Marijuana References in New Season Six of Mad Men: Mainstream Marijuana in 2013

Season 6 poster for Mad Men

Mad Men, a drama that recently airing its sixth season on AMC, has been a stellar gold standard for TV shows since it first started. A brilliant drama helmed by Matthew Weiner (former writer for another great, if not at all Weedist-related show The Sopranos), this show has been able to perfectly combine intense, intimate character studies with plot lines that also make it an incredible period piece that captures some great historical moments from the 1960s and (now) 70s.

The last season contained a few of the single greatest television episodes I think I have ever seen, whose scripts could easily be acted out on a stage; put that material into the hands of great actors with a high production value and you’ve got a complete knockout.

Accolades are nothing new for Mad Men, and prior to this new season I don’t think I would ever think about writing about it for Weedist (we already have a great running feature for 420-friendly shows). However, the first thee episodes of the new season have contained a remarkable amount of references to our favorite top-of-choice: marijuana.

Prior to this new season, Mad Men did have a few Weedist-friendly moments, but nothing more then what you might expect from a top-rate drama that takes place in the 1960’s. (A few seasons ago there was a memorable episode where some characters get high in the office, and another main character had a pretty excellent experience with LSD last season, another drug that started to become more prominent during the time period).

However, the season six opener and double-episode (clocking in at feature-film length) contained several marijuana references. The first one came very early on, with Megan scoring some joints while on vacation and then getting Don to joint in the fun:

“I know you’ve tried it, but you haven’t had sex high. It makes it so much more intense”, she says as she produces some spiffs.

Later on, Don’s former wife asks another character if she’s “on dope”, and a visit to New York City’s bohemian East Village produces a few more passing references to reefer.

Episode three’s recap starts with the shot of Megan with the joints, and a few minutes in we get to see some characters describe the musical Hair as filled with ‘dope smoking and nudity.’

Does this increase in pot-references have anything to do with recent legalization efforts across the country, or is it simply a product of taking the show’s story lines into the 1970s and to a place where many characters may be looking for an escape beyond liquor and cigarettes (which, even if you’ve only seen a minute or two from the show, you know feature fairly prominently)? Whether marijuana gaining more acceptance in the mainstream factored into it or not, it’s definitely interesting to note how the show seems to regard marijuana as one of those things that became more acceptable during the 60s and 70s, whereas much of the other behavior on the show (smoking cigarettes and drinking in public, blatant misogyny and sexism, etc) slowly became less OK.

Even in an age where Weeds and other premium cable drams have made all kinds of previous-taboo subjects the norm, it’s still nice and surprising to see reference to our favorite, increasingly legal substance.