Drug films are films that depict either illicit drug distribution or drug use, whether as a major theme, such as by centering the film around drug subculture or by depicting it in a few memorable scenes. Drug cinema ranges from gritty social realism depictions to the utterly surreal depictions in art film and experimental film.

Some filmmakers create unabashedly pro- or anti-drug works, while others are less judgmental, allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions. Drugs commonly shown in such films include cocaine, heroin and other opioids, LSD, cannabis (see stoner film) and methamphetamine.

There is extensive overlap with crime films, which sometimes treat drugs as plot devices to keep the action moving.

The following is a partial list of drug films and the substances involved.

0–9

  • 1. Mai – Helden bei der Arbeit (2008) – MDMA
  • 10 to Midnight (1983) – cannabis
  • 21 Grams (2003) – cocaine
  • 21 Jump Street (2012) – HFS (a fictional drug), cannabis
  • 22 Jump Street (2014) – WHYPHY (a fictional drug)
  • 24 Hour Party People (2002) – MDMA, cocaine, heroin, methadone, cannabis, and a mention of the large amount of crack cocaine in Barbados
  • 25th Hour (2002) – heroin, MDMA
  • 28 Days (2000) – prescription drugs, heroin, and alcohol
  • 28 Days Later (2002) – prescription drugs, including Valium
  • 30 Minutes or Less (2011) – cannabis
  • The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) – cannabis
  • 50/50 (2011) – cannabis
  • The 51st State (2001) – POS 51 (a fictional drug); mentions cocaine, LSD, and MDMA
  • 54 (1998) – cannabis, cocaine, MDMA, and quaaludes
  • The Astrid Experience (2023) – MDMA and unspecified drugs
  • At Close Range (1986) – cannabis, pills, amphetamines
  • Atlantic City (1980) – cocaine
  • Attack the Block (2011) – cannabis, crack/cocaine
  • Attack of the Meth Gator (2023) - methamphetamine
  • Avenging Disco Godfather (1979) – PCP
  • Awakening of the Beast (1970, aka O Ritual dos Sádicos and O Despertar da Besta) – LSD
  • Awaydays (2009) – cocaine, cannabis, and heroin

B

  • Babel (2006) – MDMA and opium
  • Bad Batch (2010) – cannabis, cocaine
  • Bad Boys (1995) – heroin
  • Bad Boys II (2003) – MDMA and heroin
  • Bad Lieutenant (1992) – crack, cocaine, heroin and cannabis
  • Bad Moms (2016) – cannabis
  • Bad Santa 2 (2016) - Rohypnol
  • Bad Teacher (2011) – cannabis, ecstasy, GHB
  • The Ballad of Little Jo (1993) – opium
  • Bang Boom Bang (1999) – cannabis
  • Bangkok Hilton (1989) – heroin
  • Basic Instinct (1992) – cocaine
  • The Basketball Diaries (1995) – heroin, cocaine, cannabis, solvents and various pills
  • The Batman (2022) - fictional drug known as "drops"
  • Batman Begins (2005) – a fictional hallucinogenic gas
  • ' (2001) – cocaine, MDMA, cannabis
  • The Beach (2000) – cannabis, psychedelic mushrooms, stimulants
  • The Beach Girls (1982) – cannabis, unidentified pills
  • Beautiful Boy (2018) – cannabis, crystal meth, heroin, alcohol
  • Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996) – peyote
  • Boyhood (2014) – cannabis
  • Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996) – fictional drug GLeeMONEX
  • The Breakfast Club (1985) – cannabis
  • Brick (2006) – heroin
  • Bride of Chucky (1998) - cannabis
  • Bright Lights, Big City (1988) – cocaine
  • Britannia Hospital (1982) – psilocybin mushrooms
  • Brokedown Palace (1999) – heroin
  • Broken (2007) – heroin
  • Broken Vessels (1999) – heroin, methamphetamine
  • A Bucket of Blood (1959) – heroin
  • Buffalo Soldiers (2001) – heroin, MDMA
  • Bug (2006) – methamphetamine, cannabis
  • A Bug and a Bag of Weed (2006) – cannabis, hashish
  • Bullet (1996) – heroin
  • Bully (2001) – cannabis, LSD, methamphetamine
  • The Business (2005) – cannabis, MDMA, cocaine

