Awesome Drugs

Drug usage is frequently depicted in movies and TV shows, but actors obviously aren’t really snorting coke or shooting up heroin. Insider spent some time with prop master Joel Barkow to learn about the creative techniques involved in making realistic-looking fake drugs that are safe for actors to handle and even ingest.

Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, Peter Sarsgaard, and Michael Stuhlbarg star in this drama about America’s opioid crisis. It explores the early promises of OxyContin, the massive lies told by its makers, and the tragic impact that the highly addictive pharmaceutical has had on millions. The mini-series premieres 10.13.2021 on Hulu.

(PG-13) After much protesting, a man gives in to peer pressure and snorts cocaine at a cocktail party. But his friends had no idea just how much of a coke fiend the guy was. Ace Norton’s short film goes off the deep end quickly as its protagonist turns into a human vacuum cleaner.

We don’t think there’s any way to accurately depict hallucinations, but filmmakers have tried for years to give us an idea, and thanks to CGI, we’re getting some really trippy effects on screen. Film Qualia explores how psychedelic imagery has made it into mainstream films.

(PG-13: Language) Not to make light of people with serious mental health issues, CollegeHumor pokes fun at modern mankind’s tendency to rely on pills to fix even the most mundane of problems that virtually all of us face on a daily basis.