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Who really said it

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me

Attributed to Hunter S. Thompson 1937–2005 · American journalist and author
Attributed In copyright

Widely credited to Thompson, and The Yale Book of Quotations ↗ lists it under his name as “Quoted in Life, Jan. 1981.” But the oldest appearance we found is a movie tagline: 1980 newspaper ads for Where the Buffalo Roam, the film in which Bill Murray plays him, ran “I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone… but they’ve always worked for me.” We found no book, article or letter in which Thompson himself wrote this wording.

Last verified 3 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

For presentations

Put it on a slide

Unconfirmed quote & credit

“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me” attributed to Hunter S. Thompson; quoted in Life, January 1981 (per The Yale Book of Quotations, 2006). A near-identical tagline (“weird chemicals” for “drugs”) ran in 1980 ads for the film Where the Buffalo Roam.

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Universal (the 1980 film Where the Buffalo Roam and its advertising); the Estate of Hunter S. Thompson, if the line is his). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

Image direction — grounded in this quote’s real context; paste into your image tool

In context

Evoking the world of Hunter S. Thompson — American journalist and author, founder of Gonzo journalism. Theme: "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

Where the line actually turns up

Oldest we found
Film advertising, March–April 1980
Film
Where the Buffalo Roam (Universal, 1980)
Popular wording
Quoted in Life, January 1981, according to The Yale Book of Quotations (2006)
In Thompson’s own writing
Not located

“I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone… but they’ve always worked for me.” 1980 movie tagline

This is the tagline from Universal’s 1980 newspaper ads for Where the Buffalo Roam, printed above “Bill Murray as Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.” On screen, Murray’s Thompson answers a student who asks whether drugs and alcohol would make him a better writer. In the film’s transcript he says: “In my case, I hate to advocate drugs or liquor, violence, insanity, to anyone, but in my case it’s worked.” The version that circulates today swaps “weird chemicals” for “drugs.”

The Yale Book of Quotations (2006) at the Internet Archive

How we verified this

In copyright

Every documented appearance dates from 1980 or later: Universal’s advertising and film Where the Buffalo Roam (1980), then Life (January 1981). That is long after the 1931 cutoff, so the line should be treated as in copyright. Who holds the rights depends on whether the words came from the film’s makers or from Thompson, and that is unresolved.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

Why the credit is shaky

Everyone quotes this as Thompson talking about himself. The paper trail starts with a Hollywood movie about him.

Hunter S. Thompson, in his own writing No source found

We found it in none of his books, articles or letters. Later reference works repeat it without a source: the Guardian’s 2005 “in his own words” list ↗ gives no citation, and Wikipedia’s claim that he “often remarked” it ↗ cites only that list.

Universal’s ads for Where the Buffalo Roam Oldest we found

Newspaper ads from March 1980 ↗ print “I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone… but they’ve always worked for me” to promote the film. Wikiquote lists it under the film’s taglines ↗.

Bill Murray, playing Thompson Different wording

The film transcript ↗ has “drugs or liquor, violence, insanity” and ends “in my case it’s worked,” not “they’ve always worked for me.” The Yale Book of Quotations ↗ records the film line in the same form.

The oldest version we can document is a 1980 tagline for Where the Buffalo Roam. The popular wording was credited to Thompson in Life in January 1981, according to The Yale Book of Quotations ↗. Nobody has shown that Thompson coined it.

Context

Why it is hard to settle

Thompson was not a bystander to the film. Wikipedia’s account of the production ↗ says he was credited as “executive consultant.” It also says screenwriter John Kaye later claimed that Thompson and Murray changed parts of the script during filming. So the line could be Kaye’s, Thompson’s, or a joint product of the set. Nothing we found settles which.

What is clear is the order of events. The tagline was in newspaper ads by spring 1980. Murray says a version of it on screen. Within a year, the cleaned-up “drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity” form was being credited to Thompson himself. After that it became one of the lines most often attached to his name.

I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone… but they’ve always worked for me.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Freedom Character

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

The Yale Book of Quotations (2006)archive.org

Fred R. Shapiro’s entry lists the line under Thompson, “Quoted in Life, Jan. 1981,” and records Murray’s differently worded film line
Where the Buffalo Roam on Wikiquoteen.wikiquote.org

The film’s dialogue and its “weird chemicals” tagline
Where the Buffalo Roam on Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

Release date, John Kaye’s screenplay credit, and Thompson’s role as executive consultant
Film transcriptspringfieldspringfield.co.uk

What Bill Murray actually says on screen
Boston Phoenix, April 22, 1980archive.org

Scanned newspaper carrying the film’s tagline ad
Erowid: Hunter S. Thompson (archived)web.archive.org

Cites the line to LIFE, “Voices: Footnotes,” p. 68, January 1981

The man it’s pinned on

About Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S. Thompson

1937–2005 · American journalist and author, founder of Gonzo journalism

Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author. He made his name with Hell’s Angels (1967) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1972) and coined “Gonzo,” a style of journalism in which the writer becomes part of the story. His public persona, built on drugs, guns and contempt for authority, made him a magnet for quotable lines. Some of them he wrote, and some were written about him, as in the 1980 film Where the Buffalo Roam.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Earliest credited to Thompson

Attributed to Hunter S. Thompson. Quoted in Life, January 1981, as recorded in Fred R. Shapiro, ed., The Yale Book of Quotations (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006). Compare the tagline in advertising for Where the Buffalo Roam, directed by Art Linson, screenplay by John Kaye (Universal Pictures, 1980).

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me’?” Last verified 3 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/i-hate-to-advocate-drugs-alcohol-violence-or-insanity-to/

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