History Main / GovernmentDrugEnforcement

* In ''Film/WildInTheStreets'', the first teenage president forces all the grown-ups into concentration camps to take LSD.

** The Guild has now cottoned on to Total Sensory Deprivation as a training aid. Students who annoy Miss Glynnie, normally a very well-adjusted Music teacher, are vectored to The Tank where, deprived as far is as possible of all five senses, they learn to face the worst enemy of all. Themselves.

* In the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' universe, the evil corporation Manpower, Inc. uses a combination of genetic engineering and powerful medication to control a population of "genetic slaves" to do manual labor, serve as {{Super Soldier}}s, and act as sex slaves. Also, it's heavily hinted that Haven used drugs in the drinking water and food supply to keep a lid on rebellious proles in their welfare state gone wild. In a slightly more benevolent mode, it's a given that all the militaries which have men and women serving in the same units require them to be on contraceptives while on active duty. This is also apparently the policy regarding prisoners of war, explicitly stated as being the practice on the Havenite prison planet Hell, where the food was laced with them.

* In the early period of Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'', when birth control was mandatory, anti-paranoid drugs were mandatory for those diagnosed with it, and by the time of the first Man-Kzin War thinking of a violent act was a psychological disorder (treated by drugs). In later works (Beowulf Schaefer/Louis Wu era), the cops are taking drugs to ''cause'' paranoia!

Not to be confused with EverybodyMustGetStoned, which is simply the group version of the MushroomSamba. Closely related to MayContainEvil, but in this case, it's TheGovernment and not merely a Corporation spreading drugs around. See also FalseUtopia. Contrast HighTimesFuture.

* ''ComicBook/LegendsOfTheDeadEarth'': In ''[[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} The Power of Shazam!]]'' Annual #1, the Science Council forces the citizens of Binderaan to take daily vitamins to keep them in check.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]
* ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' -- Empath mentions in "Smurfnip Madness" that all Psyches in Psychelia are required to take a drug called psychelium, which inhibits their ability to express emotions. The drug is mentioned again in "The Rise And Fall Of Smurfy Tower" as Polaris Psyche wishes he could have the drug to numb the pain he was feeling while Empath was in a coma.
* A ''Literature/GoodOmens'' fic by Creator/AAPessimal, in which the angel and the demon seek to spread the word through rock and pop music, had to be taken down from FFN as it contravened the "[[RealPersonFic no real people]]" rule. Not being able to work out how to do it ''without'' referring to real people, the story ''All The Best tunes?'' [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/769628/chapters/1444071 was migrated to A03]]. A sub-plot (in a tale where the association of rock music and mind-enhancing substances is freely referred to) deals with Pestilence making one last disease before retiring; he, his successor Pollution, and War conspire in the most effective way to introduce AIDS to the world. War points out that if everyone ''thinks'' the US Gov't created it in a lab somewhere and are wantonly dumping it in various countries around the world, it will enhance the levels of suspicion and mutual hatred sloshing around, in a way most suited to her purposes. Crowley is suitably appalled.
** Elsewhere in the Pessimal Discworld, the Assassins' Guild School makes it ''compulsory'' for students in the last years of training on the Black to take drugs. There is a dark reasoning behind this. Trainee Assassins are made to take intense training under the influence of stimulant drugs so that they can recognise, under safe supervision, that while amphetamines can coax new reserves of strength and alertness out of a body, they can also affect the mind - often in ways that encourage the primal Assassin failing of ''overconfidence''. And then, as the Guild intends, the subject has the awful experience of coming down afterwards. Thus acting as a deterrent to going out and doing it again. [[Fanfic/GapYearAdventures After the experience of two graduates whilst touring Klatch]], the Guild is now trialling the exposure of selected students to ''bhong''. again this is designed to point out to the Assassin that stealthily entering the client's bedroom at night and forgetting why you came in, or else aborting a mission to detour to the client's kitchen to answer a craving for munchies, or else sitting down to groove and giggle at the interesting play of light and shadow on the blade of your killing knife, is not a bright thing to do on a mission and explains why the Hashishim of Klatch aren't as invincible as they think they are. With a more socially available drug - alcohol - the housemistress of a residential girls' House does not apply censure when a teenage girl gets drunk. She accepts that teenage girls will do this, and you're back, so no harm done... the next morning she ensures the girl involved gets the greasiest possible fried breakfast, at a time when she feels most fragile and delicate. Then stands behind her and insists she eats it all as it's good for her. Just to make the point.
** The Guild has now cottoned on to Total Sensory Deprivation as a training aid. Students who annoy Miss Glynnie, normally a very well-adjusted Music teacher, are vectored to The Tank where, deprived as far is as possible of all five senses, they learn to face the worst enemy of all. Themselves. [[/folder]]

* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'': The Alliance dispersed G-23 Paxilon Hydrochlorate, a drug designed to reduce aggression, [[spoiler:into the atmosphere of the planet Miranda. [[GoneHorriblyRight Ninety-nine point nine percent of the population became so docile that they lay down and let themselves starve to death]], and one tenth of a percent become the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil maniacal, cannibalistic Reavers]]]]. Oops.

