30 MOVIES ABOUT MARIJUANA AND ITS EFFECTS - ARTE - 2025

Watching movies about marijuana is one of the best ways to learn about the effects and implications of cannabis. Marijuana use is increasing more and more among young people, in countries whose prevalence of consumption is 10% or more of the population.

This increase is accompanied by an interest in researching about it: what does it feel like under the influence of marijuana? What consequences does its continued use have on people?

Many of the films that we present below are comedy and portray marijuana use as something fun that leads the characters on absurd adventures. Some fall within a subgenre called "stoner", which are comedy films whose central theme is cannabis.

Others of them are indirect criticisms embodied in a dramatic or action genre that highlight the dangers that this addiction can cause. Either way, you sure enjoy learning about marijuana and its effects from these 30 movies.

List of Recommended Movies About Marijuana

1- Super-smoked (2008)

Or Pineapple express as the original title, it's a David Gordon Green movie. It's about Dale Denton, a regular marijuana smoker court clerk. One day his camel sells him a special kind of herb that is only distributed by him called Pineapple Express.

The problems appear when Dale is smoking Pineapple Express and witnesses a murder by a drug dealer. Inadvertently and out of the urge to flee, he accidentally leaves the cigarette butt at the scene of the crime.

Dale, afraid of being tracked, flees with his camel. Thus, two assassins sent by the drug trafficker begin to pursue him, from whom they will try to escape anyway.

2- Easy Rider (1969)

Directed by Dennis Hopper, it tells the story of two Los Angeles motorists traveling through the southwestern United States selling cocaine. Your goal is to get to the Mardi Gras carnival. During their trip they experience interesting adventures, meeting quirky characters.

It reflects the problems of the United States during the 60s, associated with the beginning and fall of the hippie movement, the communes and drug abuse. In addition, real drugs were used in the scenes, showing the use of marijuana.

3- American Beauty (1999)

Directed by Sam Mendes, this famous film deals with various themes that will not leave you indifferent. One of them is the use of marijuana. Lester Burnham, the protagonist, is a married man bored with his job and his marriage.

His life turns upside down when he meets his daughter's beautiful young friend, and tries to win her over. To do this, she begins to exercise and lift weights at the same time that she begins to use marijuana.

4- Blow or Inhale (2001)

In this film directed by Ted Demme, its main theme is the trafficking of cannabis and other drugs. It is based on real events and is based on the book "Blow: How a Boy from a Small Town Made $ 100 Million with the Medellin Cartel and How She Lost Everything" by Bruce Porter.

As you can guess, it captures the story of a man who became a billionaire (played by Johnny Depp) through drug trafficking. Starting on the beaches of California selling marijuana and going to work for Pablo Escobar selling cocaine.

5- Kid Cannabis (2014) by John Stockwell

Also based on real events, it tells the story of an 18-year-old young man who, together with a friend, begins to sell marijuana between Idaho and the Canadian border. They end up making huge amounts of money, which will change their lives forever.

6- The big Lebowski or The big Lebowski (1998)

It is a fun Joel Coen movie about a clueless and lazy bowler known as "The Dude" ("The Note").

He spends the day smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, until one day his routine breaks when some thugs mistake him for a millionaire named after him and enter his house to beat him and threaten him, with the reason that he pays his debts.

Jeffrey Lebowski tries to clarify the situation, although in the end he cannot help but find himself involved, getting into the most absurd and unexpected problems.

7- How high or “good roll” (2001)

It is a comedy film directed by Jesse Dylan. It is about a healer who remedies all diseases with medicinal herbs named Silas. His friend Ivory always insists that Silas study medicine and dedicate himself seriously to that. One day, Ivory dies in an accident and Silas decides to comply with his request to take the entrance exams at Harvard.

There he befriends another boy, Jamal, with whom he befriends. Everything changes when one day, a marijuana plant comes out of Ivory's ashes and the boys decide to smoke it. They discover that marijuana that makes them super smart.

However, the difficulties begin when the plant disappears and they have to survive in college.

8- Half freaked out or Half Baked (1998)

Directed by Tamra Davis, this hilarious and absurd film is about four friends who spend their days at home high. One of them accidentally kills a NYPD horse for gorging it on junk food, unaware that it was diabetic. Therefore, they arrest him and send him to jail.

The only way out is for them to post a $ 100,000 bond, so their friends will try to get the money anyway. So they start stealing marijuana from a pharmaceutical laboratory, in order to sell it and get their friend out of jail.

