A candidate seeking to represent Louisiana in the U.S. Senate released a campaign ad on Tuesday that puts marijuana front and center. Democrat Gary Chambers sits in an armchair in a field smoking a cannabis blunt and lists statistics about the harms of criminalization.<\/p>\n
The ad is titled \u201c37 Seconds,\u201d a reference to a research finding that police in the U.S. make a marijuana-related arrest every 37 seconds on average.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack people are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana laws than white people,\u201d Chambers says. \u201cStates waste $3.7 billion enforcing marijuana laws every year. Most of the people police are arresting aren\u2019t dealers, but rather people with small amounts of pot, just like me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhile marijuana hasn\u2019t been legalized for adult use in Louisiana, possession of up to 14 grams was decriminalized<\/a> last year and is now punishable by a $100 fine. And in New Orleans, where the ad was filmed, police recently announced<\/a> that they would no longer be issuing citations over simple possession of cannabis alone. The governor also signed a bill last year to let patients in the state\u2019s medical cannabis program legally smoke whole-plant marijuana flower<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFor too long, candidates have used the legalization of marijuana as an empty talking point in order to appeal to progressive voters,\u201d Chambers said in a press release. \u201cI 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new conversation that creates the pathway to legalize this beneficial drug, and forgive those who were arrested due to outdated ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n Chambers, a longstanding social justice advocate in Baton Rouge who previously ran for a U.S. House seat, is running against incumbent Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who hasn\u2019t sponsored cannabis-related legislation since entering office in 2017.<\/p>\n My first campaign ad, \u201837 Seconds.\u2019 #JustLikeMe<\/a><\/p>\n 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new conversation that creates the pathway to legalize this beneficial drug, and forgive those who were arrested due to outdated ideology. pic.twitter.com\/G0qKvmUGKD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Gary Chambers (@GaryChambersJr) January 18, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n In the press release, Chambers said he\u2019s supportive of the Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act<\/a>, a congressional bill introduced by bipartisan lawmakers last month that would incentivize states and local governments to expunge cannabis records in their jurisdictions.<\/p>\n He also backs the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, another bipartisan bill to protect financial institutions that service state-legal cannabis businesses. That legislation has cleared the House in some form five times but has consistently stalled in the Senate.<\/p>\n Chambers isn\u2019t the first person running for Congress who\u2019s been open about flouting federal marijuana prohibition.<\/p>\n Anthony Clark, an Illinois candidate who ran an unsuccessful primary challenge against a Democratic congressional incumbent in 2020, made waves after he smoked marijuana in a campaign ad<\/a> while discussing his personal experience with cannabis and the need for federal reform. He also hosted what he called the \u201cfirst-ever congressional weed party\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in a campaign video.<\/p>\n Also that year, a Democratic candidate for a House seat to represent Oregon frequently discussed consuming and cultivating cannabis herself<\/a>.<\/p>\n A sitting member of Congress has never publicly smoked marijuana, but several lawmakers have\u00a0visited marijuana farms<\/a>,\u00a0companies and state-legal dispensaries<\/a>. Rep. James Comer (R-KY)\u00a0brought CBD oil products he uses to a committee hearing<\/a> in 2019.<\/p>\n Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said in 2019 that while he doesn\u2019t smoke marijuana, \u201cI do grow it legally,\u201d but a spokesperson later clarified that he was broadly referring to legal cultivation<\/a>\u00a0in the state.<\/p>\n Kansas Medical Marijuana Hearings Cancelled After Senate GOP Leader Reroutes House-Passed Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of YouTube\/Gary Chambers<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post U.S. Senate Candidate Smokes Marijuana Blunt In Campaign Ad About Harms Of Criminalization<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A candidate seeking to represent Louisiana in the U.S. Senate released a campaign ad on Tuesday that puts marijuana front and center. Democrat Gary Chambers sits in an armchair in a field smoking a cannabis blunt and lists statistics about the harms of criminalization. The ad is titled \u201c37 Seconds,\u201dContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52368,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52367\/revisions\/52368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: U.S. Senate Candidate Smokes Marijuana Blunt In Campaign Ad About Harms Of Criminalization<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"