* ''Film/ChildrenOfMen''. Numerous advertisements are seen for '[[CyanidePill Quietus]]', which is either available on demand or is actually issued together with each citizen's anti-depressant ration. The instructions assure the would-be user that not only is it quick and painless, but no-one has survived taking it.
* In ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'' the MegaCorp [=GeneCo=] (which is the closest thing to a government the setting represents) produces the highly addictive and euphoric painkiller Zydrate, which it uses in all of its surgical operations. Since the vast majority of the population will require at least one organ transplant, a huge majority are addicted to Zydrate, and the fact that most of the rest become addicted to surgery means that Zydrate is in high demand so that surgeries can be engaged in casually. [=GeneCo=]'s monopoly on Zydrate and synthetic organs is thus vital to its controlling the populace (preventing anyone from questioning their [[OrganTheft repossession policies]]), and attempts to illegally acquire Zydrate from corpses are usually met with lethal force. Zydrate addiction recovery programs are also under [=GeneCo=]'s control. It is also likely that post-surgery addiction to the (expensive) Zydrate is the reason that so many miss their organ payments.
* In ''Wild In The Streets'', the first teenage president forces all the grown-ups into concentration camps to take LSD.
* All of the teenagers in Springwood take hypnocil whether they know it or not in ''Film/FreddyVsJason''. This is meant to keep them from dreaming so that Freddy cannot attack them. Unfortunately, Jason is also along for the ride.
* In ''Film/{{Pumzi}}'', the Maitu council forces it's citizens to take dream suppressing pills in order to discourage free thought and creativity.
* The movie ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection'' features the alien Son'a, who want to take over a peaceful planet in order to use its naturally-occurring radiation as a mandatory life-extending drug for their own population.
* In ''Film/{{Absolon}}'', taking place in a future dystopia where survivors of a deadly, global plague require ongoing drug treatments to survive it, people are paid in units of the medicine, which is measured in hours, meaning one's income is quite literally how long a person has left to live.
* ''Film/The1517ToParis'': What Spencer and Alek's mothers see the public school teacher's recommendation of ADD medication as. In their minds, it's just a way of repressing a problem rather than really dealing with it. Granted, the reaction was pretty justified, as this is the counselor's ''instant'' solution for what's mild behavior that doesn't even strongly indicate they've got ADD (none show any signs of it later).
* ''Film/TheGirlFromMonday'': The Triple M government now mandates that all school children be drugged with anti-anxiety medication.

* ''Literature/TheForeverWar''

* ''Literature/HouseOfTheScorpion'' Clones, in order for the general populace to be able to accept their status as nonhuman, must be given drugs at birth to stunt their intelligence. The protagonist Matt is an exception to the rule.
* In the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' universe, the evil corporation Manpower, Inc. uses a combination of genetic engineering and powerful medication to control a population of "genetic slaves" to do manual labor, serve as {{Super Soldier}}s, and act as sex slaves. Also, it's heavily hinted that Haven used drugs in the drinking water and food supply to keep a lid on rebellious proles in their welfare state gone wild. In a slightly more benevolent mode, it's a given that all the militaries which have men and women serving in the same units require them to be on contraceptives while on active duty. This is also apparently the policy regarding prisoners of war, explicitly stated as being the practice on the Havenite prison planet Hell where the food was laced with them.
** [[spoiler:Though it's speculated that the Peeps might just have not wanted to bother keeping track of (and feeding) children.]]
* In ''Literature/TheGiver'', aside from the usual birth control pills, people are given painkillers for every little hurt, to keep them from feeling even that most basic of emotions, pain. The mandatory pills also remove "stirrings," or sexual desire. Jonas is put on the pills soon after he has his first EroticDream about Fiona, a female friend, showing us the first signs of just how messed up a {{Dystopia}} we're dealing with here.
* The sequel ''Literature/{{Son}}'' shows that recreational drugs are unknown in the Community. Claire sees a man on a boat from another Community smoking a cigarette (or an e-cig) and assumes it is some sort of medical inhaler.
* In the ''Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy'', the Wissenberry is considered sacred and given out freely among the Kindar population to abate any kind of physical or "mind" pain. Teachers even pass them out in school to keep the children calm and compliant. (Snyder was a teacher, and the school system drugging unruly students is OlderThanTheyThink). Raamo's eight-year-old sister is "wasting" to death due to her addiction to the Berries. Widespread addiction in the population is also cited as one of the symptoms of the society itself being ill. To a lesser extent, birth control wafers are passed out among Kindar from the ages of 13-25 so that the youth can obstensibly concentrate on their apprenticeships. Ol-Zhaan, however, are forbidden families of their own.
* ''Literature/ThisPerfectDay'': Mandatory treatments keep everyone peaceful, helpful, and kind...and suppress the sex drive and other emotions, as well as preventing unapproved pregnancies.
* ''The Literature/{{Illuminatus}} Trilogy'':
** The Disciples Of The Black God traffic heroin to keep the ghettos from becoming riot hotspots. What motive they (as a black militant, Afrocentric, anti-government group) have in this, isn't exactly explained.

