Puff, puff, pass: Ben Jealous and Dave Chapelle smoked weed together?

Jun 16, 2018

Dave Chappelle Ben Jealous TheGrio — Courtesy of Twitter

One tells stories designed to make you mad or make you cry. The other tells stories designed to make you laugh.

But what former NAACP chief and Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous and comedian Dave Chappelle do have in common is that they smoked weed together, according to the Baltimore Sun. And one could say both like to make people think about race, politics, and the world around us.

Indeed we did. A long time ago. https://t.co/Xuoel9Hqut

— Ben Jealous (@BenJealous) June 15, 2018

At a campaign debate on Thursday, Jealous revealed that he and Chappelle, a friend, smoked together, according to the Sun. The issue came up during a discussion about the legalization of marijuana, which Jealous and the five other Democratic candidates said they support.

One other candidate on the panel, Alec Ross, admitted to smoking marijuana as a much younger man. Ross dismissed the concept that marijuana is a gateway drug, saying it’s more of a “gateway to pizza,” according to the Sun.

Jealous continued the conversation on his Twitter account, posing the question:

Am I the only one who finds it odd that most American adults have smoked pot, but most American politicians say they never have? #integrity

— Ben Jealous (@BenJealous) June 15, 2018

Jealous’ Twitter followers rushed to support him:

“Exactly!” tweeted @AliB_Phx. “And by the way, that’s awesome!!”

Responded @JBSwaggySoldier, “I bet those politicians that say they never have smoked pot are actually snorting that blow on the side.”

Tweeted @CateSJewels, “And it would be fine even if it wasn’t that long ago. Better pot than a coke-head president and whatever Trump is on.”

Not everyone was thrilled with the revelation, however, according to the Baltimore Sun.

“Being a stoner doesn’t make you a good governor,” the Sun quoted one Reddit.com user as saying.

Chappelle has been stumping in Maryland for Jealous, according to the Sun. Early voting began on Thursday, the same day of the debate, which was the last before the state’s June 26 primary election.

The Democratic frontrunners are Jealous and Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker III. Both have clashed as they campaign for the state’s highest office.

Baker said he supports legalization of marijuana, but says he has never tried it, the Sun writes. And his support of the wildly popular movement comes with reservations. He would first like to see the expungement of convictions involving non-violent marijuana-related offenses. He also has warned that any tax benefits to the state would not begin to be seen for three or four years, according to the Sun.