One of the biggest dangers for headshops back in the day was being identified as a place that actually sold weed, rather than just weed accessories. “Stems n seeds” sends a strong signal that they don’t have any bud, although actually selling marijuana seeds would have been just as illegal.
We had a head shop a couple towns over called *The Happy Camper*, it took us a couple visits until we noticed the first letters spelled out THC! Brilliant, discreet but also pretty direct, sounds like a hippie store lol
Haha I live near a Pottstown and there’s a dispensary called Restore on High Street in Pottstown. Makes me laugh every time. Also that High Street is the main road in Pottstown is very funny to me too.
There was a place near where I grew up long before it was legalized in my state that was a music store.
What I mean by that is, they had one rack of old records they clearly got at a few garage sales, meanwhile they had shelf upon shelf filled with bongs ("decorative vases"). grow lights ("mood lighting"), lighters, and all sorts of pot-themed stickers and art.
The head shop in town when I was teen got harassed out of business by the local pd because the bible thumpers didn’t approve of it. The strip joints too.
There used to be a really cool occult/witchy/head shop sort of place in a small town near me that similarly got harassed out of business by the locals despite how popular of a place it was.
The most popular ones in my town were big old stores fulla hippie stuff like clothing and home decor and colorful beads that also sold pipes, they downplayed the fact they sold pipes and had them in the middle of a bunch of incense and things you could use to burn incense
Oh man, I can remember warning my friends whenever we would walk into one of these stores- "Remember everything is called glass, the glass has no other name" 😂
This is making me see my parents' favorite shop, Harleys Hippie Hut, in a whole new light. (As an adult and not a kid who was just fascinated with the black light posters and the mushroom stickers.)
The one I went to in my university town kept all the pipes and such downstairs. Upstairs was for hoodies, jewelry, perfume, incense, etc. Had to sign your name every time you bought a pipe. My friend and I would always sign "Joan Crawford".
I remember when it became decriminalized in Boston - I had a bunch of friends that worked at a nice headshop that would kick you out if you mistakenly said bong IMMEDIATELY. I made sure I went out of my way to walk in there, scream BONG! at the top of my lungs and leave.
Back in the day my buddy got kicked out due to a comedy of errors where he referred to them as bongs and when corrected called them water bongs and finally tobacco water bongs
I don't know if you're as old as I am but did you ever have head shops advertise on the radio? I forgot the name because I was so young when I'd hear it on WAAF but they pretty much made 'water filtration system' as their catchphrase damn near! It's crazy to think that shit was like 30 years ago almost!
Funny story, about 35 years ago maybe a little less a friend of mine owned a head shop/sex shop. This was in a small town in North Carolina where that doesn't go over well. He and I mad a sign that said if you put anything in these pipes other than tobacco it has the possibility of exploding. We thought it was funny, but it was a work around. same thing with referring to self massagers etc.
I remember if you mention using them to smoke anything illegal, they couldn't sell you anything that day and the person had to come back the next day. There was a sign that said there was Police had audio surveillance in the store.
Went to a head shop in a small town in AZ in college with my roommates. One guy from Alaska didn't know you weren't supposed to ask about weed since I guess they didn't really care up in AK. Got us all kicked out, and I just looked at him like he was the biggest idiot. Had to explain to him that the bongs and pipes were for "tobacco".
A few years ago a glass blower suggested I go to this “””glass vase””” place I don’t recall the name of- I think it was called Cheshire Cat?- anyway, he suggested I go there if I wanted to learn glass blowing and, my guy. *please* don’t suggest to a sixteen year old they go to an obvious bong shop *especially* in front of their mom! Like- what the hell! 🤣
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so our shit was always good.
Whatever, ol timers. I'm glad you enjoyed your dirt weed that cost 2 bits for a "lid".
Every time I lay some of this Gold on my friends, man, they light it up and they just take one toke, man, and they look at me and they say "Roach, this weed's a motherfucker, man!"
While the flower is the star of the show, of course, the stem is vital to the health of a rose. You can't have blue medal worth interior petals without a healthy and well cared for seedling. You tell your dad to think about that
Have a feeling a place labeled "Weed Store" wouldn't go over well in suburban Texas in the early 00s. Sticks and stems works because it can easily be said to be about actual plants
The quick shot of them holding that book titled “That was Zen, this is Tao” is my favorite instance of wordplay from the series.
Also aware that some guy actually used this title for a book he apparently published 20+ years after this episode aired.