* ''The Awakening Water'', in which the water supply is spiked with an unspecified drug to keep people (or at least workers) docile and stupid.
* "Welcome to the Monkey House", a short story by Creator/KurtVonnegut, had everyone taking something that numbed the groin area and prevented having sex for pleasure in order to keep the population down. The title came from the fact it was invented by a zoo veterinarian who was also a devout Christian upset by the monkeys having sex unabashedly in full view of everyone, so it was first used to cut that nonsense out.
* In Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Bio of a Space Tyrant: Executive'', the eponymous Space Tyrant puts birth control in the drinking water, and demands any country that receives foreign aid do the same. He also allows euthanasia pills to the suicidal.
* The science fiction story "Toe to Tip, Tip to Toe, Pip-Pop as You Go" by William F Nolan. The government keeps everyone in perpetual drugged states and the "deviants" are straight.
* Creator/JonathanLethem's ''Literature/GunWithOccasionalMusic'', a futuristic FilmNoir-style story, tells us about a world where the population takes a variety of state-supplied drugs like Forgetol, Acceptol and Regretol (collectively called "Make") to get them through the day. Originally, there were many different varieties of drugs that produced pleasurable effects; which individuals could blend as they wanted. Their use was optional, not mandatory. After [[TimeSkip six years in cryogenic sleep]], the protagonist wakes up to a world in which the government mandated the use of a single drug, which dulled the mind and disrupted memory.
* ''Literature/{{Homeworld}}'' by Creator/HarryHarrison. The upper-class protagonist is initially surprised at the idea that the proles might be rebellious, as the government lets them have all the drugs and booze they want.
* In the early period of Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'', where birth control was mandatory, anti-paranoid drugs were mandatory for those diagnosed with it, and by the time of the 1st Man-Kzin War thinking of a violent act was a psychological disorder (treated by drugs). In later works (Beowulf Schaefer/Louis Wu era), the cops were taking drugs to CAUSE paranoia!
* The Reveal of ''[[Creator/StanislawLem The Futurological Congress]]'' is that [[spoiler: a conspiracy of scientists is pumping colossal amounts of hallucinogens into the atmosphere so that humanity doesn't realize how utterly, utterly [[CrapsackWorld awful]] reality is...]] Then another Reveal is that [[spoiler: even that was a hallucination.]]
* In the short story "The Cull" by Creator/RobertReed, humanity has been driven into overcrowded, deteriorating habitats where the population has to be kept [[FalseUtopia artificially happy via implants so they won't notice how bad their conditions are]]. The implants don't work on some people, so the android doctor expels (culls) anyone who is too disruptive. One delinquent teenager prepares for his cull by stealing items he can use to survive outside. [[spoiler:Instead once they're outside the android kills the teenager -- it needs the implants inside his head as there's no more being manufactured.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Matched}}'' by Ally Condie, every person carries around a case with 3 pills in it. The green pill is like a mild antidepressant, and the red pill [[spoiler: wipes your memory of the past two days.]]
* In ''Literature/AcrossTheUniverseBethRevis'', the leader of the GenerationShip ''Godspeed'' has drugs put into the water supply to keep the crew happy and docile. There are also drugs pumped into the water supply at scheduled intervals to make the people on ''Godspeed'' feel the intense desire to have sex. These intervals are called "Seasons", and used as a method of keeping the population in neat generations.
* Short story "Who's Gonna Rock Us Home" by Nancy Springer has mandatory drug Cope, [[spoiler: which induces memory loss to prevent the mind-numbing drudgery of daily life from depressing people.]]
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''After Doomsday'', one captain does a down-played, and reasonable, version of this: when her ship returns to the Solar System to find the Earth destroyed, she orders that everyone on board take a tranquilizer.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's "Literature/AWorldCalledMaanerek", the Hegemony uses this freely on "units".
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''Literature/CountToTheEschaton'', the Nymphs used vast amounts of drugs to erase unpleasant memories and otherwise ensure that life ran smoothly in a culture of {{Extreme Omnisexual}}s and hedonists. While it was enforced by the Nymph Queens -- those who resisted were sent into cryogenic sleep to await an age more palatable to them, or if necessary, killed -- it was also accepted by the Nymphs. Soldiers would drink it to prevent the memory of battles disturbing their peace.
* A fantastic variant with the [[spoiler: Soothing stations of ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy''. These are secret government bases scattered throughout the slums, each containing two or three Ministry [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Mistings]] whose only duty is to emit a 24/7 magical field that dampens the emotions of everyone nearby. These are a major element of the system that keeps the skaa from ever revolting.]]
* In the ''Literature/DreambloodDuology'', the Hetawa -- the temple, which essentially rules the city-state of Gujaareh -- gets everyone rich and powerful in the city addicted to drugs, then uses addiction to control them or extort them.
* In ''Literature/GirlsWithSharpSticks'', each of the students at the BoardingSchoolOfHorrors where the book takes place is given pills before they go to bed, which turn out to contain {{nanomachines}} that control their minds.

* At any given moment in the Village, the water, the food, and even the air may be spiked to make you more comfortable. Constant drugging is all part of being in ''Series/ThePrisoner1967''.

** The Aschen Confederacy sneaks birth control (at a ''minimum'') into the vaccines it provides to newly-joined worlds.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Done several times over the series and movies, both in the Federation and on various PlanetOfHats worlds.

** In the pilot episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E1EncounterAtFarpoint Encounter at Farpoint]]", Q mentions that, during the late-21st century wars [[AfterTheEnd of WWIII and its aftermath]], human {{super soldier}}s were constantly hopped up on narcotics to give them endurance, strength, and artificial courage bordering on insanity.
** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E21Symbiosis Symbiosis]]", Planet A helps Planet B overcome a plague by selling them medicine... medicine which is also a highly addictive drug. When the plague is long gone, Planet A doesn't tell Planet B, so they will keep buying and using the drug, even though it's bankrupting their society.
* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', the Jem'Hadar are kept under control by the Founders with their genetic addiction to Ketracel White, sort of a combination narcotic and nutrient supplement.
* Several episodes of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' and ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963''. In the ''TZ'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E137Number12LooksJustLikeYou Number 12 Looks Just Like You]]", this is combined with not-officially-compulsory-but-strongly-encouraged plastic surgery.