9- Friday or everything on a Friday (1995)

Directed by F. Gary Gray, it is a comedy starring Ice Cube (Craig) and Chris Tucker (Smokey). Craig has been fired from work for an alleged robbery, so his plan for Friday is to spend the day smoking marijuana with his friend Smokey.

However, everything gets complicated when Deebo, the dangerous man from the neighborhood, appears who asks them to rob the neighbor's house. To top it off, Big Worm, the dealer Smokey works for, shows up to collect his money. What is not expected is that Smokey has smoked all the marijuana that he should have sold.

10- Dazed and Confused or Movida del 76 (1993)

Its director is Richard Linklater and it reflects the adventures of some high school students on their last day of class, set in 1976. It deals specifically with a wild party full of beer, marijuana and hazing; capturing the experiences and ways of thinking of the young people of that time.

Despite looking typical and straightforward, it is considered a cult film and has very positive reviews.

11- Grandma's Boy (2006) or Play Boy: the king of command

This film directed by Nicholaus Goossen, tells the experiences of Alex, a 35-year-old man who works testing video games. It all starts when he runs out of a flat as his partner spends the rent money on “masseurs”, so he has to settle in with his grandmother.

Two other old friends live there, but the protagonist, in order to appear a winner, tells his co-workers that he lives with three young and very attractive girls.

What Alex is not expecting is that his grandmother and her friends join the parties and any adventure that lies ahead.

12- Up in Smoke or Como smoke se va (1978)

It's a crazy comedy directed by Lou Adler and Tommy Chong, a typical “stoner” movie. It is about two marijuana smokers who have a music group and who continue to live with their parents since they do not have a job.

Parents, tired, give them an ultimatum: either start work or send them to the army. For this, they get into the van and try to look for work. However, the secret police follow them and discover that they are driving under the influence of marijuana, so they are arrested.

Everything is becoming more and more absurd when they arrive at the court and discover that the judge has alcohol in his glass instead of water, so they decide to release them. This is just the beginning of more and more crazy adventures.

13- Cannabis (1970)

It is a French action film whose director is Pierre Koralnik. It is about Serge, a murderer belonging to the mafia who travels to Paris to carry out a job. But they unexpectedly betray him and try to take his life, being badly injured.

A woman he met on the trip takes care of him, until his friend from the mob arrives to help him and they devise a plan to get revenge.

14- Reefer Madness or Madness for cannabis (1936)

This film also known as "Tell Your Children", was directed by Louis J. Gasnier and reflects the use of marijuana and its effects.

It is located in the crisis of 1929, which was characterized by a strong economic and social depression that produced high levels of unemployment. Therefore, crime and social rejection began to grow.

It was created with the mission of making people aware of the danger of using marijuana through the history of a group of young people who sink into misery and end up committing all kinds of crimes because of cannabis addiction.

15- Own harvest or Homegrown (1998)

Directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, it is about three marijuana growers (Jack, Carter and Harlan) who work for a strange man named Malcolm. One day, he turns up dead and they have no choice but to take care of the sale of the material themselves.

However, everything is more complicated than they thought. The mafia is looking for them and, as if that were not enough, they are also consumers. Stress and fear make them smoke the crop, leaving little to sell.

16- High School (2010)

The director of this film, John Stalberg, tells the story of a group of high school youth who are habitual marijuana users.

It all begins when the director of the institute suspects that there is an increase in drug use in the center, so he decides to carry out a drug test on all students.

Two of the students, who are afraid to stand out from the rest because they know they will test positive, decide to drug all the high school students with marijuana cakes, so that it appears in the tests that all have consumed. The adventures continue when they have to find a camel that supplies them with so much material.

17- Smiley Face (2007)

Gregg Araki directs this movie, which is about an actress named Jane whose life takes a stormy turn for eating all of her roommate's cakes, unaware that they were carrying marijuana.

Under the influence of the drug, Jane tries to control herself, but ends up confusing things more and more.

18- Dos colgaos muy fumaos or Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (2004)

It is a crazy comedy by Danny Leiner, highly rated by critics, whose plot revolves around two characters, Harold and Kumar. Their fondness for smoking marijuana leads them to experience different catastrophes.

The adventures begin when they both meet to smoke marijuana and thanks to a television commercial, they decide to go to eat at a fast food restaurant called White Castle.

