Blunt talk: The 15 best—and 5 worst—movies to watch when you're high

Richard Linklater gave us the quintessential canna-comedy Dazed And Confused, which is an obvious choice for this list, but consider instead , his dark, druggy trip through a dystopian not-too-distant future. It stars Keanu Reeves as an undercover cop hoping to bust the operation behind a strong new drug, only he’s also addicted to it (the movie is based on Philip K. Dick’s novel about his personal experience). At once paranoia-inducing and pitch-black funny, you might be more than a bit weirded out by its similarities to what the U.S. is going through today. As Keanu Reeves would say, “Whoa!”

is tailor-made for video game geeks of a certain age who like the sweet leaf and who probably loved the book it’s based on. It’s 2045, and the only escape from a harsh world is to enter an immersive virtual universe known as the Oasis where you can do anything and go anywhere. From recognizable pop-culture characters to references to Saturday Night Fever to the ’80s music on the soundtrack, it’s all neon and lasers and lights and pure dank fun—especially for you pot-enhanced gamers out there.

Time moves slowly in , a low-stress, beautifully shot Wes Anderson movie that never got the love it deserved. Spoofing Jacques Cousteau, Bill Murray stars as the titular oceanographer who vows revenge on the rare shark that ate his partner and he assembles a motley crew to help him (the rivalry between Zissou and Jeff Goldblum as his ex’s husband is the stuff of genius.). The film features Anderson’s characteristic pastel-colored vibe, and everyone seems to be affected by the kind of melancholy ennui that most stoners will be well familiar with.

Was Walt Disney himself tripping when he created his animated phantasmagoria, ? It’s a legitimate question. His surreal love letter to classical music involves mushrooms dancing to the Nutcracker Suite along with hippos, alligators, and ostriches performing a ballet to Dance Of The Hours. The highlight, of course, is Mickey Mouse as the famous Sorcerer’s Apprentice having adventures with cleaning equipment set to the musical masterpiece of the same name, composed by Paul Dukas. Put this on with your stoner buddies and enjoy watching everyone’s mouths drop to the floor.

Some might say weed and horror don’t play nice, but Tim Burton’s fantasy comedy is mostly just horror adjacent, so you’re safe to toke up. Michael Keaton is at the top of his game as Beetlejuice, the ghost with the most who’s hired by a dead couple (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) to scare away the home’s new residents. Mild gore, wacky hijinks, stop-motion effects, and national treasure Catherine O’Hara make this movie … showtime!

If you’ve ever read gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s roman à clef, , you know the story follows writer Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his psychotic attorney (Benicio del Toro) as they hit Vegas in the early 1970s. And while there, they don’t do one or two drugs, but rather ALL THE DRUGS. As the movie flies off the rails (not the ones these two are sniffing), the plot descends into lunacy—their high is not the one you’re on, and the last thing you’re gonna want to watch is these two going in circles on a hallucinogenic bender.

You think, David Lynch directed this 1977 cult classic so it must be some crazy bizarro stuff that your stoned mind can really get into, right? This isn’t like Lynch’s later mind benders, such as Twin Peaks, that invite you in to solve a mystery. No, this is terrifying, floor-falling-out filmmaking that tells the story of a man disgusted by fatherhood yet stuck fathering a slimy, fleshy, twitchy aberration of a “baby” all by himself. And the baby won’t stop screaming. The movie was shot in muddy, grainy black and white and gives disturbing -by-way-of-John Waters vibes; all this to say that unless weed with a side of body horror is your thing, scroll on.

An all-star cast including the likes of Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, and Idris Elba ballet dancing in quasi-nude CGI cat costumes? Jennifer Hudson belting “Memories” through literal bubbles of snot? Fat jokes and sexy kitties? By the time the one cat starts in on “Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat” you’ll be running screaming into the night, under the influence or not, looking for a way to wash your eyeballs of this dreck. Nobody knew what to make of this overhyped, critically hate-watched musical in 2019, and you still won’t know in 2023, no matter how much of the ganja you’re smoking. (Bonus: if you didn’t already hate James Corden, well, here we are.)

Just reading the plot of this movie would put any stoner into an immediate anxiety spiral—Jason Statham is a hit man poisoned by the mafia who needs to keep his adrenaline flowing or he’ll die. (Spoiler you probably don’t need: the title is slang for meth.) hits the ground running as Statham’s hit man goes full-on cray-cray, indulging in car chases, gunfights, illegal drugs, and girlfriend sexy time in full view on a street in Chinatown. All this frenetic action and violence is shot in typical mid-2000s style with crazy angles and sped-up camerawork, pretty much the opposite of what you’re looking for while locked to your couch.