-->''They'll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down''\\
''And hope that we will never see the truth around.''

* Music/SystemOfADown's "Prison System" from ''Music/{{Toxicity}}'' focuses on how the government turns a blind eye toward drug use (such as with famous people) unless it suits their interests, when they have to make an example for the populace. The implication, of course, is that the government encourages the growth of the prison system by filling it with drug addicts and other people who are denounced by contemporary society.
* Many political rappers like to repeat the conspiracy theory about CIA and the drug lords (see RealLife section).
* Music/DeadKennedys "Kinky Sex Makes The World Go Round":
-->Now don't worry about demonstrations-just pump up your drug supply.\\
So many people have hooked themselves on heroin\\
and amphetamines since we took over, it's just like Vietnam.\\
We had everybody so busy with LSD they never got too strong.
* [[Music/MyChemicalRomance BL/ind]] Thought Adjustment Test: "I'm so happy to be alive. Everything is going to be fine. Have I taken my medication today?"
* Music/EmergencyBroadcastNetwork's "Comply" states: "The CIA is ordering the White House to conduct broadcast TV radiation LSD experiments on Americans."

* The audio skit "Le Trente-Huit Cunegonde" by Creator/TheFiresignTheatre features an inverted version of 1960's society where the hippies are in charge and instead of being illegal, smoking pot is mandatory.

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]

* Many, many Cyberpunk Role-playing settings have governments or corporations using this trope to try and keep the little people in line.
* A fantasy-world version appears in the early ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' adventure "B4: The Lost City", in which the [[ReligionOfEvil corrupt priests]] of [[EldritchAbomination Zargon]] have gotten most of the population of [[HiddenElfVillage Cynidecia]] addicted to an unspecified cocktail of drugs. Presumably this makes it easier to control the masses, and/or to convince them to worship a deity as grotesque as Zargon.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Aberrant}}'', all novas (people with superpowers) who join [[spoiler: Project Utopia, the setting's resident official Good-aligned MutantDraftBoard]] are secretly fed sterility drugs along with the drugs given to help them control their powers, in order to prevent the breeding of a superpowered race that might [[MugglePower replace baseline humanity]].
* Happens from time to time in ''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Warhammer 40K]]''. Combat Stimulants range from being allowed to encouraged to mandated by law, depending on your regiment. It's mentioned that several of the [[DeathWorld less pleasant planets]] and [[CrapsackWorld more brutal regimes]] tend to (subtly or otherwise) drug their citizens to prevent [[DrivenToSuicide drastic self-inflicted population reductions]]. The SpaceMarines don't even count, since 2/3 of their drug programs exist simply to make sure that their genetically-modified and cybernetically-enhanced bodies don't just go haywire shut down.

* With [[PropagandaMachine posters]] directing the populace to drink multiple bottles each day, only the most GenreBlind PlayerCharacter wouldn't see this coming: in the [[{{Dystopia}} Praetoria]] setting of ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', "Enriche" subtly makes [[GullibleLemmings those that drink it]] more susceptible to MindControl. However, it's filled from the same pipes as [[ParanoiaFuel the city's water supply]]. Are ''you'' drinking enough, Citizen? More importantly, how could you ''not''?
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' contains an unusual example of ''church'' Drug Enforcement. The Chantry deliberately makes Templar recruits addicted to [[FantasticDrug lyrium]] - partly as a SuperSerum, but your Templar party member [[DeadpanSnarker Alistair]] suspects it's a means of controlling them (since they need to get their supply from the Chantry).
** This backfires on the Chantry in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', when part of the Templar order goes rogue and takes Red Lyrium out of desperation, making them insane and giving them super-powers.

%%* The player can do this in ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri''. It's costly, but a great help in having a content population and a motivated military. Yay!

* In ''VideoGame/{{Quarantine}}'', [[MegaCorp Omnicorp]] traps the population of Kemo City inside and injects a drug called Hydergine 344 into the water supply, in the hopes of calming everyone down and suppress criminal thoughts. The complete opposite takes place, naturally, and the player character has to fight off these victims while also ferrying innocent civilians around town long enough to escape.

** [[FalseReassurance He's a Doctor, a Government Official and he has a big smile on his face,]] [[https://cdn4.dualshockers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/whf03first1280-1444956715605_1280w.jpg how can you not trust someone like that?]]

* In the "Paradise" storyline of ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', Riff is sent to 4U City in an AlternateUniverse, where everyone is constantly drugged to keep them happy and docile, and hovering robots follow people around and inject them with syringes if they show any signs of unhappiness. This of course turns out to be a last resort method originally employed by [[spoiler: that universe' Riff]], to keep the city blissfully unaware that [[spoiler: they are the only remaining humans on earth, and the entire universe is falling apart due to the damage a recent war has done to the fabric of reality]]. CrapsackWorld indeed.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' the compound Dr. Venture Senior built was intended to have some calming drugs filtered into the air, so people didn't freak out about the thermonuclear war going on outside. However, the MasterComputer disagreed with this plan and decided on the "giving them too much of a good thing" method of punishment, and flooded the compound with a massive quantity of drugs that caused terrifying hallucinations.
* In one ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode featuring Blurnsball (a HIGHLY modified game of baseball), Prof. Farnsworth revealed that for the past few centuries professional athletes have been required to take steroids.
* The "Genetic Enabling Factor" given to the [[ArtificialHuman Supertroopers]] in ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers''. The youngest of the 'Troopers [[TheLancer (who becomes the show's Lancer)]] refuses to take his dose. [[DaChief Walsh]] is about to order Shane to take the stuff, but [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Nagata proposes using him as a control instead]]. Shane's refusal to take the drugs may have helped him remain sane when [[CorruptBureaucrat Senator Wheiner]] doesed the 'troopers with PsychoSerum.
* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': The [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Galactic Federation]], after [[VichyEarth invading Earth in the season 2 finale]], forced humanity into a twisted form of wage slavery where they forced many adults into a Federation related job through giving them "complimentary" pills, which actually puts them in debt as that was done to Jerry. In addition, all Earth Federation jobs only paid people in pills and basic resources despite the Federation having its own currency. It's unknown what these pills actually do but it's implied that the pills are used to prevent people from questioning the federation by putting them in a drug-induced state and it's suggested that this practice had been done towards numerous alien species as well. This continued until Rick destroyed the Galactic Federation by rendering its currency worthless.

