Stand-up comic Dave Chappelle (who co-wrote the abysmal script with Neal Brennan) stars as Thurgood, a janitor and a confirmed weed-head. Thurgood finds his work at the pharmaceutical firm Frankensense and Burr considerably more satisfying when he discovers that the scientists are conducting experiments with primo pot. When his buddy Kenny (Harland Williams from Rocket Man) gets put in the slammer for a mishap involving a police horse, Thurgood and his pals Scarface (Guillermo Díaz) and Brian (Jim Breur) start embezzling the weed from the company and selling it on the street to finance Kenny’s bail. While their product is an instant hit (most of the pun-filled dialogue in this movie is that bad), Thurgood has to contend with a girlfriend, ironically named Mary Jane (Rachel True), who doesn’t approve, and a rival drug merchant (Clarence Williams III) who’s jealous of their business.

Half Baked deals with a potentially dangerous and provocative topic in the most timid and stale way possible. In addition to the painfully lame plays on words (their call their "tools" Billy Bong Thornton and Wesley Pipes), there are moldy gags about dropping soap in prison showers and some Naked Gun-style references to Dead Presidents, Batman (the 60’s TV-show) and Jerry McGuire that simply aren’t funny.

Director Tamra Davis’ (Billy Madison) kitchen sink approach might have worked if some of the gags had been better conceived. As a result, the film’s approach seems more lazy than whimsical. Casting potentially interesting performers like Janeane Garofalo, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Willie Nelson in small roles does no good if they have nothing to do. The presence of Tommy Chong as a crazed convict makes things worse. Without Cheech, he’s a dour reminder of the downside of uncontrolled substances. Instead of defying the "just say ‘no’" mentality, Half Baked frequently seems to have been secretly mentored by Nancy Reagan.