pot

(S01E10) Well, kids, this is the finally episode of Strangers with Candy, season one. I hope everyone enjoyed this little trip down memory lane and that you found these reviews to be equal parts informative and arousing. This episode brings everything full circle and Jerri ends up back in prison again by the end, though she informs us she'll be out in time to start school once the summer is over.

At the beginning of the episode, Jerri is elated to learn she's getting a D in history, which means she'll actually be able to pass and move on to her sophomore year. Unfortunately, she befriends a stoner who gets Jerri hooked on pot and she begins to neglect her homework. She also makes a bong out of clay in art class, which Jelineck correctly points out is missing a carb hole. Jelineck tries to persuade his students not to smoke marijuana, telling them he once tried it but that "the only thing it fixed was my life."

There seems to be differing opinions as to its origin, but the number 420 has been synonymous with marijuana culture for some time. It's a seemingly innocuous phrase that lets stoners speak freely of their exploits while around grown ups and other authority figures, like, oh, let's say Bob Barker. The Consumerist found a clip on YouTube (watch it after the jump) in which a young man on The Price is Right can't help but bid $420 on everything. Okay, that's mildly amusing, but someone should tell the kid that his "joke" pretty much guaranteed he wouldn't win, or at least would narrow his chances considerably. It would be like going on Wheel of Fortune and only allowing yourself to use the first ten letters of the alphabet. Also, kids should know that a marijuana reference is a gateway reference, and eventually you may end up referencing heroin on Jeopardy. Also, did Bob get the reference, or was he just playing dumb? I can't decide. He's old, but he seems hip. Anyway, check it out:

While I certainly have no moral issues with pot use, I've never understood why a person would wear a shirt with a huge pot leaf on it. I mean, I love blueberry waffles but I'm not going to wear a shirt with a picture of blueberry waffles on it, even though it would obviously be the coolest shirt ever. Of course, if you're trying to promote a TV show called Weeds you'll probably have a few pot leaves on your garments. Just don't tell the French.

While in Cannes, Lionsgate, which produces the Showtime series, had their booth visited by French officials, who confiscated boxes of shirts and caps with pot leaves on them, claiming they encourage drug use. The producers were asked to provide a script, an episode of the show, and a letter saying the garments do not promote drug use.