History Main / ArtisticStimulation

[[AC:Fiction]]
* Charlie Pace from ''Series/{{Lost}}'' is addicted to heroin. It's heavily implied that his band's SophomoreSlump and eventual breakup stemmed from this.
* Isaac Mendez in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is this and/or a JunkieProphet. He's perfectly capable of painting the future without heroin, but using the drug does sort of give him a boost to his power.
** Although when he discovered his powers, he was unaware he could paint the future without drugs. [[spoiler: It was only after Eden [=McCain=] and HRG took him away and weaned him off heroin that he found out he could use his powers without, erm, "assistance".]]

* Resident Intellectual Paul Kinsey on ''Series/MadMen'' claims to get most of his ideas from "Mary Jane." The one time we actually get to see this in action (in Season 2), Peggy is the only one who actually comes up with anything.
** That entire plotline, especially the bit where she walks into the room and says, "My name is Peggy Olson and I'm here to smoke some marijuana."
** Later, in Season 5, the Creative team smokes so much weed ''in the middle of the office'' that people joke about it.
--->'''Don''' ''*walking into the Creative lounge*'' I smell creativity!
** Subverted to the point of DarkComedy in an episode where the people in the office are forced to work over the weekend on an important account and a doctor gives them 'vitamin shots' to give them the energy they will need. The shots turn out to be speed and the office quickly descends into madness. People get injured, Harry has sex with an underage girl, very little actual work gets done and the creative output of the entire weekend ends up being mostly gibberish.

* In the backstory of ''Series/{{Elementary}}'', Sherlock was a recreational drug user who liked to use drugs to keep his mind focused when solving cases. However, one case [[ItsPersonal became very personal to him]] and he started using more and more drugs in an attempt to solve it. This ended up having the opposite effect and his deductive skills took a nosedive. He was taken off the case and subsequently became a junkie. When the series starts he has finally managed to get clean and maintaining his sobriety is a big part of the show.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'' episode "The Lure Of The Orb" has a [[AddictiveMagic magic orb]] that's supposed to give heightened inspiration to whoever touches it, but in reality only gives a temporary boost of energy that leaves the user drained and addicted to its power. Poet was the first to use the orb in order to complete his spring pageant poem, from which he was able to write pages of verses, but after he was freed from the effects of the orb, Poet read what he wrote and was astonished with how the quality of his writing had suffered because of the orb. (Other users of the orb -- Painter, Harmony, Farmer, and Handy -- also realized that the quality of their work had suffered because of their addiction to the orb's magic.) He ends up scrapping the overly-long drug-created poem and writes a very short poem about how to deal with his problems, taking no more than an hour to create it before the pageant starts.
* ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' has the arm-less artist Rin Tezuka, who is seen smoking with her boyfriend (and PlayerCharacter) Hisao in an attempt to get enough inspiration for her art. It's seen as a bad thing from the start, however, since she's getting increasingly stressed and her mental state starts deteriorating soon...
* Parodied on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Round Midnight". Blues singer Bleeding Gums Murphy's addiction is buying Faberge eggs.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' had Brian taking Adderall under the belief the energy it gave him made him a better writer. It isn't until he tries pitching what he wrote to George R.R. Martin that he realizes what he wrote was just a convoluted ClicheStorm, because as George tells him the drugs didn't make him write well, just ''a lot''.

[[AC:TruthInTelevision]]

--->'''Dave:''' When we would drink, they would [[SentimentalDrunk get really silly]] and I would get really violent. And violent people and silly people don't mix when they're inebriated.

* Creator/TakeshiShudo, head writer of the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime during its first five years, drank heavily and frequently got high on tranquilizers while writing for the series. This unfortunately was a major factor in his death: excess alcohol use is a known risk factor for spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhages, such as the one Shudō died from in 2010.

* Actress and screenwriter Creator/ZoeLund, best known for her collaborations with director Creator/AbelFerrara, was addicted to heroin, openly spoke about her struggles with the substance, and advocated its legalization. She eventually managed to kick the habit upon her move to Paris in 1997, only to become addicted to cocaine instead and die two years later from an overdose.

* Similarly to Dick's example, famous Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős[[note]]A well-known eccentric, the member of The Martians — an informal club of Hungarian mathematicians and physicists in the US, which included such figures as John von Neumann and Leo Szillard, and the inspiration for Creator/StanislawLem's quip about "''nomadic scientists''".[[/note]] has always attributed his scientific success to amphetamines, [[FunctionalAddict which he used for much of his life]]. Having went sober on a dare once, the man then complained that while he was perfectly okay otherwise, without speed he couldn't think about mathematics ''at all''. On completing the wager, he is said to have quipped, "[[BadassBoast You just set back mathematics a month]]," and went right back to his habit.

