Methaqualone in popular culture

Updated on Dec 05, 2023

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Methaqualone is a sedative-hypnotic drug similar in effect to barbiturates, a general CNS depressant. Its use peaked in the 1960s and 1970s as a hypnotic for the treatment of insomnia, and as a sedative and muscle relaxant. It has also been used illegally as a recreational drug, commonly known as Quaaludes (/ˈkweɪljuːdz/ KWAY-lewdz), particularly in the 1970s in North America, or as Mandrax (methaqualone 250 mg combined with diphenhydramine 25 mg).

Books

In his memoir American Desperado (2011), Jon Roberts recalls how he provided Methaqualone to the women he wanted to have sex with.

In his memoir The Wolf of Wall Street (2007), Jordan Belfort mentions he was addicted to Quaaludes.

In her memoir, Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway (1989), Cherie Currie talks about popping Quaaludes like they were Skittles.

In Bret Easton Ellis' novel, Less Than Zero (1985), Quaaludes are mentioned in several places.

In his autobiography Scar Tissue (2004), Anthony Kiedis mentions using Quaaludes during his youth.

In Stephen King's novel, It (1986), Quaalude is one of the numerous drugs Eddie Kaspbrak takes with him as he leaves his wife to meet his childhood companions in Derry, Maine.

In Larry Kramer's novel Faggots (1978), Quaaludes are frequently used by the characters as a party drug.

In Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City books, the character Mona Ramsay is a frequent Quaalude user.

In Keith Richards' memoir, Life (2002), he tells of the speedboat he bought in 1971 while living on the French Riviera and recording Exile on Main Street (1972). He named the boat Mandrax, an anagram of its original name, saying: "It was irresistible to call it that."

The movie The Boost (1988) was based on Ben Stein's novel Ludes: A Ballad of the Drug & the Dream (1982).

Nick Talevski's Rock Obituaries - Knocking On Heaven's Door (2010) describes the toll that Richard Carpenter's addiction to Quaaludes and his sister Karen's anorexia had on their health and careers.

In David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest (1996), Don Gat·ely's adolescent experiences with Quaaludes and alcohol are denoted by the phrase "The Attack of the Killer Sidewalks".

In Ryu Murakami's short novel Almost Transparent Blue (1976), Ryū and his friends are constantly dropping Quaalude, referred to as Nibrole.

In his memoir 'Jackpot: High Times, High Seas and the Sting That Launched the War on Drugs (2011), Jason Ryan recalls that young women in Miami were the among the customers who were buying Quaaludes from him and that they were using the drug in order to lose their sexual inhibitions.

Film

In the film Jubilee (1977), Jordan's character Amyl Nitrate, an "anti-historian", says it would be great if "all of history could be written on a Mandrax."

In the film Studio 54 (1984), owner Steve Rubell had 500 tablet bottles of Quaaludes stashed in his office and constantly eats them like candy. He also offers them to his young male employees to attempt to seduce them sexually. Quaalude were known on the streets as "the original date rape drug".

In the Cheech and Chong movie Up In Smoke (1978), Quaaludes are mentioned in several places. While driving the "van made entirely out of marijuana", which the narcotic Sergeant Stadenko is pursuing, Cheech and Chong pick up two hitchhiking women. One of them, Jade East, offers Chong a 'lude. At The Roxy Theatre, she gives Chong pills she believes are uppers, but which are actually Quaaludes, before he attempts to perform. Chong's stage persona during his band's performance is "Captain Quaalude"; he is dressed in tights, a shirt emblazoned with a huge Quaalude, and a cape. Chong's apparent overdose on Quaaludes causes him to fall all over the stage and his drums, until he is revived by marijuana smoke being drawn into the Roxy's ventilation system from the van burning in front of the club.

In the film Modern Romance (1981), Albert Brooks' character uses Quaaludes to help cope with a break-up.

In Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams (1981), Cheech's ex-girlfriend Donna (Evelyn Guerrero) enters a Chinese restaurant to find Cheech and Chong seated together. Her speech is slurred from the Quaaludes that she acknowledges taking.

In Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) states, "People on 'ludes should not drive", as he drives down the street in his friend's brother's car.

In Scarface (1983), Tony accuses his wife of abusing Quaaludes, and at one point says: "Another Quaalude and she's gonna love me again".

In The Hunger (1983), a young girl named Alice asks Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) if she can give John (David Bowie) some Quaaludes to help him sleep. Miriam is shocked to hear her even mention the drug, but Alice tells her that she steals the pills from her stepmother, who buys them by the gross.

In the film Dragnet (1987), Joe Friday (played by Dan Aykroyd)'s badge number (714) was conspicuously the last shot in the opening credits. This was ostensibly a tribute to the original Joe Friday (Jack Webb) from the eponymous 1951 TV series—who is the uncle of the film's Joe Friday—but actually is a reference to what had become an inside joke in popular culture, especially to users of "714's", the Methaqualone pill produced under the brand name of Quaalude." Friday's character inherited his namesake's badge number and the movie's main plot point is attempting to thwart the drug-dealing "P.A.G.A.N.S."

In the film Almost Famous (2000), Kate Hudson's character Penny Lane overdoses on Quaaludes before getting her stomach pumped.

In the movie Wonderland (2003), John Holmes (Val Kilmer) aided and abetted in the theft of $100,000 in Quaaludes from the character Eddy Nash.

In Starsky & Hutch (2004), drug dealer Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn) angers his partner Kevin (Jason Bateman) when he murders one of their subordinates. Feldman callously advises Kevin to take a Quaalude to relax.≤

In The Matador (2005), Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan) tells his friend Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear): "A Vietnamese girl I once knew had her legs so locked together I couldn't get a whiff of her spring roll. Two drinks, half a Quaalude later, I was at an all you can eat buffet. Every lock can be broken. It's just a matter of will and whether it's worth it."

In the film Blades of Glory (2007), Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) announces that he was high on Quaaludes at an event.

In the commentaries for the film The Runaways (2010), Joan Jett mentions that Quaaludes were her drug of choice when her character was shown snorting cocaine.

In Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Cox mentions to his son, Dewey-Raheem, that "Quaaludes and water-skiing do not mix".

In the film That's My Boy (2012), Adam Sandler's character's pet snake was said to have died from a Quaaludes overdose. He defends it by saying that was the only time anybody's ever seen a king cobra laugh.

The drug is referred to as 'ludes' in the Martin Scorsese picture, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). Jonah Hill's character also finds some old stock of Lemmon and decides to use it with Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio).

In the film version of Behind the Candelabra, Scott Thorson is prescribed Quaaludes as part of the plastic surgery carried out on him on Liberace's orders.

Music

In his song "Everything They Owe", 2Pac claims that police came into his home and asked: "Where is the Quaaludes?"

During the Billion Dollar Babies tour in the 1970s, Alice Cooper occasionally changed a line in his song "Dead Babies", which concerns a child overdosing on aspirin to "Little Betty ate a pound of Quaaludes". An instance of this is most readily found in the concert film Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974).

The Angry Samoans album Inside My Brain (1980) includes a song titled "Gimme Sopor", a reference to the drug.

The David Bowie song "Time" has the line "Time – in Quaaludes and red wine." The drug is also mentioned in the song "Rebel Rebel": "You got your queue line and a handful of ludes..."

The Butthole Surfers song "To Parter" frequently mentions Quaaludes.

The cover of Cheap Trick' 45 RPM single "Voices", from their album Dream Police (1979), released in Japan and The Netherlands, pictures the group's members showing police badges. Bassist Tom Peterssen's badge number "714" – like that of Joe Friday on the TV series Dragnet – is the number on the Methaqualone pill produced under the brand name of Quaalude.

The Dead Kennedys song "M.T.V. – Get off the Air" includes the line, "Hi, I'm your video DJ. I always talk like I'm wigged out on Quaaludes."

