Reefer Madness (originally made as Tell Your Children and sometimes titled The Burning Question, Dope Addict, Doped Youth, and Love Madness) is a 1936 American exploitation film about drugs, revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try marijuana – upon trying it, they become addicted, eventually leading them to become involved in various crimes such as a hit and run accident, manslaughter, murder, conspiracy to murder and attempted rape.

While all this is happening, they suffer hallucinations, descend into insanity, associate with organized crime and (in one character's case) commit suicide.

Originally financed by a church group under the title Tell Your Children, the film was intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use.

[2] The film was "rediscovered" in the early 1970s and gained new life as an unintentional satire among advocates of cannabis policy reform.

Ralph Wiley, a sociopathic college dropout turned dealer, and siren Blanche help Jack recruit new customers.

The film's story is told in bracketing sequences, at a lecture given at a PTA meeting by high school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll.

In 1936 or 1938,[7] Tell Your Children was financed and made by a church group and intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use.

[2][3] It was originally produced by George Hirliman;[8] however, some time after the film was made, it was purchased by exploitation filmmaker Dwain Esper, who inserted salacious shots.

[6] Over 30 years later, in the spring of 1972, the founder of NORML, Keith Stroup, found a copy of the film in the Library of Congress archives and bought a print for $297.

[24] The song "Reefer Madness" by space rock band Hawkwind is featured on their 1976 album Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music.

[25] Clips from the film appear in the video for "Smoke the Sky", a song by American rock band Mötley Crüe from their self-titled 1994 album, with lyrics concerning marijuana use.

The colorized DVD release featured a comedic audio commentary by writer, comedian and actor Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax (later Mike would be joined by Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett in live and studio versions).

[26] The video game L.A. Noire includes a case, available as DLC, titled "Reefer Madness", centered around LAPD Detective Lieutenant Cole Phelps investigating a conspiracy by Mexican pushers and a crooked factory owner to sell marijuana by hiding it in soup cans, before raiding the headquarters of the pushers' "boss" and busting the operation.