Drug Films and Books

Best Movies on Substance Abuse in 1990s

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Drug Films and Books on October 16th, 2011

From the old classics to the movies on substance abuse in the 1980s, allow us to continue sharing the best movies that targeted substance abuse in its core in the 1990s.

Leaving Las Vegas by Mike Figgis, 1995

Leaving Las VegasNicolas Cage won an Academy Award after playing the lead role of screenwriter Ben Anderson who starts drinking after his wife and son left him. He moves to Las Vegas and decides to drink himself to death. He meets a prostitute played by Elisabeth Shue, moves in with her, and they both faced their problems in life.

Trainspotting by Danny Boyle, 1996

The film became controversial in countries such as the UK, Australia, and the United States as the debate on whether it promotes drug use or not ensued. The film focused on the lives of the members of a young Scottish group who used heroin as a means to escape from the harsh realities of their existence. Yet, in the end, they all discovered that drugs are not a solution to all the pain and loneliness in life.

Gridlock’d by Vondie Curtis-Hall, 1997

A film featuring the late Tupac Shakur together with Tim Roth; two addicts who decide to kick the habit after their close friend died on an overdose on her first use. They evade the law enforcement and other local criminals who are preventing them from getting the help they need from rehab facilities.

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Best Movies on Substance Abuse in 1980s

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Drug Films and Books on October 11th, 2011

From the old movies on substance abuse in the early decades, we now share some of the best movies dealing with substance abuse in the 1980s.

Altered States by Ken Russell, 1980

Altered StatesFeaturing William Hurt in his debut film as Edward Jessup, the movie Altered States is about a professor (Hurt) who gets entangled on his experiments in his continuous study about schizophrenia. He comes up with the ideas about “the other states of consciousness” which he tries to prove by getting into a flotation tank and injecting himself with his “mushroom cocktail” from Mexico. The film is based on John C. Lilly’s isolation tank studies under the influence of psychoactives like Ketamine and LSD.

The Boost by Harold Becker, 1988

Starring James Woods, the movie depicts the realistic downfall of a recreational drug user who eventually becomes a cocaine addict and loses his entire life. He brings his wife down with him, and lost his job and their home, not to mention the loss of their unborn child. It could be the first film to show crack smoking on the big screen.

Drugstore Cowboy by Gus Van Sant, 1989

Matt Dillon plays the role of Bob Hughes who belongs to a family of addicts. They travel across the US Pacific Northwest to rob pharmacies and hospitals in the 1970’s. Bob meets a defrocked priest and lectures him all about temptation, which made Bob decide to let go of his addiction and face the challenges of starting over with his life.

Altered States by Ken Russell, 1980

Featuring William Hurt in his debut film as Edward Jessup, the movie is about a professor (Hurt) who gets entangled on his experiments in his continuous study about schizophrenia. He comes up with the ideas about “the other states of consciousness” which he tries to prove by getting into a flotation tank and injecting himself with his “mushroom cocktail” from Mexico. The film is based on John C. Lilly’s isolation tank studies under the influence of psychoactives like Ketamine and LSD.

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Best Classic Movies About Substance Abuse

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Drug Addiction, Drug Films and Books, Marijuana Use and Abuse on October 9th, 2011

Substance abuse is not a new thing; it is actually an old concern. Proof of this is the existence of classic films with substance abuse as the main subject. Here are 3 of the best classic movies that dealt with the issue of substance abuse:

Days of Wine and RosesReefer Madness by Louis J. Gasnier, 1936

This film depicts the all-important values that parents must know and the dangers of using cannabis. The film was renamed “Tell Your Children” and in 1971, the National Organization for Marijuana Reform Laws bought it which they distributed in school campuses for college students and pot smokers to view and learn from.

The Man with the Golden Arm by Otto Preminger, 1955

Frank Sinatra stars as ex-con and card shark Frankie who struggles with his heroin addiction at the same time dealing with the needs of his wife on a wheelchair. The film became controversial and was released without the Motion Picture Association of America’s seal of approval.

Days of Wine and Roses by Blake Edwards, 1962

The film is about two ordinary Americans who succumb to alcohol in their quest to deal with their problems. The director himself pledged to become a non-drinker for a year and went into substance recovery after doing the film.

