It is apparent from the opening scene that Whip has a drinking problem. He is shown drinking throughout the movie and several times is shown to be clearly in a drunken state. In addition to the drinking there are at least 4 scenes where he is shown snorting cocaine, one where he and Harling smoke a cigarette spiked with cocaine, and one where the cocaine is sitting out and it appears he has already had some.
A man gives Nicole heroin, telling her it is very strong and not to inject it but snort it instead. He then gives her a small bag of cocaine for when she gets too low to get her back up again. We then see a graphic scene of Nicole shooting up; she makes a tourniquet, then inserts the needle. She moans briefly in pleasure, as her pupils dilate, and she passes out as she reaches for the bag of coke.
In the opening scene a woman re-lights what appears to be a marijuana joint.
There are several drug deals that occur in the movie.
Whip and Nicole smoke cigarettes in a number of scenes, including an extended sequence where they smoke along with a cancer patient. We hear certain prescription drugs mentioned.