What was the first movie to feature drug use?
These days, it’s not uncommon to see characters snorting or smoking on screen, with everything from marijuana to heroin finding its place in genres ranging from crime to comedy. Yet, the history of drugs within cinema is long and complex, and it took a long time for depictions of characters doing drugs to reach the mainstream.
Early morality films made people aware of the dangers of drug use, although these cautionary tales were often rather sanctimonious and conservative. As cinema progressed, filmmakers started to take a more complex and nuanced look at drug use, with movies like 1955’s The Man with the Golden Arm exploring the brutal effects of addiction.
The Hays Code was rigorously enforced in Hollywood between 1934 and 1968, meaning mainstream filmmakers were subsequently banned from showing anything taboo or transgressive, which included drug use. Thus, movies made during this time would have to allude to drug use in less covert ways if necessary. However, once it was abolished, certain genres, such as crime films, began to mention and show drug use more widely.
Due to the restrictions placed on Hollywood films, indie movies were more likely to show drug use, and in the ‘60s, there was a trend of counter-cultural films that centred around acid trips, such as the aptly titled The Trip and Psych-Out. These psychedelic films tapped into the youth culture of the era when taking acid was incredibly popular. A movie from this period, Easy Rider, became a hit, and it featured a notable scene in which the characters all drop acid and experience a harrowing trip in a graveyard.
In the decades since the acid-loving hippie era, we’ve seen drugs appear in countless popular films, like Scarface, Blow, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Pulp Fiction. Movies with narratives centring around the devastating effects of drug use, such as Christiane F, and Requiem for a Dream, have also become common.
But what was the first movie to actually show drug use?
It is widely believed that Reefer Madness was potentially the earliest movie to show drug use. Released in 1936 as a cautionary tale against the use of cannabis (financed by a religious organisation), it featured images of the characters smoking the drug, which was against the Hays Code guideline. However, the movie, directed by Louis J Gasnier, got away with it because it was intended to be a cautionary tale against the use of drugs.
It’s a terrible film, however, most people that watch the movie these days are aware of its preachy message and enjoy its campiness. The movie is ridiculous, suggesting that using cannabis can lead to bizarre hallucinations and even murder.
Reefer Madness was transformed into an exploitation film after its release, but it remains an iconic piece of film history. There is so much wrong with it, but many people find themselves coming back to the movie—the fact that it gained popularity as a midnight movie alongside titles by the likes of John Waters says it all.