* The ''Series/{{Sliders}}'' episode [[Recap/SlidersS04E07JustSayYes "Just Say Yes"]]. On one of the PlanetOfHats alternate worlds the protagonists visit, the U.S. government mandates drug use, and the alternate Quinn Mallory is a leader of the anti-drug resistance. The [[PointOfDivergence reason for this]] was UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud accidentally discovering the pharmaceutical properties of lithium, which he so enjoyed that he became a biochemist instead of a psychologist. All people (in the US, at least) have implants in their arms that allow for direct intravenous injections without risk of infection. Using syringes is seen as barbaric. The police make sure everyone stays tranquil and happy. If someone acts out, they shoot them... with a narcotic dart. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IryUHEhekus One trailer]] for the episode had a memorable {{tagline}}: "the government regulates drugs... by getting everyone hooked on them!"

* The ''Series/{{Sliders}}'' episode [[Recap/SlidersS04E07JustSayYes "Just Say Yes"]]. On one of the PlanetOfHats alternate worlds the protagonists visit, the U.S. government mandates drug use, and the alternate Quinn Mallory is a leader of the anti-drug resistance. The [[ForWantOfANail reason for this]] was UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud accidentally discovering the pharmaceutical properties of lithium, which he so enjoyed that he became a biochemist instead of a psychologist. All people (in the US, at least) have implants in their arms that allow for direct intravenous injections without risk of infection. Using syringes is seen as barbaric. The police make sure everyone stays tranquil and happy. If someone acts out, they shoot them... with a narcotic dart. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IryUHEhekus One trailer]] for the episode had a memorable {{tagline}}: "the government regulates drugs... by getting everyone hooked on them!"

* ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'': In 2079, CARI and AVAC co-developed Fixer 1.0, an [[EmotionSuppression emotion-suppressing drug]], and mixed it into artificial rain to pour it on the entire population of Mindlesia, believing that it cuts costs on mental health treatment. During the events of the game a year later, only Ajik City isn't affected because of an explosion that destroyed most of the organizations' artificial rain tech files and Fixer manufacturing facilities. Some people such as Wonsu wish for Fixerain so they won't have to pay for Emotion Mitigation Treatment and deal with difficult emotions anymore. In reality, it makes the citizens numb to everything going on around them, even the government's own crimes, and strips them of their desires.

* The player can do this in ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri''. It's costly, but a great help in having a content population and a motivated military. Yay!
* Plot of ''VideoGame/{{Haze}}''.
* With [[PropagandaMachine posters]] directing the populace to drink multiple bottles each day, only the most GenreBlind PlayerCharacter wouldn't see this coming: in the [[{{Dystopia}} Praetoria]] setting of ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', "Enriche" subtly makes [[GullibleLemmings those that drink it]] more susceptible to MindControl. However, it's filled from the same pipes as [[ParanoiaFuel the city's water supply]]. Are ''you'' drinking enough, Citizen? More importantly, how could you ''not''?
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' contains an unusual example of ''church'' Drug Enforcement. The Chantry deliberately makes Templar recruits addicted to [[FantasticDrug lyrium]] - partly as a SuperSerum, but your Templar party member [[DeadpanSnarker Alistair]] suspects it's a means of controlling them (since they need to get their supply from the Chantry).
** This backfires on the Chantry in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', when part of the Templar order goes rogue and takes Red Lyrium out of desperation, making them insane and giving them super-powers.

* Since the 1.5 update of ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', you may decide to drug one or more species to the gills, maximizing their happiness but making them pretty much useless for any job. Perfect for a decadent master race relying on its slaves to do the real work! Or for getting rid of some filthy Xenos "humanely".[[note]]The [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide Purge]] method with the lowest diplomatic penalty is neutering, which takes a long time to complete and carries a risk of rebellion if they're not kept happy, with drugs for instance.[[/note]]

** Elsewhere in the Pessimal Discworld, the Assassins' Guild School makes it ''compulsory'' for students in the last years of training on the Black to take drugs. There is a dark reasoning behind this. Trainee Assassins are made to take intense training under the influence of stimulant drugs so that they can recognise, under safe supervision, that while amphetamines can coax new reserves of strength and alertness out of a body, they can also affect the mind - often in ways that encourage the primal Assassin failing of ''overconfidence''. And then, as the Guild intends, the subject has the awful experience of coming down afterwards. Thus acting as a deterrent to going out and doing it again. After the experience of two graduates whilst touring Klatch, the Guild is now trialling the exposure of selected students to ''bhong''. again this is designed to point out to the Assassin that stealthily entering the client's bedroom at night and forgetting why you came in, or else aborting a mission to detour to the client's kitchen to answer a craving for munchies, or else sitting down to groove and giggle at the interesting play of light and shadow on the blade of your killing knife, is not a bright thing to do on a mission and explains why the Hashishim of Klatch aren't as invincible as they think they are. With a more socially available drug - alcohol - the housemistress of a residential girls' House does not apply censure when a teenage girl gets drunk. She accepts that teenage girls will do this, and you're back, so no harm done... the next morning she ensures the girl involved gets the greasiest possible fried breakfast, at a time when she feels most fragile and delicate. Then stands behind her and insists she eats it all as it's good for her. Just to make the point.

