Every Major Marijuana Reference in That ’70s Show

Few mainstream sitcoms are as closely associated with marijuana as That ’70s Show. Even though the series rarely showed the drug directly or even said the word out loud, the show’s marijuana humor became one of its defining traits, while also reflecting the 1970s setting and the era’s youth counterculture. Below is a look at the biggest and most memorable marijuana references throughout That ’70s Show.

The show wastes little time introducing what would become one of its most famous recurring devices: the circle. In the pilot episode, Eric, Hyde, Kelso and Fez sit in the Forman basement as the camera rotates around them while they talk in a haze of smoke.

No joint or marijuana is shown, but the implication is clear. The scene establishes the show’s long-running way of depicting marijuana use without directly showing it.

In this episode, the circle is again used to show the gang in the basement, with Eric noticeably relaxed and out of it while discussing his upcoming date with Donna.

The scene works because the marijuana use is treated as a casual part of the group’s routine rather than as the central joke. The humor comes from how the characters talk, react and overthink everything while clearly under the influence.

One of the show’s most direct marijuana-related jokes comes when the gang paints a giant marijuana leaf on the town water tower.

The joke gets even better when the image is mistaken for a hand giving the middle finger. It’s one of the early examples of That ’70s Show using marijuana imagery as part of the gang’s teenage rebellion.

This episode is notable because Donna joins the circle, expanding it beyond the original group of Eric, Hyde, Kelso and Fez.

The moment matters because the circle was not just a recurring joke, but part of the show’s social structure. Being in the circle meant being fully part of the basement crew.

This is one of the most memorable marijuana episodes of the entire series.

Hyde makes “special brownies” for the Formans’ garage sale, but things go wrong when Red, Kitty, Bob and Midge accidentally eat them. The adults become unintentionally high, leading to one of the show’s funniest reversals: the parents experience the same haze usually reserved for the teenagers.

The episode also includes Red, while high, accidentally selling Eric’s Vista Cruiser.

As the title suggests, this episode directly revolves around Eric’s missing stash.

Eric believes Hyde took it, creating tension between the two friends. The episode is one of the clearest examples of the show acknowledging the marijuana use behind the circle, even while still avoiding an explicit depiction of smoking.

This episode marks Jackie’s first time in the circle.

Jackie, who had often been positioned as more uptight and outside the basement’s main dynamic, gets pulled into one of the show’s most famous recurring settings. Her reaction helps make the scene memorable, as the circle’s strange rhythm and loose conversations clearly hit her differently than the others.

No That ’70s Show marijuana list would be complete without Reefer Madness.

The episode begins after Hyde is arrested for marijuana possession, and he takes the blame for the group. Eric eventually admits to Red that he also uses marijuana, leading Red to crack down on the basement and install a smoke detector.

The episode also includes a flashback to the gang’s first circle, making it one of the most important marijuana-themed episodes in the series.

This episode includes a parody-style reference involving “special” brownies, continuing the show’s use of baked goods as a marijuana joke.

By this point, That ’70s Show had already established that it did not need to show marijuana directly for viewers to understand the gag. A reference to “special” brownies was enough.

When Kitty considers remodeling the basement, Eric and Hyde are encouraged to do what they normally do there.

The joke is obvious: what they normally do is sit around in the circle and smoke marijuana. The episode plays on how central the basement is to the group, and how much of that identity is tied to the circle.

This episode includes one of the more unusual circle jokes, with Kelso imagining Red joining the circle.

The fantasy turns Red into “Whipped Cream Head,” a bizarre and memorable visual that shows how the circle could be used not just for marijuana jokes, but also for surreal comedy.

In this episode, Hyde introduces Coach Ferguson to “a new experience” after discovering confiscated items.

The joke strongly implies marijuana use, and it fits Hyde’s role as the character most closely associated with the show’s counterculture and anti-authority humor.

Leo appears with Donna and Jackie in a scene that leans into his laid-back, marijuana-adjacent persona.

Played by Tommy Chong, Leo became one of the show’s clearest links to stoner comedy. Even when the show was being indirect, Leo’s presence usually made the marijuana connection obvious.

