The list of notable drug culture figures comprises persons who are well-known specifically from their use, research into or advocacy of non-medicinal, psychoactive drugs. It is not a list of notable people who have used drugs.

Contents

1 Actors 2 Artists 3 Researchers 4 Musicians 5 Writers

Actors

• Cheech and Chong - Comedy duo that starred in several movies about marijuana use.
• Woody Harrelson - An activist for the legalization of marijuana.

Artists

• Peter Max - Pop artist whose work is said to reflect the aesthetic of LSD use.

Researchers

• Albert Hofmann - The Swiss chemist who first synthesized LSD.
• Timothy Leary - As a researcher at Harvard University, conducted experiments on the use of psilocybin and LSD. He was fired from his job, but became the best-known advocate for LSD use.
• Owsley Stanley - The first underground chemist to produce LSD. He was arrested with several hundred thousand doses which he claimed was for personal use.

Musicians

Although many popular musicians have used drugs or suffered from the effects of drugs, this list only covers those for whom drug use has become a significant part of their public persona.

• Grateful Dead - San Francisco based musicians whose tours are strongly associated with the use of LSD, magic mushrooms and marijuana by their fans.
• Bob Marley - Reggae musician from Jamaica. His album Catch a Fire shows Marley smoking a large 'spliff' (marijuana cigarette).
• Peter Tosh - The title track from his album Legalize It became an anthem for marijuana advocates.
• Sublime - Heavily influenced by marijuana, they have an association with marijuana similar to Bob Marley. Songs include "Smoke Two Joints" and "Let's Go Get Stoned."
• Phish - Jam band often associated with drug use, especially at their live shows. This is such an important part of their persona that there have been organizations founded by fans whose goal is to stop drug and/or "hard drug" use at Phish concerts ("Inside Out" and "The Phellowship").

Writers

• Charles Baudelaire - Author of Les Paradis artificiels: opium et haschisch
• William S. Burroughs - Author of Naked Lunch and other books that draw on his experiences as an opiate addict.
• Carlos Castenada - Wrote many books (now believed to be at least partly fictional) that discussed the use of entheogens by native shamans in Mexico.
• Aldous Huxley - Wrote The Doors of Perception, a book about his experiments with mescaline.
• Ken Kesey - A founder of the Merry Pranksters.
• Fitz Hugh Ludlow - Cannabis pioneer, opiate addiction researcher, author of The Hasheesh Eater
• Terence McKenna - Wrote extensively about the use of entheogens.
• Hunter S. Thompson - Wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and other books that revolve around drug use.