C

  • Caddyshack (1980) – cannabis
  • Candy (2006) – heroin, cannabis
  • Candy Stripe Nurses (1974) – cannabis, amphetamines
  • Carlito's Way: Rise to Power (2005) – heroin
  • Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990 TV special) – cannabis, crack
  • Cash Crop (2003) – cannabis
  • Casino (1995) – cocaine, heroin, painkillers
  • Cass (2008) – cannabis
  • Caveman (1981) – fictional hallucinogenic berries
  • Cecil B. Demented (2000) – heroin
  • Chappaqua (1966) – peyote, heroin
  • Charlie Bartlett (2008) – prescription pills (klonopin, prozac, ritalin, wellbutrin, xanax and zoloft)
  • Cheech & Chong's various films feature drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, LSD, peyote, various pills and Ajax (comedy). They include:
  • Up in Smoke (1978)
  • Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) – cannabis
  • The French Connection (1971) – heroin, cocaine
  • French Connection II (1975) – heroin
  • Fresh (1994) – cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin
  • Friday (1995) – cannabis, PCP
  • Friday After Next (2002) – cannabis
  • Friday the 13th film series (1980–2009) – cannabis is smoked in most of the films
  • Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) – cocaine, heroin
  • Friend of the World (2020) – a fictional hallucinogenic drug
  • Fringe series – LSD, unidentified psychoactive drugs
  • Fritz the Cat (1972) – cannabis, heroin
  • From Hell (2001) – opium, laudanum, absinthe
  • From Paris with Love (2010) – cocaine, possibly heroin

G

  • Gambling, Gods and LSD (2002) – crack, cocaine, LSD
  • Gangster Exchange (2011) – cannabis, MDMA, LSD, crack, heroin
  • Garden State (2004) – cocaine, MDMA, marijuana, nitrous oxide
  • Georgia (1995) – heroin
  • Get Him to the Greek (2010) – cannabis, absinthe, heroin, "Jeffrey", cocaine, adrenaline
  • Get Out and Get Under (1920) – cocaine
  • Get Rich or Die Tryin (2005) – crack, cannabis, morphine
  • Ghost in the Shell (2017) – cannabis
  • Gia (1998) – heroin, cocaine
  • Gift (1993)
  • A Hatful of Rain (1957) – morphine
  • Havoc (2005) – cocaine, crack
  • Head (1968) – cannabis, LSD
  • Head, Heart and Balls... or Why I Gave Up Smoking Pot (2007) – cannabis
  • Head On (1998) - methamphetamine, cannabis
  • Heavy Metal (1981) – fictional drug "Nyborg" (parody of cocaine)
  • The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004) – methamphetamine
  • Hells Angels on Wheels (1967) – cannabis, amphetamines
  • Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea (2023) – bath salts
  • High Art (1998) – heroin
  • Humboldt County (2008) – cannabis
  • Hunt to Kill (2010) – methamphetamine
  • Hurlyburly (1998) – cannabis, cocaine, diazepam
  • Hustle & Flow (2005) – cannabis
  • Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003) – heroin

I

  • ICE- Hawaii's Crystal Meth Epidemic (2005) - History of methamphetamine from WWII to the shores of Waikiki
  • I Come in Peace (1990) – heroin and Barsi (fictional drug manufactured by extraterrestrial technology)
  • I Got the Hook Up (1998) – cannabis, cocaine and LSD
  • I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968) – cannabis brownies
  • I Love You Phillip Morris (2010) – heroin
  • Idle Hands (1999) – cannabis
  • If Drugs Were Legal (2009) – cannabis, cocaine, crack, ketamine, heroin, MDMA, LSD, amphetamines (and fictional drugs, including "dexclorazole," which mimics the effects of fluoxetine but on a much larger scale; and "xp25," which stimulates the serotonin neurotransmitters in the brain but causes sudden heart attack)
  • Igby Goes Down (2002) – heroin, cannabis
  • Ill manors (2012) – crack, cannabis
  • Illtown (1998)
  • Mean Streets (1973) – heroin
  • The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009) – steroids, LSD, cannabis, amphetamine
  • Menace II Society (1993) – crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis
  • Miami Vice (2006) – cocaine
  • Middle Men (2009) – cocaine, barbiturates
  • Midnight Cowboy (1969) – marijuana, unspecified hallucinogenic pills
  • Midnight Express (1978) – hashish, codeine, LSD and cannabis, references to heroin
  • Midsommar (2019) – psilocybin mushrooms
  • A Midsummer Night's Rave (2002) – MDMA, cocaine
  • Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) – cannabis, MDMA
  • Minority Report (2002) – fictional psychoactive drug "Clarity"
  • Missing Link (1988) – unidentified plant
  • Modern Times (1936) – cocaine
  • Mondo Mod (1967) – cannabis
  • Moneyz (2009) – cannabis, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, LSD
  • Monkey on My Back (1957) – morphine
  • Monos (2019) – psilocybin
  • More (1969) – cannabis, heroin, absinthe, Dexamyl (amphetamine-barbiturate), LSD, and a homemade concoction made from cannabis (resin), benzedrine, "red ibogaine", nutmeg and banana peel
  • Morfiy (2008) – morphine
  • Morning Patrol (1987) – alcohol
  • Death Walks at Midnight (1972) – LSD
  • Most High (2006) – cocaine and methamphetamine
  • Mouth to Mouth (2005) – cannabis, many other drugs
  • Mr. Nice (2010) – marijuana, hashish
  • Munje! (2001) – cannabis
  • My Name Ain't Johnny (2008) cannabis, mainly cocaine
  • My Own Private Idaho (1991) – cocaine
  • Mysterious Skin (2004) – cocaine
  • The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916) – cocaine, opium

N

  • The Naked Gun (1988) – heroin
  • Naked Lunch (1991) – heroin, cannabis, opiates, fictional hallucinogenic bug powder
  • A Name for Evil (1973) – LSD
  • Narc (2002) – heroin, cannabis and possibly cocaine

P

  • The Pace That Kills (aka Cocaine Fiends) (1935) – cocaine
  • Paid in Full (2002) – cocaine, crack and cannabis
  • Pain & Gain (2013) – cocaine, ecstasy, Xylazine
  • The Palermo Connection (1991) – all drugs are referred to
  • The Panic in Needle Park (1971) – heroin
  • Pandemic in a Pandemic (2021) - Post Covid rise in mental health issues and substance abuse
  • Papillon (1973) – cocaine (coca leaves)
  • Parked (2010) – heroin and cannabis
  • Party Monster (2003) – crack/cocaine, heroin, MDMA, LSD, ketamine
  • Pathology (2008) – methamphetamine, nitrous oxide (laughing gas)
  • PCU (1994) – cannabis
  • Reefer Madness (2005 remake) – cannabis
  • Reeker (2005) – MDMA
  • Amants réguliers, Les (2005) – cannabis
  • Reindeer Spotting – Escape from Santaland (2010) – Subutex, amphetamine, heroin and cannabis
  • Remember the Daze (2007) – mushrooms, cannabis
  • Reno 911!: Miami (2007) – cocaine
  • Rent (2005) – heroin, cannabis
  • Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) – fictional drug "Zydrate," a powerful and highly-addictive painkiller and hallucinogenic, manufactured by GeneCo, for people undergoing surgery; "graverobbers" sell a cheap version of Zydrate on the black market extracted from the blood of the dead
  • Repo Man (1984) – cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines
  • Requiem for a Dream (2000) – heroin, cannabis, MDMA, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates
  • Return to Paradise (1998) – cannabis resin
  • Revenge of the Nerds (1984) – cannabis
  • Riding the Bullet (2004) – cannabis
  • Rich Kids (1979) – cocaine
  • Righteous Kill (2009) – cocaine
  • Riot on Sunset Strip (1967) – marijuana and LSD
  • Rise of the Footsoldier (2007) – steroids, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, MDMA, ketamine
  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) – fictional drug "ALZ-113"
  • Risky Business (1983) – cannabis
  • RoboCop (1987) – cocaine
  • RoboCop 2 (1990) – fictional drug "Nuke"
  • RocknRolla (2008) – cannabis, cocaine, heroin
  • Rockers (1978) – cannabis
  • Rolling (2007) – MDMA, cannabis
  • Rolling Kansas (2003) – cannabis
  • Romeo + Juliet (1996) – a substance that is similar to, or actually is MDMA, known as "Queen Mab"
  • The Rose (1979) – heroin, barbiturates
  • The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) – cannabis, cocaine, mescaline
  • Rube in an Opium Joint (1904) – opium; considered the oldest still existing motion picture to contain substance abuse
  • The Rules of Attraction (2002) – mushrooms, cocaine, LSD, methamphetamine, cannabis and MDMA
  • The Rum Diary (2011) – LSD
  • Run! Bitch Run! (2009) – cannabis, crack/cocaine
  • The Runaways (2010) – cocaine, MDMA, Quaaludes
  • Running with Scissors (2006) – prescription medications
  • Rush (1991) – heroin, tobacco, amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine

S

  • The Salton Sea (2002) – methamphetamine
  • Sample People (2000) – fictional drug "glow" and cocaine
  • Sausage Party (2016) – cannabis, bath salts
  • Savage Beach (1989) – heroin
  • Savages (2012) – cannabis, cocaine
  • Saving Grace (2000) – cannabis
  • A Scanner Darkly (2006) – cocaine, cannabis, methamphetamine, and "Substance D," a fictional psychoactive stimulant
  • Scarface (1983) – cocaine, heroin, Quaaludes
  • Scary Movie (2000) - cannabis
  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) – cannabis, mushrooms
  • Scrooged (1988) – marijuana and heroin
  • Secrets of Chinatown (1935) – opium
  • The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) – Haitian witch concoction containing scopolamine
  • The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) – cocaine
  • Sex and the City (2008) – marijuana
  • Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010) – cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine
  • Sexy Bitches (2005) – cannabis
  • The Sexy Killer (1976) – heroin
  • Shank (2010) – khat, cannabis
  • She Shoulda Said 'No'! (1949) – cannabis
  • Sherrybaby (2004) – heroin
  • Shot List (2009) – LSD, cocaine, cannabis
  • Shrink (2009) – cannabis, amphetamine, cocaine
  • Shrooms (2007) – magic mushrooms, cannabis
  • Siberia (1998) – cannabis, MDMA, amyl nitrate
  • Sid and Nancy (1986) – heroin, methadone, cannabis
  • Smokin' Aces (2007) – cocaine, ritalin
  • The Social Network (2010) – cocaine, cannabis
  • Something Weird (1967) – LSD
  • Sorted (2000) – heroin, MDMA, methamphetamine, pills
  • Sorry to Bother You (2018) – Cannabis, cocaine
  • Soul Plane (2004) – mushrooms, cannabis
  • Southwest Nine (2004) – LSD, MDMA, cannabis
  • Spring Break (1983) – marijuana
  • Spring Breakers (2013) – marijuana, crack/cocaine
  • Spun (2002) – ephedrine, methamphetamine
  • Stuck in Love" (2012)- cannabis, cocaine
  • The Student Nurses (1970) – LSD
  • The Substance: Albert Hofmann's LSD (2011) – LSD
  • Sugarhouse (2007) – cannabis, crack/cocaine
  • Summer of Sam (1999) – cocaine, cannabis
  • Sunset Strip (2000) – cannabis, cocaine, LSD, alcohol
  • The Sunshine Makers (2015) – LSD (about Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully)
  • Super Fly (1972) – cocaine, cannabis
  • Super High Me (2007) – cannabis
  • Super Troopers (2001) – cannabis, psychedelic mushrooms, LSD
  • Superbad (2007) – cocaine, cannabis
  • Surfer, Dude (2008) – cannabis
  • S.W.A.T.: Firefight (2011) – cannabis
  • Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) – amphetamine, cannabis (resin)
  • Sweet Nothing (1996) – crack cocaine
  • Synanon (1965) – heroin

T

  • Taking Off (1971) – cannabis
  • Taking Woodstock (2009) – cannabis, LSD
  • Taxi 3 (2003) – cannabis and cocaine
  • Ted (2012) – cannabis, psychedelic mushrooms and cocaine implicated
  • Ted 2 (2015) – cannabis and cocaine implicated
  • Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006) – cannabis, psychedelic mushrooms
  • Terminal Bliss (1992) – marijuana, cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine
  • Terrifier 2 (2022) - cocaine, MDMA
  • Thank You for Smoking (2006) – cigarettes, nicotine (patches)
  • That Was Then... This Is Now (1985) – unknown "colorful" pills (assumed LSD)
  • That's Your Funeral (1972) – cannabis
  • The Thing (1982) – cannabis
  • The Cannabis Diary (2022) – cannabis
  • Things We Lost in the Fire (2007) - heroin
  • Thirteen (2003) – inhalants ("Airduster"), LSD, cannabis, cocaine, various prescription drugs, MDMA (in the form of "Booty Juice")
  • Training Day (2001) – cannabis, crack cocaine, and PCP
  • Trainspotting (1996) – heroin, opium, MDMA, amphetamines, Valium, hashish, morphine, diamorphine, cyclizine, codeine, temazepam, nitrazepam, phenobarbitone, sodium amytal, dextropropoxyphene, methadone, nalbuphine, pethidine, pentazocine, buprenorphine, dextromoramide, chlormethiazole