The use of fictional medicine and drugs has history in both fiction (usually fantasy or science fiction) and the real world. In fiction, drugs and medicine have served as analogues to real-world drugs, giving color and depth to the fictional world. They are often included by authors to create or to reduce the utopian/ideal nature of their fictional world and to introduce harsh realism and dystopia. In the real world, fictional drugs have been used in scientific studies as markers to determine unreliability for survey participants who are asked to provide their history of drug usage.
Contents
- Performance and lifestyle enhancers
- Recreational
- Other or unspecified
- Nonexistent drugs whose names are used to test accuracy of questionnaires
- References
The following list of fictional medicines and drugs is limited to drugs appearing in works of fiction. Some of the listed items may be used as both medicine and recreation or in other capacities, but fictional works are often vague on such distinctions. Grouping is made according to primary usage within the fictional work.
Performance and lifestyle enhancers
These drugs are for enhancing strength, intelligence, and other attributes. Steroids, birth control pills, and antidepressants fall into this category.
Recreational
Drugs used for narcotic, hallucinogenic, or other recreational usage. These drugs tend to be illegal and addictive, sometimes dangerously so.
Other or unspecified
Snake oils can be found here. Also for compounds whose properties are not known.
Nonexistent drugs whose names are used to test accuracy of questionnaires
Some names of fictitious drugs are used in questionnaires by some academic surveys to test the reliability of answers received from students. These drugs include: