# What do they use to stand in for marijuana in movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2000, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-use-to-stand-in-for-marijuana-in-movies/45498 "2000-12-14T06:19:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-use-to-stand-in-for-marijuana-in-movies/45498/21 "2000-12-15T19:25:22Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-use-to-stand-in-for-marijuana-in-movies/45498/22 "2000-12-15T20:06:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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 ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-use-to-stand-in-for-marijuana-in-movies/45498/23 "2000-12-15T22:22:02Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![tevya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@tevya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tevya)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2000, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-use-to-stand-in-for-marijuana-in-movies/45498/24 "2000-12-17T18:57:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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!?! ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2000, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-use-to-stand-in-for-marijuana-in-movies/45498/25 "2000-12-17T19:31:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-use-to-stand-in-for-marijuana-in-movies/45498.md?page=1)