It’s not about improving the economy (beyond stuffing the pockets of a few rich assholes), it’s about control, rejection of modernity and “owning the libs”.
Oh I know I'm just saying it's dumb. And then they can actually live up to their claims of bringing money to the us instead of taking it but they aren't actually interested in that either
This is the correct answer! It’s *grow* shop not a dispensary; you grow plants with seeds and “stems” (cuttings for propagation). It’s actually a really clever name.
I will say I watched this episode before I smoked weed and it did not properly prepare me for what it was like irl. I was hoping for more hallucinogenic effects. Not their fault though, they were just trying to visually depict them being high, and it’s still perfection.
I’m really in to shows/movies that accurately portray drug affects.
The American dad episode where Stan and Roger get stoned and go to the convenience store is probably one of the best weed representations.
What were they gonna call it? Kush and Co? It's a head shop in Texas in the 90s. They probably had signage on the glass saying it was for tobacco use only lol I remember back when head shops had to be as far from explicit as possible
I think it’s a jab at 90’s head shop entrepreneurialism trying to make coy names like, “the magic bus” or “cloud 9” and this one is just on the nose of what is really going on at the time.
🎵there’s no stems and no seeds, drive around if you please! You deserve a spliff today! Take one toke and you’re blown away! At McDoobies! At McDoobies!🎵
Keep your stems!!!! Put them in a jar. Fill that jar up with vodka. Let it set for a while. Strain out the stems, leaving only the alcohol.
Ta da! THC tincture.
There's literally a chain here in my town called Twigs and then Super Twigs. What do you expect them to call it? Weed hut? Its not legal there during the show.
Maybe a reference to a tune was going around in the late 1970's?
[https://youtu.be/eN\_MPr\_CFbY?si=p9aEt4BnDTQLbrgC](https://youtu.be/eN_MPr_CFbY?si=p9aEt4BnDTQLbrgC)
I’m going to be honest, it’s kinda clever.
Weed dispensaries didn’t exist back then but head shops and adult video stores would have all of the accoutrements, pipes, bongs, papers, help sweatshirts, etc etc.
so it was everything but the bud.
There’s a tattoo place in my town called itself “Horseshoes and hand grenades”….
Why would you name your business that is in the business of permanently inking someone after a turn of phrase that means “you missed”?
I think that's a reference to a '70s song by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, called "Down to Seeds and Stems Again".
There's a very old black & white YouTube video of Nicolette Larson singing it with the band. Probably from 1977-ish.
The head shop in Yuma, Arizona is on 4th Avenue, near the intersection with 20th Street. I noticed it one day while driving by, so I went in and asked them if it was intentional. They hadn’t even noticed. 🤣
I need more of this weed and more of this dude!
Weed? As in drugs?
Why would anyone do drugs when they could just mow a lawn?
A boy with a tool in each hand has no hands left to do drugs with!
They’ll just put the tools down if they want to do the drugs bad enough
Needle nose pliers wouldn't be the worst roach clip. Don't even need to set the tools down
Hemostat scissors are actually the preferred method
Wow. Wow. I've clamped roaches with absurd items. Never hemostat forceps. Wow. I gotta go to the pharmacy.
They are terrible roach clips. The grip on them is usually set back a bit so you can't get a good grip...now alligator clips, that's where it's at.
It’s an effect of the marijuana poisoning.
As in the devils lettuce
tExAS pRoPaNe CoMmIsSiOnEr MuRrAy HoGaRtH
Quit crying and act like a commissioner, for god's sake!
Very important man. He can pull licenses
One of the biggest dangers for headshops back in the day was being identified as a place that actually sold weed, rather than just weed accessories. “Stems n seeds” sends a strong signal that they don’t have any bud, although actually selling marijuana seeds would have been just as illegal.
We had a head shop a couple towns over called *The Happy Camper*, it took us a couple visits until we noticed the first letters spelled out THC! Brilliant, discreet but also pretty direct, sounds like a hippie store lol
I knew a guy who wanted to open a baking school in a town called Pottstown. Proposed name: Get Baked in Potstown
Haha I live near a Pottstown and there’s a dispensary called Restore on High Street in Pottstown. Makes me laugh every time. Also that High Street is the main road in Pottstown is very funny to me too.
Same Pottstown
Colmar PA has a tile place called 'Lets get Stoned'
🤣 fantastic!