The Descendents song "Bikeage" contains the lyric "Take a Quaalude, relax your mind."

In the Funkadelic song "Stick Finger", they chant, "I don't want to get up, Quaalude me down".

Straight edge hardcore band Gorilla Biscuits takes their name from New York slang for Quaaludes.

One of the verses in Great White's rare single "Wasted Rock Ranger", on the B-side of "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" (1975), says: "I had Bennies with my breakfast toast, Quaaludes with my evening roast, and assorted snorts of powder in between. I don't think a day's gone by, that I wasn't drunk or high. It's the only way I keep my sanity."

In Ian Dury and the Blockheads' song "Billericay Dickie", one of the verses states "another thing with Sandy, what often came in handy, was passing her a 'Mandy', she didn't half go bandy".

Billy Idol's song "Blue Highway" includes the line, "Quaaludes and red wine for love, yes there's a time, a time for love."

Iggy Pop references "Quaaludes" in the song "I Got Nothin'" on the Kill City (1977) album (credited to Iggy Pop & James Williamson).

The Kottonmouth Kings' song, "Johnny's Got a Problem", states: "I ain't got no problems whut the fuck's wrong with you, get me a blue and a twelve pack of brew, some chicks to screw who know whut to do, plus 2 Quaaludes for when the night's through."

In the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "That Smell", Ronnie Van Zant sings, "So they call you Prince Charming, can't speak a word when you're full of ludes", a reference to guitarist Gary Rossington.

The Mac Miller song "S.D.S." contains the line "Take some Quaaludes, conversate with Jesus".

In the Marilyn Manson video clip for "I Don't Like The Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me)", the mother of the family featured on the clip holds up a number of word cards and flicks through them quickly. The words on the cards are "Masturbate – Repent – Dope Star – Suicide – Quaaludes".

Rapper Mickey Avalon mentions Quaaludes in his song "Dipped in Vaseline" with the lyrics: "Hustling gay dude for Quaaludes, out by the pool, in a baby-blue bathing suit. Waiting for Jesus to bring the juice."

The Minor Threat song "Straight Edge" contains the line, "Laugh at the thought of eating ludes..."

In Pink Floyd's early days, while supporting Jimi Hendrix on his UK tour, former frontman Syd Barrett crushed a jar of Mandrax tablets and put them in his hair, along with an entire tube of Brylcreem. During that show he played one chord the entire night, while the mixture melted under the heat of the lights, making Syd look like "a guttered candle".

John Prine's song "Come Back to Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard" includes the line, "Selling bibles at the airports, buying Quaaludes on the phone".

The Reagan Youth song "Degenerated" has the line, "Johnny wastes his days eating ludes, he's a teenage vegetable."

The Screeching Weasel song "Joanie Loves Johnny" contains the lyric "Pinkie Tuscadero's stewed, Fonzie's all fucked up on 'ludes".

Shel Silverstein's album The Great Conch Train Robbers contains a song titled "Quaaludes Again", which is about a woman's addiction to Quaaludes and the fact that she is doing them again.

The Social Distortion song "Lude Boy" is about Quaalude abuse. Also, in the documentary film Another State of Mind (film)|Another State of Mind (1982), Social Distortion bassist Brent Liles can be seen wearing a shirt displaying a Quaalude reference during the San Francisco show scene.

During the mid-1970s, when the band The Tubes performed their signature hit song "White Punks on Dope", they threw out imitation "Quaaludes" to the audience. The band's lead singer, Fee Waybill, took on their stage persona Quay Lewd and performed in platform shoes with very tall heels.

Them Crooked Vultures' use 'ludes' in the title of their song "Interlude With Ludes".

On Robin Williams' record Reality, What a Concept (1979), the comedian continually references the drug in regards to his "stoner character".

