Elon Musk teased his 35 million Twitter followers by saying he would express an opinion that would "probably get him into trouble."- The Tesla CEO followed this up by saying he didn't understand how people are still incarcerated for dealing marijuana, while cannabis stores in some states were considered an essential business during the pandemic.
- In 2018, Musk took a drag on a spliff — marijuana mixed with tobacco — during a live interview on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.
- States, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and Vermont, allowed marijuana businesses to stay open during the stay-at-home orders.
- Many of his followers didn't seem to mind his opinion, with one commenting: "Why do you think this will get you in trouble?"
After teasing his 35 million Twitter followers by stating he would say something that would "probably get him into trouble," Elon Musk said he didn't understand how some people were still incarcerated for selling marijuana.
In the early hours of Saturday, the Tesla CEO wrote: "Selling weed literally went from a major felony to essential business (open during a pandemic) in much of America & yet many are still in prison. Doesn't make sense, isn't right."
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2020
But his followers didn't seem to be too bothered by his opinion, with many saying he was stating the obvious. One follower responded by tweeting: "Why do you think this will get you in trouble?"
—Cody Johnston (@drmistercody) June 6, 2020
In some states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and Vermont, marijuana businesses were allowed to stay open during the coronavirus stay-at-home orders because they were deemed as "essential business," according to the Washington Post.
Other states, like Massachusetts, recently reopened some of the recreational marijuana shops as stay-at-home orders were slowly lifted, the Boston Globe reported.
But despite what Musk might think, the number of incarcerations for marijuana dealing is still relatively low compared to other drugs.
According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, Marijuana is the second-least trafficked drug in the US, with 1,675 federal sentences recorded in 2019.
In terms of possession, this number is far lower. Up to 10 States have eliminated incarceration as an option for marijuana possession offenders, according to the same website. When prison terms do result, sentences typically last less than a year. In 2019, only 1.3% of federal drug sentences were for marijuana-specific possession.
Musk's company SpaceX — which last week made history with the first-ever human space launch — became the focus of a NASA safety review after the CEO smoked cannabis on a live-streamed "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast in September 2018.