Three Decades of Politics and Pop Culture ... on Drugs

1. What New England Congressman took busloads of his constituents into Canada to buy cheap drugs in 2000?

Getty images: Russell Tate

a) Bernie Sanders

b) Judd Gregg

c) Barney Frank

d) John Kerry

2. HBO's critically acclaimed drama "The Sopranos" starred James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, the mobster with a sensitive streak. What prescription drug was Tony prescribed for his occasional panic attacks?

a) Xanax

b) Klonopin

c) Effexor XR

d) Prozac

3. Best known for its copious use of endnotes, what David Foster Wallace novel references at least 60 different psychoactive drugs and substances, from Ativan to Zoloft?

4. A Bonnie and Clyde for the punk generation, what 1989 film starring Matt Dillon and Kelly Lynch depicted a young couple on the lam, robbing pharmacies instead of banks?

5. What anti-smoking drug was said to have caused the violent behavior leading up to the shooting death of Carter Albrecht, keyboardist for Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, in 2007?

a) Zyban

b) Chantix

c) Nicorette

6. Which sports superstar has not served as spokesperson for a pharmaceutical marketing campaign?

a) Phil Mickelson

b) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

c) Mia Hamm

d) Tony Gywnn

e) Steve Young

f) John McEnroe

7. What actor—frantic in Roman Polanski's film, Frantic—plays scientist Robert Stonehill in Extraordinary Measures, a film based on the true story of developing a drug for Pompe's Disease?

a) Brendan Fraser

b) Ralph Fiennes

c) Harrison Ford

d) Tom Cruise

8. In 1984, what band—a favorite of Patrick Bateman, Bret Easton Ellis's fictional serial killer in "American Psycho"—dropped the radio-friendly single "I Want a New Drug"?

a) The Cars

b) Meat Puppets

c) Huey Lewis & the News

d) Yes

9. Spoofing a TV ad for a prescription sleep aid, Will Ferrell is awakened by a ghostly butterfly hovering over his bed, which ultimately scares him into jumping from his bedroom window. What drug inspired the spoof?

a) Rozerem

b) Ambien

c) Halcion

d) Lunesta

10. In 2009, two acting members of the House of Representatives introduced legislation to ban erectile dysfunction ads on TV between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Are the two congressmen Republicans or Democrats?

11. In what year did attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) first show up in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders?

a) 1968

b) 1980

c) 1987

d) 1994

12. REM just broke up after 30 years together. What drug is a major part of the chorus in their hit song "What's the frequency, Kenneth?"

a) Morphine

b) Benzedrine

c) Benadryl

d) Methodone

13. What actor is the voice of the bee in the TV ad for Nasonex?

a) Antonio Banderas

b) Javier Bardem

c) Rodrigo Santoro

d) Telly Savalas

Answers: 1) a; 2) d; 3) "Infinite Jest"; 4) Drugstore Cowboy; 5) b; 6) e; 7) c; 8) c; 9) d; 10) Reps. James Moran (VA) and Robert Brady (PA) are Democrats; 11) c; 12) b; 13) a