Drug Abuse: The Chemical Tomb (1969)

★★★★ · Remember... Don't Do Drugs! · Spuzz · 2003-04-26

An ode to the evil of drugs starts out great, with a party going on, groovy music playing, people in great fashions dancing around, and, uh, a kid with a aeresol spray can... Soon, a interesting lecture starts about the different kind of drugs and the side effects. It seems the expert the filmmakers chose was apparently too boring as they cut in and out of his speech at will. The consequences of drug dealing are also explored. Nice acting, great sets and wild music add up to a cool film.

★★★★ · Chemical tomb · bruisedtoes · 2004-03-26

A surprisingly introspective approach to the national drug problem, considering the era it was made in. The film professes to "...try and cut through the undue propaganda on both sides of the drug problem" with drug guide, Dr. John T. Boroughs [Med.Dir.Narc.Edu, LA], who is friendly and entertainingly comfortable with street-drug nomenclature. It also suggests that the police should not be the only ones involved in the counter effort. Enough cheesy displays of drug use and psychedelia to satiate the retro-novelty seeker.

★★★★ · Drug Use How-To · Christine Hennig · 2005-09-16

This 60s anti-drug film would never fly today, as it includes lots of detailed scenes of teenagers using various drugs, enough so it could be accused of teaching drug abuse techniques. Although a law enforcement drug expert and the narrator drone on and on about how terrible drugs are, what we see is kids rolling joints, close-ups of shooting up, and even a scene of gradeschoolers sniffing glue using a washcloth. There is, of course, the obligatory scene of a drug trip, and plenty of footage of 60s kids partying, which should bring back memories for those who were teens during that time.…

★★★★ · Tune in, turn on, and drop out! · autoguy · 2006-05-16

OMG, the ravages of those evil DRUGS! Arrested development, long hair, and those lovely short skirts fill this instructional video outlining the types of drugs available, and the proper usage of them! For some strange reason, the youth of that era could not be satisfied with the simple habit of dousing their brains with alcohol to arrest their development and perpetuate domestic bedlam, and keep their drug use hidden in the medicine cabinet where it belonged. The accepted covert use of sleeping pills and diet pill prescriptions becomes openly accepted? *gasp* Lucky for the population of…

★★★ · Take your pills calmly · the sandwich lover · 2008-01-29

I've dug out this film several times but barely used any footage from it for my projects. It's no match for the narration on "Narcotics - Pit of Despair" a film that "get's with the countdown and blasts off to kicksville." I recommend that one if you want entertainment and lots of good ideas. I tried to find out more about the writer and director of this "Chemical snooze" film - "life of the party" Alan Kishbaugh, but didn't get too far. It appears that this is the only film he ever made. I wonder if he believed his "society will improve with your drug-free help" or whether he liked to booze…

★★ · Dull as all get-out. · Robot Mike · 2006-04-22

This was all pretty standard. The film features a rather boring lecturist, and goes on a little too long. Though the music is good, the narrator renders it useless by talking all over it. Oh, and speaking of the music: some of it was also used in "Narcotics: Pit of Dispair"; (listen to the bass when the depressed gal sits down by the window). The beginning sequence, with the hands preparing drugs, was also reminiscient of the nacotics flick. However, "Narcotics..." was 10 times better.