REEFER MADNESS

Louisiana Senate Candidate Smokes a Blunt in First Campaign Ad

Gary Chambers said he released the video to “destigmatize the use of marijuana.”

A new campaign video for a Louisiana Senate hopeful opens with the Democratic candidate seated in a leather chair out in a field—where he proceeds to light up and smoke a blunt. “Every 37 seconds someone is arrested for possession of marijuana,” candidate Gary Chambers says in the 37-second spot. “States waste $3.7 billion enforcing marijuana laws every year. Most of the people police are arresting aren't dealers but rather people with small amounts of pot, just like me,” he says. The video, which highlighted that Black people are four times as likely as white people to be arrested under marijuana laws, was accompanied by a statement from Chambers. “I hope this ad works to not only destigmatize the use of marijuana, but also forces a new conversation that creates the pathway to legalize this beneficial drug,” he wrote, “and forgive those who were arrested due to outdated ideology.” Chambers is racing to unseat the state’s Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who was first elected in 2016. He ran unsuccessfully last year in a special House election for Louisiana’s 2nd District.