Although marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug and not considered a big deal for college students, getting caught with it is still a very big deal and the repercussions are taken seriously. I saw “Pineapple Express” last night and began to think about how Hollywood portrays the use of weed and the life of a pot head.
“Pineapple Express” is one of the few movies that actually does show some of the consequences of using marijuana, but not in a legal sense – in a getting caught with drug lords sense. So really, it’s still a very unrealistic result of getting in trouble for weed.
Here is the trailer for “Pineapple Express”:
Pot is a familiar drug used in the media. “Cheech and Chong” are arguably the original pot heads that found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their stand-up routines, which were based on the era’s hippie, free love, and especially drug culture movements. They were hilariously stoned all the time and people found it very entertaining, and most likely intrigued by the drug.
Cheech and Chong
Since then there have been tons of stoner films, but the few I have seen definitely portray pot as harmless and fun. Recently, there have been “Half Baked,” “Knocked Up,” “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” and “Pineapple Express” all of which contain a ton of weed and many high adventures.
Half Baked
Knocked Up
Harold and Kumar
“That 70’s Show” doesn’t blatantly talk about weed, but the high school kids are shown sitting around a smokey table acting dopey and stoned in many episodes. This show obviously portrays a different era, however it is still a popular show among high school and middle schoolers.
That 70's Show
“Weeds” is another popular show about a housewife who becomes a dealer in her suburban town. This show is intended for adults, and show many adult professionals smoking pot all the time – making it clear that it’s not only used by high school kids. Nancy, the pot-dealing mom, begins to make quite the living selling drugs, glamorizing the life.
Weeds
media darling 