Willie Nelson's bud Kinky Friedman wants to become Texas' next Agriculture Commissioner. So it should come as no surprise that he's made the upcoming election "a referendum on lifting the prohibition on pot and hemp."
"Prohibition simply doesn't work," Friedman writes on his campaign website. "Lifting the prohibition is not about long-haired hippies smoking dope; it's about the economy, the environment, water conservation, education, the border, health care, criminal justice (and injustice!). It's about the future of this great state."
On the homepage of the site, it reads in big letters: "Kinky Says Legalize Now!"
Musician, author, humorist and political hopeful, Friedman is best known as the leader of his band, the Texas Jewboys. These days he's set his sights on making a difference working at the highest level of state government. Friedman has lost several previous races but is trying again to win the upcoming Democratic run-off vote on May 27.
As agriculture head he'd push for decriminalizing and medicalizing marijuana, and growing industrial hemp as a "more productive and less water-reliant fiber alternative to cotton."
Friedman rarely smokes pot (however, he loves cigars), but does when he's with Nelson ("it's kind of Texas etiquette"). "Don't let Bill O'Reilly or Nancy Grace tell you this is a gateway drug," Friedman says about marijuana. "Everybody knows the gateway drug of Texas is beer!"
The pro-cannabis candidate is currently running around Texas on his Seeds of Change tour through Mar. 2.