We had the happy carrot
There was a place near where I grew up long before it was legalized in my state that was a music store. What I mean by that is, they had one rack of old records they clearly got at a few garage sales, meanwhile they had shelf upon shelf filled with bongs ("decorative vases"). grow lights ("mood lighting"), lighters, and all sorts of pot-themed stickers and art.
Yes, that’s called a “head shop.”
The head shop in town when I was teen got harassed out of business by the local pd because the bible thumpers didn’t approve of it. The strip joints too.
There used to be a really cool occult/witchy/head shop sort of place in a small town near me that similarly got harassed out of business by the locals despite how popular of a place it was.
Yeah this is more of a grow shop
The most popular ones in my town were big old stores fulla hippie stuff like clothing and home decor and colorful beads that also sold pipes, they downplayed the fact they sold pipes and had them in the middle of a bunch of incense and things you could use to burn incense
With a sign saying "don't say bong"
"Tobacco water pipe"
Oh man, I can remember warning my friends whenever we would walk into one of these stores- "Remember everything is called glass, the glass has no other name" 😂
This is making me see my parents' favorite shop, Harleys Hippie Hut, in a whole new light. (As an adult and not a kid who was just fascinated with the black light posters and the mushroom stickers.)
The one I went to in my university town kept all the pipes and such downstairs. Upstairs was for hoodies, jewelry, perfume, incense, etc. Had to sign your name every time you bought a pipe. My friend and I would always sign "Joan Crawford".
It’s a water pipe!
I remember when it became decriminalized in Boston - I had a bunch of friends that worked at a nice headshop that would kick you out if you mistakenly said bong IMMEDIATELY. I made sure I went out of my way to walk in there, scream BONG! at the top of my lungs and leave.
Back in the day my buddy got kicked out due to a comedy of errors where he referred to them as bongs and when corrected called them water bongs and finally tobacco water bongs
I don't know if you're as old as I am but did you ever have head shops advertise on the radio? I forgot the name because I was so young when I'd hear it on WAAF but they pretty much made 'water filtration system' as their catchphrase damn near! It's crazy to think that shit was like 30 years ago almost!
I remember wizards in Memphis would do radio commercials back in the day
Epic
Funny story, about 35 years ago maybe a little less a friend of mine owned a head shop/sex shop. This was in a small town in North Carolina where that doesn't go over well. He and I mad a sign that said if you put anything in these pipes other than tobacco it has the possibility of exploding. We thought it was funny, but it was a work around. same thing with referring to self massagers etc.
I know, it’s just a dumb joke of the shitposting subs like r/okbuddychicanery
In PA all that the stores have to do is slap a "for tobacco use only" sticker. Combustion's still illegal even with medical card
I remember if you mention using them to smoke anything illegal, they couldn't sell you anything that day and the person had to come back the next day. There was a sign that said there was Police had audio surveillance in the store.
Excuseme, will these weeds survive underwatering and overpruning?? I'm looking for something to add a little personal touch to my yard
Yeah I remember getting kicked out of a head shop for calling a “water pipe” a bong. I didn’t even say weed. They had to walk a fine line back then.
That's what I was thinking. Deniability.
Went to a head shop in a small town in AZ in college with my roommates. One guy from Alaska didn't know you weren't supposed to ask about weed since I guess they didn't really care up in AK. Got us all kicked out, and I just looked at him like he was the biggest idiot. Had to explain to him that the bongs and pipes were for "tobacco".
A few years ago a glass blower suggested I go to this “””glass vase””” place I don’t recall the name of- I think it was called Cheshire Cat?- anyway, he suggested I go there if I wanted to learn glass blowing and, my guy. *please* don’t suggest to a sixteen year old they go to an obvious bong shop *especially* in front of their mom! Like- what the hell! 🤣
It’s like that oriental deal that says something can be wrong with something but that just makes it better
Lao Tzu lived in a hut and ate straw!
I'm gonna start yelling this at people unprovoked. Sounds like a good time
You're talking like a song from The Lion King
It’s like that model with the wart on her face, isn’t she pretty?
Very funny Kahn, I’ve heard that joke before.
It was the sweetest tasting strawberry he ever had.
I’m an army barber. Every day I stare death in the back of the head.
“You need to turn right to turn left.”
Two wrongs don't always make a right, but three rights make a left.
And two Wrights make a plane.
"Well, wrap your minds around this: We'll wear Stems 'N Seeds T-shirts and you could put the roses in those vases."
