A Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee made medicinal cannabis a pillar of her campaign and is using a clip of President Trump to push her message in a new ad.
Beth Harwell, the current Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, came out in support of medicinal cannabis earlier this year, claiming she arrived at her position because it helped her sister in Colorado with a back injury.
In the ad released on Friday, Harwell details her full support.
“I am the only Republican candidate for governor who supports legalizing doctor-prescribed medicinal cannabis,” Harwell says. “Many suffer: veterans, children with seizures, veterans, our elderly. I just know if it were my loved one, I would want this option.”
Then the ad shows a clip of then-candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally, saying, “I think medical should happen, right don’t we agree?”
Harwell announced her support for Trump after the Tennessee primary in 2016.
“President Trump is attempting to hand each state the right to develop and tailor solutions that fit the needs of their citizens,” Harwell told The Daily Wire. “President Trump has expressed his support for medical cannabis, and he has repeatedly shown how in tune he is with the electorate and the conservative base.”
Harwell also noted that she believes medicinal cannabis will become more popular within the Republican Party but “its current popularity is deeply underestimated and misunderstood.” She believes that medicinal cannabis is “a conservative solution to easing the opioid crisis and mitigating a spectrum of pain, not a veil for recreational use.”
“Medicinal cannabis is a part of my campaign for governor of Tennessee,” Harwell added. “However, it is only one component in a platform built on state issues: the need for a greater emphasis on education, fiscal conservatism, and the safety of citizens.”
Harwell will be on the ballot for the Republican primary on August 2 against several other candidates.