* Year Zero by Music/NineInchNails includes lyrics about TheGovernment forcing everyone to take drugs to keep the populace quiet and happy. The very first site released as part of the Year Zero AlternateRealityGame, [[http://www.iamtryingtobelieve.com I Am Trying To Believe]], [[http://www.ninwiki.com/I_Am_Trying_To_Believe goes into]] detail about the drug Parecin, claimed to be put into the water supply to combat bioterrorism after an attack on the US, but actually intended to keep the populace complacent. This is at the expense of lower birth rates due to impotence, making laxatives the number one over the counter drug in the country, constant involuntary muscle twitching, and causing complacent deep enough to ''negatively impact Super Bowl sales''. If you email the site owner about it, you'll find that he's been [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul convinced]] by the government to drink the water again.

** In the pilot, the Federation's food and water supplies are laced with "emotional suppressants". The rebel approaching Blake insists he eat or drink nothing for three days to get them out of his system.
** The [[ScamReligion cult on Cygnus Alpha]] used a fake medicine against a supposed horrific plague (actually a minor environmental poison that cleared itself within days) in place of communion wafers, to keep the cultists in line.
** The President of the Terran Federation has denounced the illegal drug Shadow as a threat to all humanity. Turns out it's being harvested on a planet protected by his personal security force. By controlling the drug trade, the Federation dominates both the legal and illegal parts of society.
** In Season 4, the Federation is able to reconquer their VestigialEmpire thanks to a drug called Pylene-50 that blocks the production of adrenaline. The penultimate episode opens with a shocking scene where drugged citizens move listlessly on elevators while CannedOrdersOverLoudspeaker tells them, "You are cared for. You are loved." The [[MoodDissonance voice continues]] even when the [[SociopathicSoldier Federation soldiers]] get bored and start gunning down people for kicks.

* This trope led to at least two epidemic diseases in human history to go extinct. Smallpox used to ravage cities. Now it can only be found in laboratories and in vaccines. Leading to [[UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories speculation about AIDS having been created in government labs as a replacement for smallpox]] and nefariously introduced to Africa/bath-houses in San Francisco as a means of eliminating black people/sinful promiscuous gays.

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

** In the pilot episode, Q mentions that, during the late-21st century wars [[AfterTheEnd of WW3 and its aftermath]], human supersoldiers were constantly hopped up on narcotics to give them endurance, strength, and artificial courage bordering on insanity.
** The episode "Symbiosis", where Planet A helps Planet B overcome a plague by selling them medicine...medicine which is also a highly addictive drug. When the plague is long gone, Planet A doesn't tell Planet B, so they will keep buying and using the drug, even though it's bankrupting their society.

* Several episodes of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' and ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963''. In the TZ episode "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You" this is combined with not-officially-compulsory-but-strongly-encouraged plastic surgery.

* Amusingly, during the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar three Guomindang-aligned warlord-run regional governments ran official provincial drug monopolies and the other five tried to crack down on the trade (or was it the other way around?). This was because the Guomindang had teetered on the edge of total bankruptcy for about two years (1940-42) as the Soviets withdrew their economic and military aid, forcing them to give up most of the the taxation, administration, and conscription duties to the provincial warlords in order to cut their spending (this resulting in dramatically increased taxation and corruption). This desperate measure allowed them to survive for a time, but would have resulted in total collapse by the end of 1943 if it weren't for barely-adequate American loans which kept the central government afloat until the war's end.

** The other half of that story that probably isn't true is that the CIA were not only directly involved in importing cocaine to the US, but that they were also behind the introduction of crack to US cities. This springs from Senate findings in the late '80s that the CIA had knowingly worked with drug traffickers, causing people to draw their own conclusions as crack arrived on US streets. Some versions say that they were doing so to secretly fund the fight against communism, co-opting the South American drug pipeline and redirecting the profits to things they couldn't do on the books. It's a reasonable(ish) theory, given that the CIA were already assassinating people and god knows what else; the mind boggles at what they couldn't get funding to do. Other versions of the story say that introducing crack was an assault on the urban poor and the black population in particular, but nobody seems to agree on exactly why the CIA would be interested in doing that, although social engineering, mind control, and just keeping the black man down have all been suggested. Perhaps the most logical theory goes that, rightly or not, the CIA saw a politically mobilized black community as being, or at least having the potential to become, a homegrown version of the left-wing militants they went to South America to fight in the first place. It wouldn't be the first time anybody's attempted genocide [[IDidWhatIHadToDo for fear of their country turning into a war zone]]. The link between the two may well exist (it's been seriously suggested that a sudden influx of CONTRA cocaine was what fueled the crack epidemic as a result of the CIA giving them a hand), but there is no evidence that the CIA actually had a hand in it.

