The 13 Most (and Least) Realistic Portrayals of Drugs in Sitcoms

Whether or not you’ve dabbled in the alteration of your biochemistry, the unrealistic drug use in sitcoms can be painfully obvious. Shows with writers who’ve experienced drugs and addiction can more accurately portray the usage, but even then, the drama and the drug’s effects are amped up for compelling storylines. It took some real gritty, dark comedies to accurately portray drug use without sacrificing the funny. 

Looking back, it makes total sense that campy sitcoms wouldn’t have writers with substance abuse issues, but it was so glaring that they didn’t even do their research. Because of the “Just Say No'' anti-drug campaign of the ‘80s and ‘90s, sitcoms used drugs (not in that sense) whenever they needed a heavy, “real” episode. Clearly, many of them just copy-and-pasted that PSA jargon. Peer pressure was a solid theme, but for some reason, a lot of shows felt that a drug theme needed to begin and conclude in one 22-minute episode. This made for some overly dramatic and hilariously rushed stories of addiction and recovery that were never spoken of again. So for some do’s and don’ts, here are some of the most and least realistic portrayals of drugs in sitcom history.