* Creator/TakeshiShudo, head writer of the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime during its first five years, drank heavily and frequently got high on tranquilizers while writing for the series.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "The Lure Of The Orb" has a [[AddictiveMagic magic orb]] that's supposed to give heightened inspiration to whoever touches it, but in reality only gives a temporary boost of energy that leaves the user drained and addicted to its power. Poet was the first to use the orb in order to complete his spring pageant poem, from which he was able to write pages of verses, but after he was freed from the effects of the orb, Poet read what he wrote and was astonished with how the quality of his writing had suffered because of the orb. (Other users of the orb -- Painter, Harmony, Farmer, and Handy -- also realized that the quality of their work had suffered because of their addiction to the orb's magic.) He ends up scrapping the overly-long drug-created poem and writes a very short poem about how to deal with his problems, taking no more than an hour to create it before the pageant starts.

* Music/TheBeatles were often high during or in the near vicinity of creative endeavors. They used stimulants while they were in Hamburg so they could stay awake during ridiculously long sets, and occasionally dabbled in other substances (including a couple of brushes with pot). After Music/BobDylan offered the four of them pot under the mistaken notion that they were regular users (due to a miscommunication of all things...), they started smoking it incessantly. By all accounts they were constantly stoned while filming ''Film/{{Help}}''. In the spring of 1965 Music/JohnLennon and Music/GeorgeHarrison were introduced to acid by their dentist, who [[IntoxicationEnsues spiked their coffee with the stuff one night]], an incident memorialized in the song "Doctor Robert"; Music/RingoStarr followed shortly thereafter. By their second trip to America, they were fairly regular trippers (there's a famous story about how Creator/PeterFonda ruined their trip at a party they were throwing at their rental house in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, which got turned into "She Said She Said" on ''Music/{{Revolver|Beatles Album}}''). Music/PaulMcCarthey also took it up, but not until around ''[[Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand Sgt. Pepper]]'', and he gave it up ''right'' before telling the press he ''used'' to take it... <sigh> John in particular loved LSD (he admitted to having written "I Am The Walrus" at least partially on two separate acid trips). At least two of Paul's songs ("Got To Get You Into My Life" and "Fixing a Hole") are most definitely about pot -- the former by [[WordOfGod Paul's admission,]] the latter because it's obvious; and odds are, any song from that era by Paul that looks like it's about pot is.

* Music/TheBeatles were often high during or in the near vicinity of creative endeavors. They used stimulants while they were in Hamburg so they could stay awake during ridiculously long sets, and occasionally dabbled in other substances (including a couple of brushes with pot). After Music/BobDylan offered the four of them pot under the mistaken notion that they were regular users (due to a miscommunication of all things...), they started smoking it incessantly. By all accounts they were constantly stoned while filming ''Film/{{Help}}!''. In the spring of 1965 John and George were introduced to acid by their dentist, who [[IntoxicationEnsues spiked their coffee with the stuff one night]], an incident memorialized in the song "Doctor Robert"; Ringo followed shortly thereafter. By their second trip to America, they were fairly regular trippers (there's a famous story about how Creator/PeterFonda ruined their trip at a party they were throwing at their rental house in LA, which got turned into "She Said She Said" on ''Music/{{Revolver|Beatles Album}}''). Paul also took it up, but not until around "Sgt. Pepper," and he gave it up ''right'' before telling the press he ''used'' to take it... <sigh> John in particular loved LSD (he admitted to having written "I Am The Walrus" at least partially on two separate acid trips). At least two of Paul's songs ("Got To Get You Into My Life" and "Fixing a Hole") are most definitely about pot -- the former by [[WordOfGod Paul's admission,]] the latter because it's obvious; and odds are, any song from that era by Paul that looks like it's about pot is.

* Music/TheBeatles were often high during or in the near vicinity of creative endeavors. They used stimulants while they were in Hamburg so they could stay awake during ridiculously long sets, and occasionally dabbled in other substances (including a couple of brushes with pot). After Music/BobDylan offered the four of them pot under the mistaken notion that they were regular users (due to a miscommunication of all things...), they started smoking it incessantly. By all accounts they were constantly stoned while filming ''Film/{{Help}}!''. In the spring of 1965 John and George were introduced to acid by their dentist, who [[IntoxicationEnsues spiked their coffee with the stuff one night]], an incident memorialized in the song "Doctor Robert"; Ringo followed shortly thereafter. By their second trip to America, they were fairly regular trippers (there's a famous story about how Peter Fonda ruined their trip at a party they were throwing at their rental house in LA, which got turned into "She Said She Said" on ''Music/{{Revolver}}''). Paul also took it up, but not until around "Sgt. Pepper," and he gave it up ''right'' before telling the press he ''used'' to take it... <sigh> John in particular loved LSD (he admitted to having written "I Am The Walrus" at least partially on two separate acid trips). At least two of Paul's songs ("Got To Get You Into My Life" and "Fixing a Hole") are most definitely about pot -- the former by [[WordOfGod Paul's admission,]] the latter because it's obvious; and odds are, any song from that era by Paul that looks like it's about pot is.

* Takeshi Shudo, head writer of the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime during its first five years, drank heavily and frequently got high on tranquilizers while writing for the series.

* Takeshi Shudo, head writer of the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' during its first five years, drank heavily and frequently got high on tranquilizers while writing for the series.

