Senate candidate Gary Chambers smokes huge joint in first campaign ad

A US Senate candidate smoked a blunt in his new campaign video in the hopes that it will spark a “new conversation” around the drug.

In the advert, Democratic Louisiana Senate candidate Gary Chambers is filmed sitting in an armchair and lighting up.

The politician and social justice advocate said every 37 seconds someone is arrested for possession of marijuana and said over half of all drug arrests since 2010 have been marijuana-related.

He highlighted: “Black people are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana laws than white people.”

He added: “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.”

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new conversation that creates the pathway to legalize this beneficial drug, and forgive those who were arrested due to outdated ideology.”

Chambers is hoping to unseat the incumbent Republican Sen. John Kennedy.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, his campaign said he also hopes to pass economic aid for the people of Louisiana, like the Build Back Better Act. He will also fight for voting reform initiatives and Medicare for All at a national level.

Chambers’s advert even made it onto The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

During his opening monologue last night, Colbert joked about previous remarks made by Kennedy, including that his “car doesn’t run off fairy dust” or “unicorn urine”, and the bizarre remark that to a bear “we all taste like chicken”.

“Are we sure we know which candidate is high?” Colbert joked.

According to NBC, smokeable medical marijuana became legal in Louisiana under certain conditions on January 1.