana Cartel. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays the wife of a convicted drug lord. Michael Douglas plays a conservative judge appointed by the President to be the drug czar while his daughter struggles with her addiction to freebase cocaine. Steven Soderbergh won an Oscar for best director for his work on this highly acclaimed film.

Maria Full of Grace (2004) A Columbian-American film tells the story of Maria Alvarez, played by Catalina Sandino Moreno, a 17-year old Columbian girl who gets offered a job as a drug mule. The story is one of survival, and it gives us a glimpse of who gets drugs from the suppliers to the addicts. Maria Full of Grace catapulted Moreno into the limelight. She was nominated for best actress, the first actress to be nominated for a role that was performed entirely in Spanish.

Pineapple Express (2008) Arguably the best stoner comedy ever, Pineaplle Express was written in a way that almost anyone could enjoy watching it. The brainchild of Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, the film stars Rogan as the unlikely hero, and James Franco as the lovable drug dealer. The film is funny in a remarkably original way, but there’s a lot of emphasis on the “stoner friendly” theme. The refreshing thing about this movie is its accessibility. It goes above and beyond your average stoner comedy.