South Park has joined the conversation around the pending marijuana rescheduling proposal that President Donald Trump says he’ll be deciding on within weeks—poking fun at the president by suggesting that he might accept a deal to change federal cannabis laws if flattered with gifts and the promise of “mutually beneficial” rewards.
Comedy Central has recently been much more critical of Trump’s administration, making jokes about controversial policy topics ranging from immigration enforcement and the federalization police force in Washington D.C. The latest episode, which aired on Wednesday night, addressed the rescheduling of cannabis.
The show made reference to a fictional situation where Randy Marsh, the main character of Tegridy’s marijuana farm, lost employees due to the crackdown by the Trump administration on illegal immigrants.
Although the Tegridy specific situation was fictionalized in this episode, it also coincides with controversy regarding recent real-life raids conducted at a Californian marijuana farm. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, arrested several workers there last month.
In the South Park episode, Towelie—an anthropomorphic towel whose personal use of cannabis is a main character theme—was then recruited to visit the White House and present Trump with a gift: A hologram of Marsh, Tegridy’s CEO, making a plea for rescheduling.
“Well, I think you have done an amazing job in our country.” Towelie began to say, “You are so intelligent,” before Trump said, “I do not have the time.” and asked him if he had brought a present. That seemed to be a subtle dig at Apple CEO Tim Cook, who recently presented the president with a gold plaque—one of several offerings Trump has accepted from people seemingly working to earn his favor.
As Towelie is opening a briefcase, Marsh’s hologram appears and says “Greetings to you, Mr. president.” Please allow me to introduce my self. Randy Marsh, from Tegridy Solutions.
He says, “If we want to earn $6 billion for our business, you have to change the classification of marijuana at the federal level.” In exchange for your cooperation, I know that with your expertise we will come to an agreement that is mutually beneficial. Please accept this incredible towel as a present. This towel is made of the best fabrics.
Trump is depicted as laughing at the incident and saying “Alright. Put the towel with the other presents.”
This exchange seems to have been a reflection of another recent real-life event in the marijuana and Trump area.
While it’s not clear whether the South Park writers intended to make the connection, the president’s own PAC—as well as his inauguration committee—have taken in millions from large marijuana businesses.
Trump, after meeting on the campaign trail with Trulieve’s CEO, who is the head of a multi-state cannabis operation, supported the rescheduling as well the industry access to banking and the Florida legalization initiative ballot that Trulieve was funding.
Trulieve’s CEO reportedly also attended Trump at a recent $1,000,000-per-plate fundraiser dinner where marijuana issues were discussed.
South Park is known for its integration of cannabis culture, business information and Tegridy as a major feature in the show’s marijuana commentary.
Its cultural importance led Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat from Colorado, presented souvenir license plates in 2021 that paid homage to the fictional marijuana company Tegridy Farms to the South Park creators.
South Park’s Tegridy episode may be set in a fictional universe, but it has satirized marijuana-related issues over the years.
In 2019, for example, the show took a not-so-subtle jab at a video produced by the cannabis company MedMen, and it’s generally been critical of the corporatization of the market.
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Towelie & Marsh also made a direct call to Trump about the rescheduling issues that remain pending in the Drug Enforcement Administration. (DEA), but the president didn’t give any indication as to how he would ultimately decide on the matter when he spoke on it earlier this year.
Trump told reporters at the time we were “only looking” at it and “too early” to make a decision.
“Some people like it. Some people hate it—people hate the whole concept of marijuana, because it does bad for the children [and] The president stated that it was bad for older people. “But we’re looking at reclassification, and we’ll make a determination over the next few weeks—and that determination, hopefully, will be the right one.”
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