* Despite the ban on steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs during the Olympics and such, there are occasional (true or false) accusations of drug use. That top level athletes under government sponsorship (and scrutiny) can get drugs leads some to suspect it was the government themselves (or a suitably plausibly deniable agent) who give the athletes drugs.

* ''Film/TheFifteenSeventeenToParis'': What Spencer and Alek's mothers see the public school teacher's recommendation of ADD medication as. In their minds, it's just a way of repressing a problem rather than really dealing with it. Granted, the reaction was pretty justified, as this is the counselor's ''instant'' solution for what's mild behavior that doesn't even strongly indicate they've got ADD (none show any signs of it later).

* In the ''Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy'', the Wissenberry is considered sacred and given out freely among the Kindar population to abate any kind of physical or "mind" pain. Teachers even pass them out in school to keep the children calm and compliant. (Snyder was a teacher, and the school system drugging unruly students is OlderThanTheyThink). Raamo's [[IllGirl eight-year-old sister is "wasting" to death]] due to her addiction to the Berries. Widespread addiction in the population is also cited as one of the symptoms of the society itself being ill. To a lesser extent, birth control wafers are passed out among Kindar from the ages of 13-25 so that the youth can obstensibly concentrate on their apprenticeships. Ol-Zhaan, however, are forbidden families of their own.

[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': The galactic federation, after invading Earth in the season 2 finale, forced humanity into a twisted form of wage slavery where they forced many adults into a federation related job through giving them "complimentary" pills, which actually puts them in debt as that was done to Jerry. In addition all Earth federation jobs only paid people in pills despite the federation having its own currency. It's unknown what these pills actually do but it's implied that the pills are used to prevent people from questioning the federation through putting them in a drug induced state and it's suggested that this practice had been done towards numerous alien species as well. This continued until Rick destroyed the Galactic Federation by rendering its currency worthless.

* In ''Literature/AcrossTheUniverse'', the leader of the GenerationShip ''Godspeed'' has drugs put into the water supply to keep the crew happy and docile. There are also drugs pumped into the water supply at scheduled intervals to make the people on ''Godspeed'' feel the intense desire to have sex. These intervals are called "Seasons", and used as a method of keeping the population in neat generations.

-->--'''Music/{{Muse}}''', "Uprising"

* ''Film/TheFifteenSeventeenToParis'': What Spencer and Alek’s mothers see the public school teacher’s recommendation of ADD medication as. In their minds, it’s just a way of repressing a problem rather than really dealing with it. Granted, the reaction was pretty justified, as this is the counselor's ''instant'' solution for what's mild behavior that doesn't even strongly indicate they've got ADD (none show any signs of it later).

* Anti-vaccination groups often have this belief. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And that's all that needs to be said for now.]]

* Anti-vaccination groups often have this belief. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And that's all that needs to be said for now.]]

* Anti-vaccination groups often have this belief. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement And that's all that needs to be said for now.]]

* ''Film/DrStrangelove'' -- Yes, some nutjobs actually thought fluoridated water was this trope, a communist plot to pollute our precious bodily fluids.
* ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'' -- Prozium injections suppress emotions. The injections are in tiny vials shaped like bullets, and injected with a device that looks like a gun, directly into the neck, [[{{Anvilicious}} just in case we didn't get that it was a form of metaphorical suicide of the self]].
* ''Film/{{Panther}}'' -- The hoary old conspiracy theory that the U.S. government secretly invented crack and encouraged gangsters to sell drugs in the Black ghettoes to keep Blacks down is presented as fact.
* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' -- The Alliance dispersed G-23 Paxilon Hydrochlorate, a drug designed to reduce aggression, [[spoiler:into the atmosphere of the planet Miranda. [[GoneHorriblyRight Ninety-nine point nine percent of the population became so docile that they lay down and let themselves starve to death]], and one tenth of a percent become the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil maniacal, cannibalistic Reavers]]]]. Oops.
* ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' -- Future soldiers in an endless BugWar are allowed otherwise-illegal drugs, including time-released cocaine, to keep them awake and alert during prolonged engagements.
* ''[[Film/THX1138 THX-1138]]'' had the populace kept under control with sedatives, to prevent them from having sex, or otherwise acting in unapproved ways.

* In ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'' the MegaCorp [=GeneCo=] (which is the closest thing to a government the setting represents) produces the highly addictive and euphoric painkiller Zydrate, which it uses in all of its surgical operations. Since the vast majority of the population will require at least one organ transplant, a huge majority are addicted to Zydrate, and the fact that most of the rest become addicted to surgery means that Zydrate is in high demand so that surgeries can be engaged in casually. [=GeneCo=]'s monopoly on Zydrate and synthetic organs is thus vital to its controlling the populace (preventing anyone from questioning their [[TheydCutYouUp repossession policies]]), and attempts to illegally acquire Zydrate from corpses are usually met with lethal force. Zydrate addiction recovery programs are also under [=GeneCo=]'s control. It is also likely that post-surgery addiction to the (expensive) Zydrate is the reason that so many miss their organ payments.

* ''Literature/BattlefieldEarth'' -- The evil alien [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Psychlos]] are being manipulated by the even more evil [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Catrists]] through brain surgery and mind control drugs, to prevent them from allowing advanced technology from falling into the hands of less-advanced species.
* ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'' -- Soma, a euphoric drug that keeps everyone happy, no matter how awful or boring their life becomes. Plus, all non-sterilized women must take birth control drugs to ensure that all children are born in government-run in-vitro baby farms. Finally, the lower castes are given alcohol while still in-vitro to make them physically and mentally challenged, so they accept their low-level menial tasks as merely their proper lot in life.

