Global Ganja Report

Reefer Movie Madness: The Ultimate Stoner Film Guide (Abrams Books, 2010) by Shirley Halperin and Steve Bloom actually lives up to the title's audacious claim. It’s chock full of cool information about over 700 great movies in which marijuana appears, is part of the plot, or is in usage. Or even just movies that its fun to watch while under the influence! It's got great photos from each of the films, that really cause the book to come alive. They also include films with LSD, cocaine, crystal meth, heroin, ecstasy, mushroom, pills and of course, the most popular drugs of all—alcohol and cigarettes.

The book is divided into categories: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror, Action and Sports, Animated, Music and Documentaries. And there is the handy Reefer Movie Madness Key that allows you to see the elements of the film that make it stoner-worthy. The quality of the film is rated by the number of cannabis leaves that it receives. For example, Club Dread (2004), which has blunts, alcohol, ecstasy and nudity, receives only 2.5 out of 5 pot leaves, compared to Clerks (1994), which has blunts, alcohol and cigarette use, receives a score of 4 out of 5 cannabis leaves. One of my favorite films, Easy Rider (1969), which includes joints, pipes, alcohol, cigarettes, acid, cocaine and nudity, is rated the top score of 5 cannabis leaves.

Reefer Movie Madness gives excellent synopses of the films the authors list. Although more designed for browsing than actually looking up individual films (no index), this fun book is a definite requirement if you are a stoner and you love movies. It will get your mind going and keep you thoroughly entertained for hours.

Check out the book's official website.