What do they use to stand in for marijuana in movies?

[occ]

That's right. You're watching a drug comedy (or any movie involving pot). You see characters smoking marijuana. Common sense tells us that they wouldn't *really* be smoking the stuff; however, on the other hand, the people who make these movies are often notorious potheads, so I wouldn't put it past them. What's the deal? Do they just burn (and inhale...ugh) a similar looking plant? Is it dried oregano? Do Hollywood prop departments stock faux marijuana as a matter of course? Or are these actors truly documenting their use of an illegal substance?

[pkbites]

If you go to your local book store or porn shop and pick up a copy of High Times magazine, you'll see ads for "legal smoking herbs" touted as "marijuana alternatives". "Looks. smells, and same effect as the real thing" the ads claim.
(Looks & smells yes, but several people have told me these things will make you dizzy at best, not stoned) So I would think when showing bags of dope movie producers probably use look alike herbs. As far as showing actors smoking a joint, they probably have good 'ol tobacco in there.

[neutron star]

I can't speak for all movies here, but I think I read somewhere that they were smoking real dope in Easy Rider.

I really wouldn't be surprised to find out that they smoke the real thing in some movies nowadays. After all, the penalty for possession of less than an ounce isn't much worse than a parking ticket in California these days, if I'm not mistaken.

[jb_farley]

pk, I believe you're right about Easy Rider. I remember reading stories about how bombed Nicholson and Hopper got between takes.

Friday, as well. Chris Tucker's eyes are mad red in a lot of the porch scenes.


(Act Five scene one, toke two, aaannndd ACTION)


jb

[longjohn]

Quote:

(Act Five scene one, toke two, aaannndd ACTION)

/End Quote

or:

Light 'em up, Camera, Action!


Naah, yours is better, jb

[Little Nemo]

On Saturday Night Live's first season, there was a scene where Chevy Chase (remember him?) was playing Gerald Ford (how about him?) trying to roll a joint. According to later claims, real marijuana was used for the scene.

But generally, I suspect that pkbites is correct and faux marijuana is used. I imagine most filmmakers are not willing to risk the chance of having their production locked up in legal problems just to be "authentic".

[occ]

Originally posted by jb_farley
pk, I believe you're right about Easy Rider. I remember reading stories about how bombed Nicholson and Hopper got between takes.

Friday, as well. Chris Tucker's eyes are mad red in a lot of the porch scenes.


(Act Five scene one, toke two, aaannndd ACTION)


jb



IMDB says they really were smoking pot in Easy Rider. 'Friday' was one I suspected may have had real pot smoking, since Ice Cube was the main guy behind it.

[Mayor Cow]

I always thought that if an actor goes on camera (is "working") while drunk or high, he/she would be kicked out of the union thus preventing them from anymore acting jobs (for a while anyway.)


cow

[Arnold Winkelried]

Mayor Cow - if what you say were true, the only persons left in the Screen Actors Guild would by Donny and Marie Osmond.

[yabob]

From a FAQ on stagecraft:
Subject: 11. Spliffs? Joints? Reefers? Marijuana cigarettes?

Most places the local authorities get upset if you use these on stage, but there are shows where you need them. Some substitutes from r.a.t.stagecraft:
* Herbal cigarettes, such as 'Herbal Gold' ("pleasant, incense-like aroma reminiscent of a Grateful Dead concert")
* Tobaccoless cigarettes, such as 'Honey Rose' or 'Kickum'
* Joints rolled from catnip (or catnip tea) ("same plant group as marijuana, so realistic smell; didn't make the actors sick")
* Ginseng cigarettes.
* Oregano (?)
* Nettle tea mixed with some mild tobacco ("It was so realistic the narcotics division came backstage after the show...")

Make sure your actor knows how to roll a spliff. If they don't know how, get one of the rest of the cast to show them. Someone will know. A significant part of the audience knows exactly how to roll a spliff, so you want to ensure the show looks realistic to them.

For a movie, I imagine what an actor is shown rolling may be different from what they are actually smoking if the scene involves both. You want the stuff you are rolling to look realistic. Since you may have to do several tokes ... err ... takes of a given scene, you want the actors to be able to continue to do it, both from a standpoint of not being stoned on their asses, and also from the standpoint of having throats left. Not to mention the legalities.

[handy]

Oh boy, its probably just tobacco. The rest is acting.

[stormy652]

Well I doubt Snoop Dogg was smoking a cig during his scene in Half Baked.....heh....