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Kendra Wilkinson on Drug Use and Party Girl Days

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Drug Films and Books on July 8th, 2010

At 25, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s former girlfriend Kendra Wilkinson seems to have everything that a woman her age would want. She is married to Philadelphia Eagle’s Hank Baskett and they have a son, Hank Jr., born in December.

Kendra WilkinsonLife, however, was not all sweet for Wilkinson, as shared in a feature on the New York Daily News. In her memoir Sliding into Home, Wilkinson shares how she began using drugs at the age of 13 and worked as a stripper. Wilkinson writes: “It’s an uphill battle, and while life is great… before I can talk about the best of times, I need to tell you about the worst.”

She recounted times when she felt suicidal and cut herself, and how, at one point, she checked herself into a mental hospital. Kendra shares, though, that despite the fact that she was a “bad girl” at one point, she had always known that she wanted to lead a different life. She shares: “I was a very good person doing it, but I was kind of embarrassed about it… It wasn’t me.”

The turning point in her life came when she had a near-death experience from a cocaine overdose. When she survived, she swore off using drugs and smoking, and went home. Another positive milestone came after Hugh Hefner hired him as a model for his birthday party at the Playboy Mansion – and asked her to be his girlfriend.

Of Hefner’s offer, she writes: “I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but something just felt right about it. Hef didn’t offer me money or tell me he was going to make me a star… He wasn’t trying to offer me anything other than him (and maybe a pretty cool home).”

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Entourage: It’s a Hollywood Life

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Drug Films and Books on June 27th, 2010

Entourage is an HBO comedy-drama series that gives viewers a glimpse into the life of young Hollywood – not that we are not able to do so on TMZ and E! It focuses on the rise to fame of young A-lister Vincent Chase, played by Adrian Grenier, and his posse from Queens in New York, and the life that they found themselves living a world away from home in Hollywood.

EntourageThe series was created by Doug Ellin and actor Mark Wahlberg is its executive producer. The premise for the series is actually based on Wahlberg’s life, and the characters around Vincent Chase are based on – and sometimes share names with – people around Mark Wahlberg. Entourage, according to Wahlberg, started out as an idea from his assistant who asked if he could film Wahlberg and his friends, saying that they were “hilarious”. Instead of coming up with yet another reality show, however, they wanted to take a more “satirical” approach to the Hollywood life and opted for a fictional series – and Entourage was born.

One cannot depict the Hollywood of today (or even yesterday, for that matter) without three things: sex, drugs and rock and roll. The series certainly has all three, with one subplot in the series being the fixation of the character Salvatore “Turtle” Assante, played by Jerry Ferrera, with marijuana. On the episode “The Dream Team”, the character Johnny “Drama” Chase, played by Kevin Dillon, enters the world of medical marijuana. He joins a medical marijuana club in order to score points with young fans by buying the club’s cap.

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The Circle in That ‘70s Show

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Drug Films and Books on June 26th, 2010

That ‘70s Show is an American sitcom that debuted on the FOX television network in 1998 and lasted for eight seasons. It focused on the lives of a group of teenagers who lived in the fictional town of Point Place in Wisconsin towards the end of the 1970s, specifically from May 17, 1976 until December 31, 1979.

Some of the things that the decade in its title was known for were incorporated into the storyline, such as the difficulties of dealing with recession, feminism, liberated sexual attitudes, and of course teenage drug abuse. And let us not forget a fixation for a certain movie series called Star Wars.

The CircleOne of the signature elements of the show is a scene dubbed as “The Circle.” In the scene all the teenaged main characters are seated in a circle and talking to each other; the setting is usually the character Eric Forman’s basement. The camera is usually spun in a circular direction, making a stop at each character when he or she speaks.

Although it is not obviously stated, the demeanor of the actors when they are in The Circle implies to the audience that the teenagers are under the influence of marijuana. One will notice smoke in the background and stoned facial expressions from the characters; a “drugged” feel is simulated for the audience through the use of an extreme wide-angle lens.

Despite having that scene as a signature element, the show is careful about visibly showing cannabis and paraphernalia for cannabis use. Characters hardly ever utter any term for marijuana except when accompanied by a negative connotation.

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