15 Best Drug Movies That You Should Watching Update 04/2024

Best Drug Movies

If you’re a fan of Blow, these are the top movies about drug addiction that you should watch.

All areas of modern culture, whether it’s a hip-hop song, an erotic romance, or an image on our screens, involve drugs. They continue to intrigue us. Breaking Bad (2008) and Narcos (2015) have sparked a surge in the depiction of drugs in popular culture.

Blow (2001), a well-known drug-related film, serves as the basis for today’s investigation. If you enjoyed Blow, then check out these other films about drugs.

It was updated by Mark Birrell on December 6, 2020:

Blow, directed by Ted Demme, received mixed reviews from reviewers upon its initial release and even contributed to Penelope Cruz’s Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actress, but among fans of both Johnny Depp and movies concerning the drug trade in general, it is highly regarded. We’ve upped the number of our recommendations to 15 in light of the film’s only grown popularity over time, in order to better assist individuals who are searching for comparable stories.

15. American Made (2017)

American Made (2017

Actor Tom Cruise portrays Barry Seal, the pilot who became extensively involved in smuggling of cocaine in from South America and became a CIA informant for the Medellin Cartel and Nicaraguan Contras in this thriller, which is based on the real-life story of Seal.

Fans of Johnny Depp as George Jung in Blow will like American Made, which deals with similar themes and time periods, but from a different perspective, and star power.

14. Mr. Nice (2010)

Mr. Nice is based on the life of Howard Marks, a major player in the illegal drug trade in the 1970s and 1980s, and tells the narrative of how he became one of the most powerful figures in the industry.

Even while Marks has more than his share of run-ins with the authorities, his narrative can be seen as a different take on Jung’s withinBlow, revealing what the world would have been like if Jung had stayed to his initial profession of marijuana smuggling.

13. Dope (2015)

Dope (2015)

Even if you’ve never heard of John Hughes or Martin Scorsese, Dope is a far more optimistic film about teenage drug dealers who are attempting to make it in the industry, and isn’t based on any real-life personalities at all.

Ambitious Inglewood, California adolescent becomes entangled in an ordeal over missing MDMA and is forced to confront his own maturation in the process.

12. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

While The Wolf of Wall Street centers on Jordan Belfort, an unscrupulous Wall Street magnate known for making as much money as he could through any loophole he could discover, it also depicts Belfort’s history of substance abuse, particularly his use of quaaludes.

Martin Scorsese’s trademark aesthetic is the major selling point of this film, with Leonardo DiCaprio’s lead performance and the supporting work of Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie in particular. Goodfellas is one of the few legitimate heirs of The Wolf of Wall Street, whichBlowso plainly emulation throughout.

11. Party Monster (2003)

As depicted by Macaulay Culkin in this true-story film about the 1980s NYC rave scene, convicted killer Michael Alig is played by Culkin himself. After appearing on daytime talk shows likeThe Phil Donahue Show, Alig established a fantastic group of young partygoers known as the ‘Club Kids.’ James St. James, played by Seth Green in this 2003 cult hit, was also a key member of the group.

Andre “Angel” Melendez, a fellow ‘Club Kids’ member, was murdered and dismembered by Alig after he made a joke about the murder on television. Ketamine, a dissociative tranquilizer common amongst rave culture, is mentioned in the film for the first time.

10. Pineapple Express (2008)

Pineapple Express (2008)

Seth Rogen teams up with Judd Apatow and Adam Goldberg to develop this funny stoner comedy, which became an immediate cult-classic just by seeing its trailer!

Pineapple Express tells the story of process server Dale Denton (Rogen), a stoner who witnesses a murder with his half-baked drug dealer Saul and ends up in a pickle (James Franco).

As soon as they realize they’ve dropped a piece of the rare Pineapple Express marijuana strain at the scene of a murder, a drug lord (Gary Cole) and a crooked detective (Rosie Perez) are on their tail, the duo embark on an action-packed wild goose chase.

If you’re looking for the greatest stoner movie, go no farther than Pineapple Express.

9. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, based on Hunter S. Thompson’s critically acclaimed novel, stars Johnny Depp, who also starred in Blow, the inspiration for this list! Raoul Duke (Depp) and his Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro), drive through the Mojave Desert to cover a motorcycle race in Las Vegas.

Having spent his advance on a bag full of narcotics, Duke and his attorneys fall out of control as they search for the ‘American Dream,’ encountering police, hitchhikers, gamblers, and all sorts of bizarre individuals along the way. Psychedelics like LSD and mescaline are prominently featured in the film.