[evilhanz]

I've heard that oregano is used as a substitute for marijuana, because they burn similarly and can have similar textures. Unless you were smoking it or smelling it... you wouldn't know the difference on screen anyway.

[bashere]

if what you say were true, the only persons left in the Screen Actors Guild would by Donny and Marie Osmond.

Well, scientology is pretty strict about the use of drugs (other than the legal ones). So, there are a lot more than just the Osmonds not doing drugs. The was a big deal about the screen in Eyes Wide Shut; rumor has it that Tom Cruise checked in with high-whatever-they-use-for-priests to determine if it was okay to be seen "getting stoned". It was approved only because the bad effects were clearly shown

In my (limited)experiance, catnip is used to approximate the look, and oregano when some one is smoking on screen.

[Little Nemo]

Did John Travolta require similar permission before he shot up heroin in Pulp Fiction? Of course, once again, the bad effects were shown: do some smack - get machine gunned by Bruce Wills. But tragically so many teens think it'll never happen to them.

[Chas.E]

Come on guys, this is Hollywood we're talking about. There are stories about one movie producer out on location in the desert who refused to come out of his trailer and finish shooting because he ran out of cocaine, and he would not trust any local sources, just HIS special dealer in LA. So all shooting was stopped for 2 days until said producer could get a courier from Los Angeles.

The most common movie stand-in for marijuana is marijuana.

[gazpacho]

What were the bad effects of smoking a joint in Eyes wide shut? They talked about stupid things? The story continued? They had to add digital actors in the orgy sceens to get it the NC-17 rating instead of X?

[andygirl]

That would be adding digital figures to get an R instead of an NC-17. There is no rated X.

FWIW, the theaters I've worked for have used herbal cigarettes... if needed, we've just broken them up and bought some rolling paper. Live theater does tend to avoid real smoking onstage, though.

[Morrison's Lament]

I know Reykjavik, Iceland isn't exactly Hollywood, but I know that people got stoned in at least one movie that was filmed there. Keep in mind that the drug laws in Cali (and much of USA) are RELAXED compared to Iceland!

My best friend's dad used to play small roles in a number of Icelandic movies a few years back. He wasn't happy about admitting it, but after seeing the party-scene where smoking is going on, we just wouldn't stop bugging him about whether or not it was real!

Turns out there wasn't much stuff around in those days, but the director knew someone who brought an ounce or so to the set for the party scene and almost everyone got high.

So, it does happen. And from what I know about Hollywood filmstars and crews, it's probably fairly common. An acquaintance of mine actually got addicted to Cocaine while working on the Close Encounters set!

Also, I've seen pictures of Cypress Hill and other bands smoking it up on stage, so it doesn't seem to be a problem for musicians, why should it be for actors?

--- G. Raven

[handy]

oregano? Wouldn't be caught putting that stuff in my lungs.

[xizor]

What about movies like "The Beach" and "Nice Dreams" where they actually show marijuana plants growing? Do they have stand-in plants that look like marijuana plants as well?

[MsRobyn]

Originally posted by xizor
What about movies like "The Beach" and "Nice Dreams" where they actually show marijuana plants growing? Do they have stand-in plants that look like marijuana plants as well?

Oleander, a common shrub in California can look suspiciously like marijuana. A boy I went to school with brought some in a baggie for use in a project on drugs and almost got himself arrested for possession. (The bag with powdered sugar "cocaine" didn't help much.)

There are also silk plants that can simulate pot, at least for the purposes of moviemaking.

Robin

[jb_farley]

And in the recent British comedy "Saving Grace", actual herbals were used. The British Museum of Natural Sciences (or some title to that effect) lent the moviemakers a bunch of the greene queene to film with, although the set had to be under supervision, and the plants had to be locked up by the local police at the end of every day.

sigh.

it's just a plant, you anal-retentive bastards.

jb

[tevya]

Originally posted by Little Nemo
Did John Travolta require similar permission before he shot up heroin in Pulp Fiction? Of course, once again, the bad effects were shown: do some smack - get machine gunned by Bruce Wills. But tragically so many teens think it'll never happen to them.


How many teens will have to be machine gunned by Bruce Willis before they begin to realize that it is a dangerous drug!?!

[mobo85]

Originally posted by andygirl
That would be adding digital figures to get an R instead of an NC-17. There is no rated X.

FWIW, the theaters I've worked for have used herbal cigarettes... if needed, we've just broken them up and bought some rolling paper. Live theater does tend to avoid real smoking onstage, though.

There used to be an X...but it was changed to NC-17 after X became synonomous with pornography. IIRC, the first film to have an NC-17 rating was "Henry and June."