While millions of people are imprisoned in the US for the same conduct, Elon Musk questioned Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison on an episode of the “Full Send” podcast this week.
Musk observed that while Griner received a nine-year term in Russia for possessing marijuana, other prisoners detained on American soil don’t receive the same kind of attention from the White House.
“If the president is working so hard to free someone who is in jail in Russia for some weed, shouldn’t we free people in America?” The Tesla CEO asked on an episode of the “Full Send”
“There are people in jail in America for the same stuff. Shouldn’t we free them too? My opinion is that people should not be in jail for non-violent drug crimes.”
On Friday, Biden stated that his administration is “working hard” and “hopeful” to re-engage Griner in talks with Russia. His administration has thought about substituting renowned arms dealer Viktor Grout, commonly known as the “Merchant of Death,” for Griner.
In spite of being completely legal for recreational use in 19 states and decriminalized in another 18, marijuana possession is still prohibited on the federal level.
Griner admitted this month to having a tiny amount of cannabis oil in her possession when she was stopped at the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow in February. She was sentenced to nine years in jail and a $16,200 fine after being found guilty of cocaine possession and smuggling.
The most recent year for which data is available, 2018, saw approximately 700,000 marijuana-related arrests, according to an ACLU report. According to the research, that accounts for 43.2% of all drug arrests, which is a lot higher than any other substance and more than all violent crime put together.
Musk asserted that he did not regularly use marijuana personally and that he believes it to be “not that useful for productivity.”
But the richest man in the world also recently claimed that, as a result of Musk’s infamous, marijuana-fueled appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2018, the government had him and the staff at his space exploration business SpaceX submits to annual drug testing.
After taking “one puff” during his interview with Rogan four years prior, which was recorded in California, where marijuana was legal at the time, he said on “Full Send” that he needed to demonstrate to the government that he wasn’t an addict.
“I did get a lot of backlash because it’s still federally illegal,” he said, “SpaceX has federal government contracts, so our competitors were like ‘Why aren’t you doing anything? Look at him brazenly smoking weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast.’”
Tesla shares briefly went into a tailspin after the stunning announcement, falling as much as 9%. Musk assured investors that he was not an addict following the sharp stock decline.
Watch it here: Youtube/Full Send Podcast