8. Thirteen (2003)

Thirteen (2003)

When Evan Rachel Wood was cast as Tracy Freeland, the honor student who falls into the wrong crowd, this frightening independent film gave her her breakout role. Tracy (Vanessa Hudgens) rejects her mother’s support and advise after being swayed by her popular and promiscuous classmate Evie Zamora (Nikki Reed) (Holly Hunter).

This leads Tracy to indulge in criminal behavior as well as drug addiction and unsafe sexual activities. Tracy and Evie’s huffing and punching each other after they were numb from Dust-Off startled viewers, who were just thirteen years old at the time. The movieatfifteen was co-written by Nikki Reed based on her own experiences and missteps.

7. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

With a no-holds-barred approach, Requiem For a Dream follows the lives of four heroin users who are entangled. Ellen Burstyn’s Ellen Goldfarb is a retired widow who spends her days watching a daytime talk show and relying on her diet pills to keep her sane. Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto) and Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) become increasingly dependent on heroin, as does Harry’s lover Marion (Marisa Tomei) (Jennifer Connelly).

Mrs. Goldfarb is eventually lobotomized in a mental institution and Marion’s sexual depravity is revealed in her desperate attempts to obtain drug money as the film swaps narratives between four different drug users. Requiem For a Dream performs a fantastic job of comparing illicit narcotics to prescribed medicines and demonstrating their eerily identical effects, even though movie is extremely melancholy.

6. Trainspotting (1996)

Trainspotting (1996)

Trainspotting, based on Irvine Welsh’s self-titled novel and one of the most well-known heroin-based flicks, is a perennial favorite. Renton (Ewan McGregor), the film’s protagonist, struggles to escape Edinburgh’s drug-infested streets.

With the influence of his drug-addicted buddies, Renton’s attempts at sobriety prove to be more difficult than originally thought. Trainspotting is a harsh, unfiltered depiction of the lives of addicts, and it will always be one of the most important drug pictures.

5. Enter the Void (2009)

Enter the Void is one of the less popular movies to make the cut, but it has a very interesting plot! Oscar (Nathaniel Brown), a heroin dealer who was shot dead by police in a Tokyo nightclub restroom, goes on a DMT trip with his sister Linda (Paz de la Huerta), a former dancer who now works as a prostitute.

Oscar’s journey into “the void” reveals how this pair of siblings found themselves in Tokyo’s dark night scene, giving up the control he previously held over the city’s criminal underworld.

4. Spun (2002)

Brittany Murphy, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Schwartzman star in this underappreciated meth-centric drama. As depicted through the eyes of drug user Ross (Schwartzman),Spun depicts methamphetamine addiction in all its raw, unadulterated, and unflinching glory. Through his supplier, Spider Mike (John Leguizamo), Nikki Murphy (Murphy) introduces Ross to her meth-chemist boyfriend, “The Cook” (Rourke).

For example, there are sequences in Spun where a stripper is shackled to Ross’ bed and her lips is taped shut with duct tape (after which she is forgotten for three days), and Mena Suvari plays Spider Mike’s psychotic girlfriend Cookie.

3. Kids (1995)

Kids (1995)

Harmony Korine’s cult masterpiece, Kidsis, is often referred to as a cautionary tale in reference to the film Spring Breakers (2012) and Gummo (1997). After starring in Kids, Chloe Sevigny and Rosario Dawson both went on to have successful careers. The film depicts a typical day in the life of a group of teenage skateboarders in New York City, where they smoke, beat up a rival skater, and de-flower virgins.

When Chloe Sevigny’s character Jennie takes a random pill from a raver who claims the substance will “make Special K look feeble,” the film’s most notable drug use is depicted. The MPAA gave Kids an NC-17 classification, which was eventually withdrawn.

2. Limitless (2011)

Flowers for Algernon fans will be delighted by Limitless. He begins to lose control of himself after taking an unknown, allegedly cure-all tablet called NZT (Bradley Cooper), which activates 100% of the user’s brain capacity. He begins to need more and more of the power-drug in order to fulfill his newfound potential.

Limitless highlights the idea that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side through Eddie’s downward spiral and full misdirection from his original objective.

1. A Scanner Darkly (2006)

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

A Scanner Darkly featuresinterpolatedrotoscope, an animation technique in which animators trace over live-action video, enhancing the film’s occultism.

Bob Arctor (Reeves) is an undercover agent in a dystopian, totalitarian country that has lost the war on drugs. He begins using ‘Substance D’, the debilitating new psychedelic, and loses touch with reality.