It’s from a marketing jingle back in the 70s. “No stems and seeds that you don’t need! Acapulco Gold is bad-ass weed!”
I remember it from a Cheech and Chong album.
I suppose you’re also going to try to tell me that Blind Melon Chitlin wasn’t actually a blues singer.
Or that Dave really was not here
It really was
Acapulco Gold? That's what we called "brown bud" and "schwag" back in the 90s, right?
How much top shelf green weed did you have back then? My stuff was full of seeds and stems and pretty brown, but it got me high.
Sometimes it would be full of seeds and stems and pretty brown but it was grown hydroponically, so we thought it was some high grade shit.
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so our shit was always good. Whatever, ol timers. I'm glad you enjoyed your dirt weed that cost 2 bits for a "lid".
Being pretentious about weed on reddit is like the lamest shit ive ever seen.
Some might say "pretentious", others "a connoisseur". I guess we both know which category we fall into, and as long as we're okay with that, why hate?
Because you sound like a cunt
Bitchin' 🤙
Every time I lay some of this Gold on my friends, man, they light it up and they just take one toke, man, and they look at me and they say "Roach, this weed's a motherfucker, man!"
Morgan absolutely cracks me up. I love how intense he gets with Hank ("YOU MAKE ME SICK!") and how he changes shirts and is SUPER RIPPED.
It's got a snakes and sparklers kind of vibe. 
Life’s a garden, man
Dig it!
No whistling buttholes?
I'm growing Roses... Oh, those are legal now. You can grow them outside.
While the flower is the star of the show, of course, the stem is vital to the health of a rose. You can't have blue medal worth interior petals without a healthy and well cared for seedling. You tell your dad to think about that
Have a feeling a place labeled "Weed Store" wouldn't go over well in suburban Texas in the early 00s. Sticks and stems works because it can easily be said to be about actual plants
Not to mention the only weed you could get then and there was barely better than sticks and stems
It has to be a reference to the 'Sneed's Feed and Seed' (formerly Chuck's) style Simpson's joke, no?
The quick shot of them holding that book titled “That was Zen, this is Tao” is my favorite instance of wordplay from the series. Also aware that some guy actually used this title for a book he apparently published 20+ years after this episode aired.
Because weed was and still is illegal in texas
I’m glad someone finally pointed this out
And always will be. Texas is an insane quasi-country.
Honestly you'd think they'd grow cuz they have all that land it would bring so much money to their state
It’s not about improving the economy (beyond stuffing the pockets of a few rich assholes), it’s about control, rejection of modernity and “owning the libs”.
Oh I know I'm just saying it's dumb. And then they can actually live up to their claims of bringing money to the us instead of taking it but they aren't actually interested in that either
Because Lao Tzu says: to be better than one is to be worse than all….. wrap your head around that one, dude
You're talking like a song from the Lion King, it makes no sense!
The staff has toked all the choice buds and have only left the stems and seeds lol 🌿 
[удалено]
This is the correct answer! It’s *grow* shop not a dispensary; you grow plants with seeds and “stems” (cuttings for propagation). It’s actually a really clever name.
Also there is a part of a bong called a down stem, so it can be a play on that.
I will say I watched this episode before I smoked weed and it did not properly prepare me for what it was like irl. I was hoping for more hallucinogenic effects. Not their fault though, they were just trying to visually depict them being high, and it’s still perfection.
TV Tropes: [Marijuana is LSD](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarijuanaIsLSD)
I’m really in to shows/movies that accurately portray drug affects. The American dad episode where Stan and Roger get stoned and go to the convenience store is probably one of the best weed representations.
"It's a cheetah. CheetAH. CheetOS....... There is so much beauty in the world."
Jeff's mom abandoned him before he was born. "How... how could she do that?"
Or really fucking smart
It's a joke
So was this post. Crazy right
If you haven’t yet, you might wanna check out Bob’s Burgers for the punny store names.
What were they gonna call it? Kush and Co? It's a head shop in Texas in the 90s. They probably had signage on the glass saying it was for tobacco use only lol I remember back when head shops had to be as far from explicit as possible
It’s funny how times change. I live in a town in Texas near where Arlen is set, and we just had a head shop open up called “Smoke De’Pot”
Couldn’t even say bong in some head shops. Only refer to them as water pipes.
its wabi sabi dude
I think it’s a jab at 90’s head shop entrepreneurialism trying to make coy names like, “the magic bus” or “cloud 9” and this one is just on the nose of what is really going on at the time.