The Wonder Years's song "Racing Trains" contains a lyric wherein Dan Campbell sings that "the guy on the train says he split a quaalude with Sid Vicious"

In Frank Zappa's "Pygmy Twylyte" from the Roxy & Elsewhere (1974) album, he sings "Hurtin' for sleep in the Quaalude moonlight". In the song "Flakes" on his Sheik Yerbouti (1979) album,Zappa can be heard asking "Wanna buy some Mandies, Bob?"

In the song Yeah Yeah Yeah by American Rock Band Kix, singer Steve Whiteman mentions quaaludes in his ad-lib performance of the album version, saying "I had TWO left, Two ludes for the girl of my wet dreams" and "She does my quaaludes".

Television

In an episode of 1000 Ways to Die there was a hairstylist known for seducing women with Quaaludes and vodka. After being under the influence of Quaauludes and a cocktail from an earlier fling, he passes out with his neck landing on top of a curling iron. As the curling iron burns through the hairstylist's neck, the dead tissue blocks his trachea and he asphyxiates and dies.

In Childrens Hospital: "That 70s Episode", the entire hospital staff is shown to have had a soft spot for 'Ludes during the 1970s.

In the Desperate Housewives episode "The Game", Tom Scavo asks Stella Wingfield (Lynette Scavo's mother) if she had put Quaaludes in the cocoa she gave his children before putting them to bed.

On the HBO show Entourage, talent representative Ari Gold states: "The last time I blacked out, I took four Quaaludes and fucked Chantelle Luttenberger."

In the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode "The Gang Reignites The Rivalry", at the frat house, Frank (Danny DeVito) asks if the fraternity brothers have any ludes.

In Denis Leary's Showtime special No Cure for Cancer (1992), Leary makes reference to ludes as a drug he did in the 1970s, claiming that they were "the only possible explanation" for the prevalence of bell-bottoms during that era.

In the season 6 Parks and Recreation episode "Anniversaries", the character Joan Callamezzo (Mo Collins) takes uppers and 'ludes before hosting her TV show.

In the Quincy, M.E. episode "Walk Softly Through the Night", Dr. Quincy confronts an unethical physician who prescribes Methaqualone to addicts for a profit. Quincy sees to it that the physician is investigated by the local chapter of the California Board of Medical Quality Assurance.

In Sex and the City season 4, episode 3 , Samantha Jones (Kim Catrall) discusses using Quaaludes during threesomes.

In season 3, episode 23 of The King of Queens Doug's boss requests "Mexican Quaaludes" in exchange for hiring Doug's cousin, Danny.

The Rockford Files season 5, episode 7 ("Three Day Affair With a Thirty Day Escrow"; 10 Nov. 1978), Richard Moll plays the character "Ludes". Ludes is paid with Thai sticks to frighten away further investigation by Jim Rockford.

In the Weeds season one episode "Lude Awakening", Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins), claims to have in her possession the "last pharmaceutical Quaalude in the world". The last scene shows the character exposing her breasts to a teenage boy. When the boy's mother walks in, "I took a Lude" was the woman's excuse.

In an episode of Will & Grace, Grace jokes about the drummer of one's prom band putting a "Quaalude in your Fresca".

In the True Detective first episode of season one (The Long Bright Dark), Louisiana State Police detective Rustin Cohle (Mattew McConnaughey) asks for "Quaaludes, anything barbital" to a prostitute in a bar while investigating on the Dora Lange case, telling her that he needs them to sleep.

In "King of Queens" Doug puts in a good word for his cousin Danny for a job at IPS where Doug works, his boss Mr. O'Boyle jokingly asks him for "a fist full of Quaaludes" in return for the favour.

In a prank phone call, "We Get to Drink," recorded by the Touch-Tone Terrorists and later broadcast on the Comedy Central program Crank Yankers, a supposed disgruntled parcel service employee tells a disgruntled customer to "Chill out and a have a Quaalude."

References

Methaqualone in popular culture Wikipedia

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Contents

Books

Film

Music

Television

References