Louisiana Senate Candidate Gary Chambers Calls for Marijuana Legalization While Smoking Blunt in Campaign Ad

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Gary Chambers of Louisiana is advocating for the legalization of marijuana.

In a new campaign ad titled “37 Seconds,” Chambers, a 36-year-old progressive community activist from Baton Rouge, LA, is seen smoking a blunt in a leather chair in the middle of a field while listing statistics about marijuana incarceration rates and how Black people are disproportionately impacted. 

“Every 37 seconds, someone is arrested for possession of marijuana,” Chambers says in the clip. “Since 2010, state and local police have arrested an estimated 7.3 million Americans for violating marijuana laws — over half of all drug arrests. Black people are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana laws than white people.”

Chambers also took to Twitter on Tuesday to promote the new campaign ad.

“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new conversation that creates the pathway to legalize this beneficial drug, and forgive those who were arrested due to outdated ideology,” he wrote. 

Chambers is running to unseat Republican Sen. John Kennedy. The election will be held later this year on Nov. 8.

You can watch Chambers’ campaign ad up top.