Grudgingly, I have to agree that "Toad Road" is perhaps the most effective anti-drug film I've ever seen. However, the power of the film is almost entirely accidental, because the film only works due to the real-life fatal overdose of the lead actress. Without that context, it's as pointless as getting high on Vicks.
The first time I tried to watch "Toad Road," I turned it off after 20 minutes. I turned it off because I'd already seen the story play out... when I was 18, and a bunch of my friends who couldn't find any direction in their lives spun around in drug-fueled circles for four or five years until several of them fatally OD'd. A few straightened out; most are still somewhat lost to this day.
I gave the film a second chance last night after I stumbled upon an article about the lead actress' death. When my viewing was informed by the reality of the film's post-production, I could better appreciate the full story it presents, which is basically that all the pube burning, cigarettes snuffed out on piles of puke, and shrooming in dangerous locations that directionless youth often dabble in usually does end up killing someone young and promising.
It's almost unfair how much permanent damage you can do to yourself between the ages of 18 and 25, when our culture deems us "adults" but doesn't really do much to guide young adults in directions where they don't have to turn to excess in order to come to peace with their true selves.
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