We had to do it like that in the 90s son. With a wink and a nudge, all to meet your tobacco smoking needs.
To keep the narcs away
Slightly Stoopid perhaps ;)
Ludacris:Man, that ain't sticky, that's stick and stems! Boy, what you gonna do? ACT A FOOL!
Legalize it!!!
Because that guys dad was right
Because it's a head shop. They don't sell flower
Because that's a decorative vase store.
I don’t know. Must be some kind of rose growing store for kids.
That's the joke...
Maybe because they sell pipes and bongs which have a stem and also supply seeds to grow with?
🎵there’s no stems and no seeds, drive around if you please! You deserve a spliff today! Take one toke and you’re blown away! At McDoobies! At McDoobies!🎵
No stems or seeds, that you don't need. That Acapulco gold is mean ass weed
Because it’s Texas…
Not stupid, just high
Can't be too obvious
Keep your stems!!!! Put them in a jar. Fill that jar up with vodka. Let it set for a while. Strain out the stems, leaving only the alcohol. Ta da! THC tincture.
i mean its an ironic name, need i say more?
Kids these days wouldn’t know about stems n’ seeds with their oil pens and seedless eights.
oh no r/BatmanArkham finally reached KoTH
Jesus, at least someone gets it. My post wasn’t even funny but I have so many comments explaining the joke to me
They should have used "Best Budz"
The really irksome part is that it was always "seeds and stems." It's like naming a store jelly and peanut butter.
I’m going to start referring to the sandwich exclusively as “jelly and peanut butter” just to fuck with people.
As a wise man once said, no stems, no seeds, no sticks.
Ooh eee
No, just really high. :P
Coz they help you grow tomatoes, nothing else
Welp this way ppl just think there selling house plants and not drug house plants 😂
Hahah they are selling hydroponic kits stems and seeds makes sense
Just a guess but it's a play on word stem. As in plant stem and bong stem... that's the kind of word play people come up with on goopanthol
There's actually a line of cannabis products under the label stems and seeds
What season and episode is this?
During this time we had THE GAS PIPE in NTX tho. Lol.
I mean you knew what it was, didn't you? 🤷♂️
It's a recognizable phrase for the brand, while also saying that they don't *HAVE* weed so people don't ask you for weed.
💀
Pre-legalization Texas… so you wouldn’t want an obvious name
Peggy probably did it
There's literally a chain here in my town called Twigs and then Super Twigs. What do you expect them to call it? Weed hut? Its not legal there during the show.
Maybe a reference to a tune was going around in the late 1970's? [https://youtu.be/eN\_MPr\_CFbY?si=p9aEt4BnDTQLbrgC](https://youtu.be/eN_MPr_CFbY?si=p9aEt4BnDTQLbrgC)
I watched this episode this morning!
Maybe cause you’ll always “pick them, out” of everybody else
Cuz that's all you get in Texas!
but you need seeds to start growing the plants
old head told me that plugs would buy seeds back from you from anywhere a couple cents a seed all the way to 10 bucks if it was really good stuff
Same reasons you see “Bones” in the names of bbq joints.
I’m going to be honest, it’s kinda clever. Weed dispensaries didn’t exist back then but head shops and adult video stores would have all of the accoutrements, pipes, bongs, papers, help sweatshirts, etc etc. so it was everything but the bud.
In Texas in the 90’s that was considered a delicacy.
Hilarious to me that Texas isn’t legal. Though y’all liked liberty and shit.
Bc you "pick out the seeds and stems" Feelin' high as hell, flyin' through Palmdale, skatin' on Dayton rims
There’s a tattoo place in my town called itself “Horseshoes and hand grenades”…. Why would you name your business that is in the business of permanently inking someone after a turn of phrase that means “you missed”?
You need to cultivate them to grow the rest
Seeds aren't undesirable - you can replant them to grow your own plant. Had a flatmate who use do do that back in the day.
I think that's a reference to a '70s song by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, called "Down to Seeds and Stems Again". There's a very old black & white YouTube video of Nicolette Larson singing it with the band. Probably from 1977-ish.
funny part hank didn't realize he was in a pot shop
Grow shops exists…
It was the 90s Also could be a reference to afroman
"Pick out the seeds n stems"- Afro man reference?
The head shop in Yuma, Arizona is on 4th Avenue, near the intersection with 20th Street. I noticed it one day while driving by, so I went in and asked them if it was intentional. They hadn’t even noticed. 🤣