Cannabis Sativa Adds Another Former Political Bigwig

Some say that business and politics don’t mix, but one cannabis company is betting they go together just fine.

Cannabis Sativa – headed by former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson – announced that ex-Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel will head its subsidiary Kush, which develops infused products. Cannabis Sativa acquired Kush last summer.

Gravel – a U.S. Senator from 1969 to 1981 who served on the finance, interior, environmental and public works committees and several subcommittees – has been an outspoken advocate for and “personally benefited” from medicinal marijuana use, Cannabis Sativa said in a release.

He has been a director at Kush since its inception.

Gravel battled President Richard Nixon, who coined the term “war on drugs,” and was a key player in ending the draft and ensuring the Pentagon Papers were published rather than kept classified.

Gravel told the Huffington Post that he still feels “very deeply about the failure that is marijuana prohibition,” and wants to bring marijuana reform forward in a “serious and credible way.”

The founder of Kush, Steve Kubby, also has strong political ties: He was the 1998 Libertarian Party of California’s candidate for governor. Kubby currently serves as chairman of Cannabis Sativa as well.