Splitsider

It wasn’t until relatively recently, the mid 1990s specifically, that weed was a topic that could be discussed in network comedies. Of course marijuana has played a major role in the creation in some of TV’s funniest shows, like Saturday Night Live, but its importance was downplayed due to censorship fears. And if pot was ever mentioned, it was used to serve a message on how dangerous it was.

But as marijuana has become a more and more socially acceptable topic, sitcoms have begun working it into plots that didn't revolve around parents finding a joint and teaching their kids a lesson. Below is [...]

I’m not much of a pot smoker, but I’m proud to live in a state that’s sensible enough not to lock me up if I were one. California is the closest thing in America to “Hamsterdam,” or for those less familiar with The Wire, a place where the cops are so broke and desperate that they overlook petty drug crimes. Granted, the Golden State isn’t exactly a haven for heroin addicts and prostitutes, but when it comes to marijuana, we’re happy to take in your high, your stoned, your hungry masses. It was the first state to legalize marijuana for medical use, and nowadays it [...]

How many times have you found yourself going on and on about some hysterical new movie — telling your friends they have to watch it or else they will never fully get you — only to realize that this “supremely hilarious…masterpiece” wasn’t actually a movie at all, but a stack of firewood? Pretty embarrassing. How could you have been so mistaken? Ah, that’s right, it’s because you were on drugs. Well, who’s laughing now? Guess what — still you, because you’re still on drugs. Hey. HEY. [snapping fingers in front of your eyelids] Hey… there you are!

Let us sing a few words in praise of the stoner, for the stoner is the last of the American heroes. From the streets of Los Angeles to the streets of New Jersey, the stoners have traveled this great nation, and in those adventures we ride passenger with them into the heart of the American dream.

We should agree at the start the stoner is indeed a hero. Movies are populated with characters, stock characters and clichés. We may encounter jocks, or nerds, or preppies. Sometimes they share the same screen with our stoner, but that is only circumstance. Though the stoner may walk among [...]

Stoner comedy on television is a different breed than stoner films. Sure, there are the occasional five minutes of screen time on a comedy series where one or more characters get stoned, get the munchies and then freak out. But usually the mixture of television and marijuana is limited to various cop shows and episodes of Intervention. But in 2005, Showtime premiered a show entirely about weed: dealing, growing, baking, consuming, everything. And the biggest shocker is that the main characters were not your typical gangbangers or drug dealers. Instead, the dealer in question is a suburban mother and widow, trying to keep her family [...]

Pot and comedy: two things that go together like peanut butter and jelly, or pot and peanut butter and jelly. As marijuana has become less and less vilified in American culture over the past few decades, it's become much more acceptable for it to be portrayed as a harmless and fun drug in movies and on TV. There are movies dedicated to lovable stoners acting in a hilarious fashion under the effects of the drug, and entire blocks of programing on TV (*cough*Adult Swim*cough*) that seemingly cater to those under the influence. Many comedians are open about their love for the drug, while others find humor in their less-than-awesome [...]