The gang gets into what they call a “Hyde state of mind” while trying to figure out the right birthday gift for him.

The phrase works because Hyde is the show’s most consistent marijuana-associated character. The episode uses that reputation as part of the joke, with the group trying to think like Hyde by relaxing into his worldview.

In this episode, even the Formans’ dog, Schatzi, is pulled into a circle scene.

It’s one of the stranger marijuana-adjacent jokes in the series and shows how flexible the circle became as a comedic device. By this point, the show could put almost anyone — or anything — in the circle and viewers understood the reference.

This episode includes a scene where the gang enjoys Leo’s going-away present.

Given Leo’s role in the series and his connection to stoner humor, the implication is clear. The scene is another example of the show using character context rather than explicit language to make the marijuana joke land.

Hyde banishes Kelso from the circle during a “probation period,” treating access to the circle almost like membership in a private club.

The joke works because the circle had become one of the group’s main bonding rituals. Being removed from it is treated as a real punishment.

This episode opens with one of the show’s classic circle moments, including the return of Hyde’s famous “car that runs on water” bit.

The line became one of the most recognizable examples of the show’s marijuana humor: a rambling, paranoid, half-baked conspiracy theory delivered in the middle of the circle.

Kelso’s police training leads to one of the show’s funniest law-enforcement-related marijuana jokes.

While in the police training center, Eric encounters K-9 training samples and reacts in a way that makes his familiarity with marijuana clear. It’s a clever reversal, given that Kelso is trying to move toward law enforcement while his friends remain firmly tied to basement culture.

This episode includes a moment where Kelso no longer approves of the circle after becoming more serious about his police academy path.

The scene plays on the tension between Kelso’s new law-enforcement ambitions and the group’s long-running marijuana use. It is also funny because Kelso had been one of the least responsible members of the circle for years.

This episode features one of the largest circle scenes in the series, with Mitch joining the group.

The scene shows how the circle had expanded beyond the original basement crew. By Season 6, it was no longer just a hidden teenage ritual; it had become one of the show’s most recognizable comedic formats.

Hyde gets one of his most memorable solo circle moments in this episode, laughing at the Weather Channel.

The scene is simple but effective: Hyde, high and alone, finds ordinary television far more entertaining than it should be. It’s a classic example of the show’s quieter marijuana humor.

This episode includes several circle scenes as the gang tries to help Hyde get over Jackie.

The repeated circles eventually take a toll, with the characters becoming increasingly scattered and paranoid. It is one of the clearest examples of the show using repeated marijuana use within a single episode as an escalating joke.

Near the end of the seventh season, Red discovers the circle.

This is a major moment because Red and Kitty had spent years mostly outside the gang’s marijuana routine. Red finding out brings the show’s longest-running secret into the open and sets up how the circle continues even as the original group begins changing.

The circle continues into the final season, even as the show adjusts to Eric’s absence and introduces Randy more fully into the group.

The scene makes clear that the basement culture did not disappear just because some of the original characters moved on. The circle remains a central part of Point Place life.

This episode includes Kelso’s final circle before moving to Chicago.

Given Kelso’s importance to the show’s early marijuana humor, the moment serves as a small farewell to one of the original members of the basement crew.

Near the end of the series, the gang gets a particularly strong stash from Fez’s friend from his home country.

The marijuana is so potent that even Hyde, long portrayed as the group’s most experienced smoker, becomes overwhelmed. It is one of the final major marijuana jokes in the series and shows that the circle remained part of the show until the end.

The series finale brings the circle back one last time.

As the show says goodbye to Point Place and the 1970s, the circle remains one of the clearest symbols of the series. It was never just a marijuana joke; it was where the characters bonded, argued, overthought their lives and delivered some of the show’s most memorable lines.

Across eight seasons, That ’70s Show turned marijuana into one of its most recognizable running gags without regularly showing it on-screen. Through the circle, the show found a way to make cannabis culture part of its identity while keeping the joke indirect, recurring and instantly recognizable.