19- Twelve (2010)

Joel Schumacher directed this teen drama that chronicles a student's vacation. They are young people with a lot of money and free time who live life as they want. In that time, a new drug called Twelve emerges, a mixture of cocaine and ecstasy that becomes a favorite of rich teenagers.

The protagonist, named Mike, drops out of school to be a camel. His life is not easy, he has to face the death of his mother and try to get closer to Molly, the girl he is in love with. In addition, his cousin is murdered and the police believe that his best friend has something to do with it.

20- Saving Grace or the garden of joy (2000)

Nigel Cole directed this film that deals with the life of Grace, an English woman who, after becoming a widow, inherits the large amount of debts that her husband had.

The woman does not know how to pay so much money, so she makes the decision to replace her orchid greenhouse with a marijuana plantation in order to get money. For this, the people are going to stand on her side and help her in the cultivation.

21- Midnight Express or The Midnight Express (1978)

It is a valued Alan Parker film that has won several awards. It is based on a true story, that of Billy Hayes, a young drug dealer with a hectic life.

It all begins when the protagonist is discovered at the Istanbul airport with various packages of hashish hidden in his body.

In Turkey it is considered one of the most serious crimes, so they take him to jail where he will have to spend 4 years. There he will discover a tortuous and inhuman world that will make him go crazy and from which he will try to escape as he may.

22- Human Traffic or Ecstasy Generation (1999)

The protagonists of this Justin Kerrigan film are five individuals (Jip, Lulu, Koop, Nina and Moff) who during the week are immersed in their work and routine. But when the weekend arrives, they disconnect using parties and drugs.

They reflect madness, love, jealousy and substance use in a search for meaning in their lives.

23- Growing op (2008)

It is a film directed by Michael Melski, set in an average American neighborhood. It captures the experiences of a teenager from the suburbs who has to adjust to living with his family in a house full of marijuana plants.

The Dawsons are a peculiar family, who have always lived in isolation and grow cannabis, so they do not fit in with the ideal family in the neighborhood. The protagonist, named Quinn, wants to lead a normal life and get closer to his new neighbor, the girl he likes.

24- Hillbilly Highway (2012)

Coke Daniels directs this tale of two brothers, Earl and Ray Ray. Since they are fond of smoking marijuana, they set out on a road trip in Kentucky that they believe will lead to "marijuana nirvana."

Along the way, they will experience intense adventures. They even decide to break into a marijuana crop and steal everything they can. However, they will not be cautious enough and the owners will not take long to notice.

25- Marijuana (1936)

It is a film of “exploitation fiction” by Dwain Esper whose protagonist, called Burma, attends a beach party with her boyfriend. There she ends up smoking marijuana with other women, and they lose control. One of the girls, under the influence of drugs, drowns in the sea trying to bathe, while Burma becomes pregnant.

She and her boyfriend have no choice but to get married and have the baby, and for this they must raise money. So they start working for a drug dealer, which leads to difficulties that they may not be able to overcome.

26- Humboldt County (2008)

It tells the story of Peter Hadley, a dissatisfied medical student who one summer meets a hippie community in Northern California where they grow marijuana.

There he begins to know himself and to experience that his life begins to make sense.

27- The Wackness or Madness of life (2008)

It is an American drama directed by Jonathan Levine, it tells the story of a young and misfit marijuana dealer named Luke.

To feel better, he swaps marijuana for therapy sessions with a psychiatrist who is tired of his life. Finally, the two get together in summer and start a tour around the city trying to find different and enriching experiences for their lives.

28- This Is The End or Party Until the End (2013)

It's a grotesque comedy movie by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. One of the protagonists decides to have a party to open his new house. The problem is that they get caught up in a series of strange events, which they soon discover that it is the end of the world.

The apocalypse has arrived and everything is being destroyed outside, endangering the friendly relations that existed between them.

29- Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

It's a fun comedy by Kevin Smith, whose stars Jay and Silent Bob find out that their friend Banky has gone to Hollywood to produce a movie based on themselves.

The boys, surprised by stealing their stories, see only one alternative: traveling to Hollywood to sabotage the production of the film.

30- Super High Me (2007) by Michael Blieden

In this case, it is not a film, but a documentary, but if you are interested in the subject of marijuana and its effects, it is essential that you see.

Specifically, we see comedian Doug Benson continuously using cannabis for 30 days. Doug takes a series of tests before and after that use.

In addition, there are interesting interviews with activists who defend the use of marijuana, politicians and patients who use medical marijuana.