Singletary believes legal pot would be economic boon for Mississippi

He's running for governor, as an independent

Singletary often wears a weed suit

On a recent Monday night at Fenian's Pub in Jackson, a candidate for Mississippi governor stepped up to grab the microphone.

David Singletary began his karaoke performance by singing "Uprising" by Muse. Nobody else seemed keen to perform yet, so he belted out a Josh Turner tune. And then he sang another, "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne, except he replaced "crazy" with "cannabis."

"You're never going to get another singing governor," said Singletary, 61.

That's probably true. At least not one who sings karaoke most Mondays at a pub, and who often wears a suit emblazoned with marijuana leaves. On this particular evening, "Big Dave" had gone casual, donning sweatpants and a fluorescent green T-shirt with "Singletary 420 Governor" on the front. (420 is reference to a marijuana holiday.)

For Singletary, a former Biloxi hotel owner and U.S. Air Force veteran, it was time to relax after a long day on the campaign trail. He'd been in Corinth and Tupelo earlier, towing a trailer advertising his candidacy and handing out T-shirts and stickers.

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Will 'closet advocates' push for pot?

Singletary is running as an independent, and there is one issue he cares about most: legalizing recreational marijuana in Mississippi. Though he stands almost no chance of winning, his offbeat candidacy nevertheless serves as something of a gauge for marijuana acceptance in the conservative Magnolia State.

Can he garner some interest and excitement from the state's numerous "closet cannabis advocates," as he calls them? Can he encourage more of them to come out and push for legal pot?

Legalization has come to plenty of other states, Singletary points out. The District of Columbia and ten states have now decriminalized recreational marijuana use, and Republican-leaning southern states including Louisiana, Arkansas and Florida legalized medical marijuana in recent years.

All types of pot use remains illegal in Mississippi, though a ballot initiative signature drive, Medical Marijuana 2020 — which Singletary isn't affiliated with — hopes to put the issue before voters next year. A poll released earlier this year found two-thirds of Mississippians back legalizing medical marijuana.

Singletary, who grew up in Jackson and lives in Florence, said Mississippi shouldn't waste its time with medical, and instead move immediately to allowing recreational sales of the drug. It would jolt the state's economy, he said, pointing to Colorado as a model to follow. Marijuana sales there have topped $6 billion since legalization in 2014, generating the state more than $900 million in tax revenue.

“You’ve got to realize, we’re competing with New Orleans, and we’re competing with Memphis," Singletary said. "So we’ve got to come up with something that’s better than Bourbon Street, and better than Beale Street.

“If you want to develop downtown (Jackson) into a recreational scene, that’s where I’m at. I’m with an entertainment district.”

'The country's going legal'

It can be tough to take Singletary seriously. His campaign website is full of weed puns — "Join the budding movement," and "We're blazing a new trail in Mississippi" are just two examples. In an interview, he took a stream-of-consciousness approach, veering from voter turnout, to Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' hefty gubernatorial campaign account, to nuclear waste. He tested out a couple of campaign slogans: “I’m the tourist governor," and, "I'm the good-times governor."

But he's certainly done his research on marijuana legalization.

Revenue from marijuana sales could help shore up the state's struggling education system, Singletary said, as well as its crumbling roads and bridges. It could prevent those suffering from chronic pain from using so many addictive opioids. Singletary himself suffers from chronic pain due to a back injury he suffered in college while playing intramural basketball.

“The country’s going legal," he said. "Once the country goes legal, the interstate trafficking barriers are coming down. And Mississippi needs to be positioned with a thriving cannabis industry at that point in time, so we can compete with the other states."

Singletary has a dedicated social media following, and a few people approached him to show their support at Fenian's. One woman mentioned the need for marijuana legalization to help a sick relative, and a man wondered if there was a chance Singletary could get on the debate stage alongside more established candidates in the race.

Rob Lehman, a disc jockey who runs karaoke at Fenian's, said he's never smoked marijuana. But he supports Singletary's message and said that "anybody who’s sick and thinks it’s going to help them" should be able to access the drug legally. It helped relieve his brother's pain when he was dying of cancer.

"I can't see where it would hurt the state, a state that's struggling for funds now," Lehman said. He added it would also give Mississippi farmers a lucrative new crop to grow.

'Why does Mississippi have to be last?'

Still, plenty of Mississippians aren't so open to the idea of full legalization — or Singletary's odd run for governor.

"I think you're making a joke of the entire process," conservative talk show host Paul Gallo told Singletary in an interview last month. "Who convinced you to run for governor?"

Yet Gallo, who said he's never smoked marijuana before, appeared at least somewhat intrigued. What is it like to get high? he asked Singletary. Can you find places to buy marijuana around here, even though it's illegal?

Even Gallo acknowledged he could "see some uses for medical marijuana," before hearing from a caller who told the radio host that pot had been more effective than OxyContin for his chronic pain, and with less side effects.

Perhaps this sort of interaction is Singletary's aim with his eccentric political campaign.

If you run for governor using your own money, wear a weed suit you bought for $100 off Ebay, and tour the state towing a bright yellow trailer, then you end up getting people's attention — even conservative radio talk show hosts. And then, maybe, you get them thinking, get them talking about marijuana legalization.

“There’s a method to my madness, with the weed suit and the trailer," Singletary said. "People think I’m crazy. But I’m trying to bring a $6 billion industry to the state.

“Other states are doing it," he added. "Why does Mississippi have to be last?”

More:Medical marijuana unlikely to advance in 2019, but 2020 effort could get legs

More:Lawmaker fighting to legalize medical marijuana in Mississippi

Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-961-7050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter.