Smoking a bowl and enjoying some science fiction is a longstanding tradition for many. However, the federal government has a tradition of finding the plant illegal. This may be why there is currently only a handful of cannabis references in sci-fi movies, books, and television.
Many science fiction writers and creators build a mind-altering substance into their world, but not all of them equate to weed. Frankly, some of them aren’t related to any drug on Earth. Either way, let’s hash out the most relevant weed and drug references in science fiction.
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Lost
The long-running ABC series Lost followed plane crash survivors after they woke up on a deserted island. As each season aired, societies formed, like the commune in the episode “Further Instructions.” This ep features the only mention of weed in the series. The plant is grown on the naturalist commune and sold for profit.
Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
Many stoners identify with hobbits, a race of people from Tolkien’s Middle Earth who love to indulge in fine food and wine, delight in parties, and keep cozy homes. Hobbits also smoke pipeweed, which many pontificate could be cannabis. Unfortunately for those who like the idea of stoned halflings, Tolkien himself stated that pipeweed is a tobacco reference. Womp, womp.
A Scanner Darkly
Philip K. Dick’s novel A Scanner Darkly, which later became an animated film starring Keanu Reeves, introduced the world to Substance D. Also known as Death, D, or Slow Death, it is a powerful psychoactive drug that propels the main character into a dark set of circumstances. This drug has been listed as a completely fictional compound created by the author from bits and pieces of other substances.
Star Trek
There are a few weed references in the long-running science fiction series Star Trek and even more in the newer animated series Star Trek Lower Decks. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which aired in 1991, Scotty refers to an intoxicant as “green stuff,” and many assumed that meant cannabis. The series has also long focused on vaping over smoking tobacco, going as far as calling smoking “stupid.”
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In season three, episode four of Star Trek Generations throws dialogue around about cannabis and pot, triggering Reddit threads about the growing Star Trek universe. Lower Decks is more direct, making jokes about the cannabis industry and specific cultivars.
Futurama
Stoners often agree that the animated comedy Futurama is a worth a giggle. The show nodded to its fanbase in episode seven of season seven, T. Terrestrial. As usual, the crew of the delivery ship gets into a hijinx, and this time it’s weed-themed. On a mission for the Professor, they are instructed to cultivate a special medicinal herb that turns out to be Omicronian Marijuana.
The Expanse
The Expanse casually mentions various drugs throughout the series and novel, cannabis included. Beltalɒda is a race of people who smoke weed in the books, and the show features words that are said to refer to weed. This series is no stranger to drug references, so it’s no surprise weed is among them.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Science fiction literature is no stranger to conceptualizing the impact of drugs and mind-altering compounds. In Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, citizens are given the drug soma. The novel describes soma as a “hangoverless tranquilizer.” Some posit it is an opiate, but heavy cannabis consumers may have some truth in soma as a pot reference. The substance makes people feel good, gives a sense of timelessness, and, if enough is taken, creates happy hallucinations.
Science fiction: no stranger to weed
There are eons of drug references in science fiction media. From books to the big screen, sci-fi writers have imagined worlds with drugs known on this planet and ones that exist solely in the imaginary universe they create. Either way, it is interesting to imagine how those substances might impact the world as we know it–unless they already are.