* In the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' universe, the evil corporation Manpower, Inc. uses a combination of genetic engineering and powerful medication to control a population of "genetic slaves" to do manual labor, serve as SuperSoldiers, and act as sex slaves. Also, it's heavily hinted that Haven used drugs in the drinking water and food supply to keep a lid on rebellious proles in their welfare state gone wild. In a slightly more benevolent mode, it's a given that all the militaries which have men and women serving in the same units require them to be on contraceptives while on active duty. This is also apparently the policy regarding prisoners of war, explicitly stated as being the practice on the Havenite prison planet Hell where the food was laced with them.
** [[spoiler: Though it's speculated that the Peeps might just have not wanted to bother keeping track of (and feeding) children.]]

* ''Literature/ThisPerfectDay'' -- Mandatory treatments keep everyone peaceful, helpful, and kind...and suppress the sex drive and other emotions, as well as preventing unapproved pregnancies.

** Also inverted: at one point it's explained that the Illuminati has an experimental program going on to keep main population dull and bored - the manager in charge of the project [[spoiler:F.D. Roosevelt!]] explains how they remain immune because they're allowed access to Weishaupt's wonder herb, namely cannabis.

* "Welcome to the Monkey House" a short story by Creator/KurtVonnegut had everyone taking something that numbed the groin area and prevented having sex for pleasure in order to keep the population down. The title came from the fact it was invented by a zoo veterinarian who was also a devout Christian upset by the monkeys having sex unabashedly in full view of everyone, so it was first used to cut that nonsense out.

* Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' in the early period, where birth control was mandatory, anti-paranoid drugs were mandatory for those diagnosed with it, and by the time of the 1st Man-Kzin War thinking of a violent act was a psychological disorder (treated by drugs). In later works (Beowulf Schaefer/Louis Wu era), the cops were taking drugs to CAUSE paranoia!

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' -- The government and Psi Corps required that any telepath who refused to join the Corps and accept Corps discipline must take drugs to suppress their telepathic abilities. Unsurprisingly, this is worse than it sounds. The drugs also make you suicidally depressed, which is what happened to Ivanova's mother.

** In Season 4, the Federation is able to reconquer their VestigialEmpire thanks to a drug called Pylene-50 that blocks the production of adrenaline. The penultimate episode opens with a shocking scene where drugged citizens move listlessly on elevators while CannedOrdersOverLoudspeaker tells them, "You are cared for. You are loved." The [[MoodDissonance voice continues]] even when the Federation soldiers get bored and start gunning down people for kicks.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' -- The Initiative, an undercover demon hunting operation bent on creating MixAndMatchCritters of demon/human/cybernetic parts, secretly feeds its very human agents with performance enhancing drugs. Expect usual withdrawal symptoms.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' -- Done several times over the series and movies, both in the Federation and on various PlanetOfHats worlds.

* In the "Paradise" storyline of ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', Riff is sent to 4U City in an AnotherDimension/AlternateUniverse, where everyone is constantly drugged to keep them happy and docile, and hovering robots follow people around and inject them with syringes if they show any signs of unhappiness. This of course turns out to be a last resort method originally employed by [[spoiler: that universe' Riff]], to keep the city blissfully unaware that [[spoiler: they are the only remaining humans on earth, and the entire universe is falling apart due to the damage a recent war has done to the fabric of reality]]. CrapsackWorld indeed.

* The "Genetic Enabling Factor" given to the [[ArtificialHuman Supertroopers]] in ''[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers Galaxy Rangers]]''. The youngest of the 'Troopers [[TheLancer (who becomes the show's Lancer)]] refuses to take his dose. [[DaChief Walsh]] is about to order Shane to take the stuff, but [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Nagata proposes using him as a control instead]]. Shane's refusal to take the drugs may have helped him remain sane when [[CorruptBureaucrat Senator Wheiner]] doesed the 'troopers with PsychoSerum.
* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': The galactic federation, after invading Earth in the season 2 finale forced humanity into a twisted form of wage slavery where they forced many adults into a federation related job through giving them "complimentary" pills, which actually puts them in debt as that was done to Jerry. In addition all Earth federation jobs only paid people in pills despite the federation having its own currency. It's unknown what these pills actually do but it's implied that the pills are used to prevent people from questioning the federation through putting them in a drug induced state and it's suggested that this practice had been done towards numerous alien species as well. This continued until Rick destroyed the Galactic Federation by rendering its currency worthless.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': The galactic federation, after invading Earth in the season 2 finale forced humanity into a twisted form of wage slavery where they forced many adults into a federation related job through giving them "complimentary" pills, which actually puts them in debt as that was done to Jerry. In addition all Earth federation jobs only paid people in pills despite the federation having its own currency. Its unknown what these pills actually do but its implied that the pills are used to prevent people from questioning the federation through putting them in a drug induced state and its suggested that this practice had been done towards numerous alien species as well. This continued until Rick destroyed the Galactic Federation by rendering its currency worthless.

* ''Literature/TheForeverWar'' -- Future soldiers in an endless war are allowed otherwise-illegal drugs to keep them awake and alert for long periods of time.

** The Disciples Of The Black God traffic heroin to keep the ghettos from becoming riot hotspots. What motive they, as a black militant, Afro-centric, anti-goverment group, have in this, isn't exactly explained.