Readers suggest the 10 best stoners
1 | The Dude
... from The Big Lebowski
Jeff Bridges as the Dude. Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar
Suggested by ChrisMacDonald, Lagarto 60, Chinese Dazza and CJL123
“Where’s the dude, man?” lamented CJL123, alongside many other readers disappointed that the white Russian-drinking bowling enthusiast from cult classic The Big Lebowski didn’t make the list. The noir-inspired chaotic crime comedy, although not hugely successful upon its release back in 1998, has garnered a substantial following over the years, largely due to Jeff Bridges’s popular pot-smoking character with a penchant for floor coverings. The Dude even made it into the top 10 of Empire’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time and a religion promoting his life philosophy, Dudeism, has over 250,000 ordained priests.
2 | Jeff Spicoli
... from Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli. Photograph: Rex Shutterstock
Suggested by escapeclause and Mel Gravelrash Luxton
The classic rebellious misfit teen, Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) from 80s flick Fast Times at Ridgemont High is, as stated by user escapeclause, “surely a deserving number-one screen stoner”. The chilled-out surfer dude is in constant conflict with rigid high-school rules and especially his stern history teacher Mr Hand, who doesn’t take kindly to Spicoli ordering pizza to be delivered during class. The teen, who has been “stoned since third grade”, remains unruffled throughout the high-school drama, even when crashing a car during a joyride. As he says: “All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine.”
3 | Floyd
... from True Romance
Brad Pitt as Floyd. Photograph: Rex Shutterstock
Suggested by Caligula, thinknot and drewtox
One of Brad Pitt’s more minor but memorable roles is as the couch-bound stoner Floyd in Tarantino classic True Romance. Floyd shows us a less glossy but down-to-earth version of Pitt, cluelessly offering a bong hit to a group of gun-wielding gangsters. The actor himself has since admitted to a Floyd-like battle with depression and drug addiction in the 90s, during which he lay on his sofa smoking weed until a trip to poverty-stricken Morocco made him turn his life around.
4 | Otto
... from The Simpsons
Otto in The Simpsons Movie.
Suggested by peninsularguy
The first cartoon stoner to make our list, Otto the weed-smoking, school-bus driving metalhead, voiced by Harry Shearer, is undoubtedly one of the most well-known but overlooked drug users on TV. His regular drug-induced hallucinations, lack of driving licence and countless crashes lead him to be suspended on a number of occasions, yet he still remains in position as an iconic and one of the most recklessly irresponsible Simpsons characters. Alongside his notable use of marijuana, it is suggested that Otto uses heroin and LSD, and in one episode he appears in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where he introduces himself thus: “My name is Otto, I love to get blotto!”
5 | Vod
... from Fresh Meat
Zawe Ashton as Vod. Photograph: Channel 4
Suggested by LtotheW
No uni experience would be complete without the obligatory stoner housemate who emerges from their room bleary eyed at 1am to grab some cereal and shuffle back to their hazy room. However, rather than the usual pale and reclusive type, dope-smoking Vod has ballsy sass and a fierce fashion sense to match. Constantly teetering on the thin line between student and dropout, and leaning on her flatmates’ finances to fuel her love of drink and drugs, Vod’s frank truths and occasional glimmers of warmth make her one of the most lovable characters on the show. Or, as LtotheW states, “Constantly smoking and full of great one liners – she’s cool as f**k.”
6 | Jay and Silent Bob
Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith as Jay and Silent Bob in Clerks, 1994. Photograph: Moviestore Collection/REX
Suggested by Lucanidae and DanielBurden
The popular weed-peddling duo are the most recurrent characters in Kevin Smith’s Askewniverse, the fictional setting for several films, comics and a TV series he has written. Through the likes of Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy, the pair are most often found loitering outside their favourite haunt, the Quick Stop, where they harass passersby and attempt to sell their drugs. While Jay verbally assaults everyone they meet, Silent Bob compensates by communicating through facial expressions and hand gestures, only occasionally offering his measured wisdom through brief speeches. It’s mindless, profanity-ridden fun, but the pair have a cult following, highly anticipating their return in upcoming Mallrats 2.
7 | Melanie
… from Jackie Brown
Bridget Fonda as Melanie in Jackie Brown. Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Suggested by SimonGhent
Melanie (Bridget Fonda) meets an infamous end in Jackie Brown when she becomes embroiled in Ordell’s cash-smuggling ring, but before that the laid-back surfer chick innocently spends her time taking bong hits and watching TV in Ordell’s beach house. In a dreamily seductive weed-induced trance, she informs Louis: “Coughing’s good! It opens up the capillaries. You know, when you cough you’re pulling in air, or in this case – smoke, into parts of the lungs that don’t normally get used. So, coughing’s good. It gets you higher.”
8 | Hunter S Thompson
Journalist and author

Hunter S Thompson. Photograph: Sunshine/Rex Shutterstock
Suggested by mikedow
Thompson was a revolutionary counter-cultural journalist and active drug user who pioneered gonzo journalism, a subjective form of reporting in which the writer involves himself as a first-person participant in the story. His most famous 1971 work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, is heralded by the New York Times as being “by far the best book yet written on the decade of dope”, and Thompson himself actively campaigned for the legalisation of marijuana throughout his lifetime. On the subject of dope he believed it was “a basic staple of life, along with beer and ice and grapefruits – and millions of Americans agree with me.”
9 | Towelie
… from South Park
Towlie.

Suggested by Voller

A 17-year-old genetically engineered talking towel with a drug addiction ... Yes, this must be the town of South Park. First created as a vehicle to mock the commercialisation of the franchise, Towelie soon became a well-loved character in his own right. He is regularly shown happily getting high to the Popeye theme tune, but in the end the boys encounter him at summer camp, having lost his girlfriend and newborn son, Washcloth, due to excessive drug use and turning to prostitution in order to fund his habit, prompting him to become clean.
10 | Smokey
… from Friday
Chris Tucker as Smokey in Friday.
Suggested by SirRoystenMerchant
This 90s stoner comedy, the brainchild of rapper Ice Cube, stars Chris Tucker as Smokey, a pothead who sells (or, in reality, smokes) weed on behalf of Big Worm, the local dealer. The film follows the endeavours of Smokey and his pal Craig (Ice Cube) to come up with the cash to refund and appease the boss. The final seconds of the movie are the most memorable, in which Smokey assures Big Worm he’s going to rehab, before hanging up the phone and lighting a joint with a mischievous grin to the camera.