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If you’re like us, and the millions of others around the globe doing your part to stay inside and self-isolate, you’ve probably watched more TV than normal these past couple weeks. Thankfully, the writers of The Simpsons premiered a new episode that’s perfect for us couch-locked in quarantine.
The latest episode in the 31st season of The Simpsons, titled “Highway to Well,” imagines a world in which legal weed has recently arrived in Springfield, and our favorite couple attempts to cash in. Before realizing what the hip, sleek “Well+Good” dispensary really sells, Marge locks down a gig as a budtender, hawking THC gummies, tinctures, blowtorches, and vape pens to a who’s who of Springfield tokers.
Like episodes of South Park before it, The Simpsons’ foray into legal weed was rife with real-world mockery. Starting with familiar targets Med Men and Mike Tyson’s “Tyson Ranch,” Marge’s new employer is a jumbled mix of corporate cannabis figures. “Well+Good” is constantly confused for an Apple store and is run by a face-tattooed retired boxer who’s aiming to build a cannabis-themed resort and spa.
But after longtime stoner Otto the busdriver has a suspiciously professional experience at the polished dispensary, Homer and Moe devise a plan to welcome old school weed users with a different sort of pot shop. In the back of Moe’s bar, they replace tablet menus and futuristic products with stained couches, tie-dye, and bags of shake in order to appeal to OG potheads who are nostalgic for weed sold with stems and seeds.
Of course, like any couple working at opposite ends of the same industry, Homer and Marge eventually butt heads over their ideological differences regarding health, wellness, and heady culture in the new world of weed. Or, as Bart puts it, “Mom and dad are having a drug war.”
WIth more than 30 seasons under their belt, it should come as no surprise that this isn’t The Simpsons’ first foray into weed. In addition to Otto’s perma-stoned personality, a season 13 episode in 2002 saw Homer get a medical marijuana prescription for an eye injury. Unfortunately, though, it appears that the new “Well+Good” plotline was just a one-episode arch, leaving us to assume that weed won’t come back to Springfield for another 15 or so seasons.
So if you’re looking to kill some time in quarantine, fire up your favorite strain (maybe some Do Si D’oh!) and streaming service to see how The Simpsons embrace the modern world of marijuana.
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