Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) is a 25-year-old process server who, in delivering a subpoena to drug lord Ted Jones (Gary Cole), witnesses Jones and his girlfriend, a corrupt female police officer, Carol Brazier (Rosie Perez), commit murder. Dale panics and leaves a joint roach at the scene containing a rare strain of marijuana called Pineapple Express. Ted and Carol run outside to catch the witness, only to miss him. Ted picks up the roach and identifies it as the rare strain that he has only sold to one dealer. He sends his two henchmen, Budlofsky (Kevin Corrigan) and Matheson (Craig Robinson) to the dealer, Red (Danny R. McBride), who discloses that he has only sold this marijuana to Dale's dealer, Saul Silver (James Franco).