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15 Hugely Popular Marijuana Movies

February 1, 2017 | by Staff

Marijuana and movies go together like peanut butter and jelly. Which, coincidentally, is something you may want to have on hand if you’re in the right mindset for these films. While marijuana had a long time in being accepted as an acceptable plot component in Hollywood, these films helped to break those barriers and introduce mainstream America to cannabis culture.

As a result these movies have played a role in the sweeping changes that have happened in marijuana’s legal status in recent years. Sit back, get your head right, and dive into this list of 15 hugely popular marijuana movies.

15. Half Baked

Maybe everyone’s first marijuana movie, Half Baked helped launch Dave Chappelle’s career. The movie features the story of three stoners who steal marijuana from a research facility in order to raise bail money for their friend who accidentally kills a police horse while on a munchie run. The movie has several classic lines and helped inspire a new generation of marijuana comedies.

14. Dazed and Confused

Dazed and Confused follows a group of students as they celebrate the start of summer vacation. Set in the 1970’s, the movie features a number of big name actors before they were stars, so if you want to see what Ben Affleck looked like pre-fame, this is the movie for you. It will also show you a simpler time, when parents didn’t know anything about marijuana and students made bongs in shop class.

13. Up in Smoke

The movie that launched it all, Up in Smoke is a Cheech and Chong classic and the first movie that centers on marijuana culture that achieved commercial success. Featuring Cheech and Chong, marijuana culture legends in their own right, as two hapless individuals driving a van made entirely of weed from Mexico to LA while unknowingly evading the police.

12. How High

A classic marijuana movie that features rappers and Wu Tang Clan members Method Man and Redman. They star as two students who lose an ambitious and intelligent friend to a fire, and then accidentally use his ashes to fertilize their cannabis plant. When they smoke the results they find that they gain their friends help and are able to get into Harvard. Once there worlds collide as Method and Red shake up Cambridge.

Method Man and Redman smoking and growing in How High // Photo Credit Quotesgram

11. Super High Me

Super High Me is a sort of parody of the documentary Super Size Me which was a scathing review of the fast food industry. In Super High Me comedian Doug Benson performs an experiment, undergoing a series of tests during 30 days without marijuana and then repeating them when getting high for 30 days. What results is an interesting insight into the ways that marijuana can affect people.

10. Pineapple Express

The smash hit of 2008, that helped bring Seth Rogan and James Franco super-stardom, Pineapple Express follows the story of a desk jockey and his pot dealer who need to escape from a hitman and corrupt police officer after seeing them commit a murder.

9. The Big Lebowski

We hope that the Dude does Abide this list! Jeff Bridges stars as a hapless bowling enthusiast who suffers from a case of mistaken identity. The movie received glowing reviews and the Dude users marijuana throughout the movie. It has given pop culture a number of memorable moments and lines. If someone tells you that they haven’t seen this yet but think they should make sure to tell them that they’re not wrong….

8. Friday

Featuring Ice Cube as well as Chris Tucker in his first starring role, Friday follows two unemployed smokers who must put together $200 for a drug dealer or risk the consequences. This movie helped launch Ice Cube’s career as a film star, and he has since gone on to perform in a number of other marijuana themed movies as well as branching out into other roles.

7. Super Troopers

Produced in 2001, Super Troopers was the first big head for the comedy troupe The Broken Lizard. The movie follows a group of Vermont State Troopers as they face budget cuts which threaten their jobs. The “staties” discover that the local police are corrupt and involved with the drug trade, but not before they face termination. A race against the clock to prove that they are the best law enforcement body in Vermont, as well as a ton of laughs, follows. Meow

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6. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle was released in 2004 and features actors Kal Penn and John Cho. Penn and Cho navigate their way through their lives, one at an office and another avoiding pressure from his parents to go to medical school. After smoking some marijuana the two decide to go to White Castle to satisfy their hunger, and hilarity ensues. A surprise role for Neil Patrick Harris helps make this movie into a timeless cannabis classic.

5. Grandma’s Boy

Grandma’s Boy tells the story of a video game tester and aspiring developer. The movie follows his quest to get his game noticed and put into production. However, due to some unfortunate events, he is living with his grandmother. He finds that his grandma is actually, well, pretty cool. The movie climaxes in an epic video game showdown between Grandma and the antagonist, a pretentious game developer.

4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Hunter S Thompson has long been a figure in cannabis culture. The movie version of his book of the same name only serves to do his legacy even greater justice. In the movie, Hunter, played by Johnny Depp, travels to Las Vegas to report on a race. However his professional standards are a bit different and, with the help of his lawyer and partner in crime, what emerges instead is a tale for the ages.

3. Ted

Ted is a product of Seth McFarlane, creator of the hit show Family Guy. It follows Mark Wahlberg as he struggles to get his life together, along with his best friend and constant companion, a living thinking teddy bear called Ted. Ted has a voracious appetite and sex drive, and in the movie Mark Wahlberg's girlfriend must come to terms with Mark’s lifestyle as well as his relationship with Ted.

Ted lighting up a bong in the movie Ted // Photo Credit Agony Booth

2. Knocked Up

Released in 2005, Knocked Up tells the story of the results of a one night stand that an aspiring journalist, played by Katherine Heigl, and a slacker who hopes to strike it rich on the internet, played by Seth Rogan. The two have to negotiate their new relationship as well as the new life they’ve created while learning about themselves and each other.

1. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Jay and Silent Bob are two of the biggest personalities in cannabis culture. The movie features the titular heroes as they attempt to wreck a movie that is based on them but gives them no credit or currency. They run into George Carlin as well as a number of other celebrities who make cameo appearances. In the end they want to get paid and stop the trash talk about them.