South Park has made an impact (Picture: South Park Studios/Getty)
A South Park episode about the dangers of drug use has led to viewers considering their own life choices.
The 2022 episode, My Future Self ‘n’ Me, begins with Stan Marsh and his friends discovering a marijuana joint at school.
Stan isn’t afraid of touching it despite commercials warning it can kill you, or facilitate terrorism. Not long after the youngster is visited by his ‘future self’ who uses large amounts of drugs and alcohol, and as a result, he has spent time in prison and is unemployed.
However, Stan later discovers this wasn’t a time-traveller after all but instead, an actor hired by his parents from Motivation Corp to encourage him to stay on track.
Although Stan’s dad Randy initially denies the accusation he eventually admits the truth, and they have an honest chat about drug abuse. Randy lets Stan know that although it is unlikely to kill him or fund terrorism, it may negatively impact his future.
‘Pot makes you fine with being bored, and it’s when you’re bored that you should be learning some new skill or discovering some new science or being creative,’ he explained.
This heartfelt scene between Randy and Stan impacted viewers, who took to Reddit. In a recent thread entitled ‘I didn’t want to come to terms with this but Randy is right’, many people regaled stories of how the dialogue in the animated series makes complete sense.
‘This is the speech we should have got as kids,’ wrote account SharpenedShovel.
DaemonDrayke agreed: ‘I feel like this is a more impactful statement about why young people should not use marijuana or other recreational drugs than Mcgruff the crime dog or the half dozen half-baked anti drug ads.’
Randy has some wise words (Picture: South Park Studios)
Reddit user VapeMonster91 quit weed over a year ago and now feels ‘so much better’.
‘Never going back to that crap. Made me feel terrible,’ they added.
‘This hits home,’ stated AnonMuscle90. ‘Especially after stopping 4 days ago due to the realisation I’m spending money to enjoy being bored when instead I could be spending money to enjoy not being bored lol.’
WagyManiac feels that the explanation is his own story: ‘The quote that exactly summarised why I wanted to quit.’
BigOlAligator praised South Park for consistently teaching them. ‘I’ve learned so many life lessons from this show lol,’ they shared.
The series is no stranger to episodes centred on drug use including a 2018 episode whereby Randy moved to live on a cannabis farm. This irony was also pointed out by some Reddit users.
Watch South Park on Paramount Plus and SkyGO.
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‘I’ve learned so many life lessons from this show.’