* Music/TheBeatles were often high during or in the near vicinity of creative endeavors. They used stimulants while they were in Hamburg so they could stay awake during ridiculously long sets, and occasionally dabbled in other substances (including a couple of brushes with pot). After Music/BobDylan offered the four of them pot under the mistaken notion that they were regular users (due to a {{Mondegreen}} of all things...), they started smoking it incessantly. By all accounts they were constantly stoned while filming ''Film/{{Help}}!''. In the spring of 1965 John and George were introduced to acid by their dentist, who [[IntoxicationEnsues spiked their coffee with the stuff one night]], an incident memorialized in the song "Doctor Robert"; Ringo followed shortly thereafter. By their second trip to America, they were fairly regular trippers (there's a famous story about how Peter Fonda ruined their trip at a party they were throwing at their rental house in LA, which got turned into "She Said She Said" on ''Music/{{Revolver}}''). Paul also took it up, but not until around "Sgt. Pepper," and he gave it up ''right'' before telling the press he ''used'' to take it... <sigh> John in particular loved LSD (he admitted to having written "I Am The Walrus" at least partially on two separate acid trips). At least two of Paul's songs ("Got To Get You Into My Life" and "Fixing a Hole") are most definitely about pot -- the former by [[WordOfGod Paul's admission,]] the latter because it's obvious; and odds are, any song from that era by Paul that looks like it's about pot is.

* Charlie Pace from ''Series/{{Lost}}'' is addicted to heroin.

* Isaac Brock of Music/ModestMouse. To say nothing of the rest of the band, he definitely used various drugs. And then they all sobered up and made ''Good News For People Who Love Bad News'' and Music/WeWereDeadBeforeTheShipEvenSank. The former is generally considered excellent (and quite bizarre), while the latter is generally considered merely very good and less bizarre (although some blame it on the change in drummer). Their earlier work is much different from those two releases, the influence of drugs is very clear on ''The Moon & Antarctica''. Incidentally, ''Good News'' contained a song about...

** That entire plotline is a very subtle SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} for the series, especially the bit where she walks into the room and says, "My name is Peggy Olson and I'm here to smoke some marijuana."

** Both of the members of X Japan that died had major alcohol and drug problems:
*** [[Music/HidetoMatsumoto hide]] was TheAlcoholic but around 1991 with the death of a relative, his drinking became even more intense, to the point that even ''Taiji'' and ''Pata'' expressed concern for his drinking. Unfortunately, no one's concern or attempts to help seemed to be effective (and plenty of people just did nothing or encouraged him, because his drinking and drug use ''did'' feed his artistic output), and hide died from a drunken attempt at hanging himself in 1998. According to the coroner who examined his body, he had a level of alcohol that was approaching lethal alcohol poisoning in and of itself, along with methamphetamine.
*** [[Music/TaijiSawada Taiji]] was TheAlcoholic and on occasion TheStoner, and, as it became obvious, a stimulant addict to cocaine and the amphetamine-class stimulants. Both ''heavily'' influenced much of his solo work (especially the D.T.R. lyrics) and also ruined his life - spending money on alcohol and drugs and the side effects of both on his mental illnesses is what caused the CreatorBreakdown from 1993-1998, and likely his alcohol and/or drug use played a part in the airplane fight which put him in jail where he was killed.

* Just about any major popular music scene has had a drug attached to it: LSD and marijuana for PsychedelicRock, Cocaine for disco, ecstasy for ElectronicMusic, and heroin for {{Grunge}}.

—->'''Don''' ''*walking into the Creative lounge*'' I smell creativity!

* Resident Intellectual Paul Kinsey on ''Series/MadMen'' claims to get most of his ideas from "Mary Jane." The one time we actually get to see this in action, Peggy is the only one who actually comes up with anything.

* Similarly to Dick's example, famous Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős[[note]]A well-known eccentric, the member of The Martians — an informal club of Hungarian mathematicians and physicists in the US, which included such figures as John von Neumann and Leo Szillard, and the inspiration for Creator/StanislawLem's quip about "''nomadic scientists''".[[/note]] has always attributed his scientific success to amphetamines, [[FunctionalAddict which he used for much of his life]]. Having went sober on a dare once, the man then complained that while he was perfectly okay otherwise, without speed he couldn't think about mathematics ''at all''.

** That entire plotline is a very subtle CrowningMomentOfFunny for the series, especially the bit where she walks into the room and says, "My name is Peggy Olson and I'm here to smoke some marijuana."

->'''I'm Only Creative When I Smoke Smoker:''' Would you like to hear some of my poetry?
->'''Thurgood Jenkins:''' Not really, no.
->'''I'm Only Creative When I Smoke Smoker:''' You really should. "I have killed. I have helped kill. I have killed part of myself. I cannot change this. I... I must seek Buddha. I must seek Christ."
->'''Thurgood Jenkins:''' You must seek therapy. But that's just where I would go with that.
-->- ''HalfBaked''

* The movie ''HalfBaked'' has the "I'm Only Creative When I Smoke Smoker", who believes she needs to smoke marijuana to be creative.