Family Guy celebrated 4/20 in style with an episode in which Brian gets arrested for marijuana, campaigns to legalize it and ultimately succumbs to dark forces that want to get "hemp illegalized again."

The "420" episode was timed for the Stoner National Holiday (it aired on Fox on 4/19). Not since The Simpsons' "Weekend at Burnsie's" episode in 2002 has an animated show swam so deeply in marijuana waters.

After Brian is caught with a quarter ounce "bag of weed" in Peter's car and is jailed and bailed out, he delivers the first of several stoner speeches: "Pot is illegal because William Randolph Hearst ran a smear campaign against marijuana in the 1930s to protect his interests in the timber industry, because hemp was poised to replace wood as an inexpensive raw material for the manufacture of paper."

No one attends his "Legalize Pot Rally!" until Stewie tells Brian he needs "more showmanship" and they break into the fabulous "Bag of Weed" production number ("Everything goes better with a bag of weed"). The instrumental section is Disney meets the Marx Brothers.

Mayor West declares pot legal and, within days, Brian observes, "Ever since marijuana was legalized, crime has gone down, productivity is up and ratings for Dr. Who are through the roof."

Nefarious businessman Carter Pewterschmidt tells Peter: "Thanks to your dog's stupid marijuana crusade, people are using hemp for everything - fabric, fuel and paper - which means I'm losing millions in timber dollars." He bribes Brian with the mass production of his book. All Brian has to do is "make an impassioned anti-pot speech in public," which he does. Then the mayor re-prohibits pot and Brian admits, "This is so embarrasing. I sold out everything I believe in."

Like in the "Burnsey's" episode - which focuses on medical marijuana - the ultimate goal is not achieved in "420" because the the protagonist is either weak (Brian) or dumb (Homer). But both episodes sure are funny.

Family Guy won the 2005 Stony Award for Best Animated TV Show. In his acceptance speech, show creator Seth McFarlane said: "We here at Family Guy know exactly how much we owe to the marijuana enthusiasts of the world... With any luck, next year at this time marijuana will be legalized (after all, it's just a plant, right?) and we'll all be smoking a fatty at Denny's."

Also see:

The Real Story of 420

CelebStoner News