{"id":3745,"date":"2022-01-19T18:28:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T18:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=191208"},"modified":"2022-01-19T18:28:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T18:28:00","slug":"this-is-why-senate-candidate-gary-chambers-lit-a-blunt-and-went-viral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=3745","title":{"rendered":"This is why Senate candidate Gary Chambers lit a blunt and went viral"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/this-is-why-senate-candidate-gary-chambers-lit-a-blunt-and-went-viral.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>  <title>Gary Chambers&#8217; blunt US Senate campaign ad hits different | Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.5 (Yoast SEO v17.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\">     <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\">    <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>                <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p>On Tuesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/chambersforlouisiana.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gary Chambers<\/a> debuted his 2022 campaign for US Senate with a short, but loud, video ad. <\/p>\n<p>While sitting in a New Orleans field, the Democratic candidate lit up a king-sized blunt to demonstrate his dedication to weed reform. The unique image set the Internet ablaze, making it all the way to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GaryChambersJr\/status\/1483788750501072902?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">late-night television<\/a> in less than 24 hours.<\/p>\n<p>The ad was cut to exactly 37 seconds to represent how often someone is arrested for cannabis possession. These unnecessary arrests represent over half of all state and local drug arrests since 2010. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cMost of the people police arrest aren\u2019t dealers, but rather people with small amounts of pot, just like me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Gary Chambers, candidate for US Senate<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cBlack people are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana laws than white people,\u201d Chambers says in the video. And although he has never been arrested for possession, Chambers pledged to use his voice to bring all the smoke to the legislature on behalf of his fellow cannabis users.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStates waste $3.7 billion enforcing marijuana laws every year,\u201d Chambers said in the ad. Meanwhile, Colorado\u2019s Department of Revenue <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CO_Revenue\/status\/1481358329171652615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1481358329171652615%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marijuanamoment.net%2Fcolorado-earned-423-million-in-marijuana-tax-revenue-last-year%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> $12 billion in total sales and $2 billion in taxes since legalization in 2014.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n[embedded content]\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Progress is spreading slowly across Chambers\u2019 home state, like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nola.com\/news\/politics\/article_4a192e80-f61e-11eb-ba76-6f04bd87e3dd.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New Orleans City Council\u2019s pardon<\/a> for 10,000 possession cases. A 2021 law also decriminalized possession of up to 14 grams, with a fine of $100 or less and no jail time. And on January 1 of this year, smokeable medical cannabis was legalized statewide, under some conditions. But Chambers\u2019 doesn\u2019t appear satisfied, yet.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-fielding-the-green-vote\">Fielding the green vote<\/h2>\n<p>Weed has bloomed into one of America\u2019s few bipartisan issues after booming throughout the pandemic. But few politicians have shown the authentic love of the plant that Chambers exhibited in his video. Is this the year he and other politicians make a name for themselves by going all the way green? <\/p>\n<p>Last week, lawmakers in Mississippi had to pass bags of hemp and unlit joints around their Chambers to put daily patient limits into context. Chambers\u2019 willingness to inhale before our eyes and still coherently express his platform could go a long way in winning green voters. Kind of like how George Bush won the \u201cwho would you rather have a beer with?\u201d test over John Kerry in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2020\/01\/inverted-beer-test\/604282\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2004\u2019s presidential race<\/a>. In 2022, \u201cthe blunt question\u201d could propel some candidates farther than ever in the hearts and minds of voters.<\/p>\n<p>Chambers\u2019 bluntness already propelled his campaign from social media to millions of living rooms in less than 24 hours. But will he be able to put his state in the green for generations to come with progressive pro-cannabis legislation? The data says it\u2019s worth a try.<\/p>\n<h2>Americans across party lines want legal pot:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2021\/04\/16\/americans-overwhelmingly-say-marijuana-should-be-legal-for-recreational-or-medical-use\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span>Pew Research Center<\/span><\/a>&nbsp;reports that 72% of Democrats and 47% of Republicans support both medical and recreational legalization.&nbsp;Cannabis legalization consistently has higher approval ratings than any candiate or party.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/323582\/support-legal-marijuana-inches-new-high.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span>Gallup<\/span><\/a>&nbsp;gives similar figures by party (83% and 48%), and found a five-point bump from last year\u2019s percentage of US adults who now see \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/312929\/record-low-say-death-penalty-morally-acceptable.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">marijuana as morally acceptable<\/a>.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>A real estate survey by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/homebuyer-willingness-to-relocate-survey-politics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span>Redfin<\/span><\/a> found that almost half of Americans (46%) prefer to live or will only live in states with legal weed of some kind.<\/li>\n<li>Last April, <span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2021\/04\/16\/americans-overwhelmingly-say-marijuana-should-be-legal-for-recreational-or-medical-use\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pew<\/a><\/span> found that <span>91% of Americans<\/span> believed at least medical cannabis should be legal and 60% supported adult-use and medical marijuana. Only 8% of respondents said it should not be legal for any adult use.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.samhsa.gov\/data\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/rpt32879\/NSDUHsaeTotal2019\/2019NSDUHsaeTotal.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span>Federal surveys<\/span><\/a> show the South has more past-month cannabis users than any US region (8.6 million), but the nation\u2019s worst, most racist pot penalties. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When you crunch the numbers, it\u2019s clearly no accident that Chambers\u2019 video spread like wildfire. The true question may be why more politicians haven\u2019t tried something similar already?<\/p>\n<p>The Democrat celebrated his viral impact with a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GaryChambersJr\/status\/1483631057673072642?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tweet<\/a> that said, \u201cWe keep pushing the right issues &amp; forcing necessary conversations in America\u2026 We did that today. For too long politicians have played games w our future. Chip in today &amp; help us win &amp; bring real change to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2022-01-19 22:23:27 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gary Chambers&#8217; blunt US Senate campaign ad hits different | Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. On Tuesday, Gary Chambers debuted his 2022 campaign for US Senate with a short, but loud, video ad. While sitting in a New Orleans field, the Democratic candidate lit up a king-sized blunt to demonstrate his dedication&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/this-is-why-senate-candidate-gary-chambers-lit-a-blunt-and-went-viral.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}