Elon Musk highlights the paradox of criminalizing cannabis in the U.S.

Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX, recently tweeted about the criminalization of cannabis, more than a year and a half after his controversial appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

«This will probably get me in trouble, but I think I have to say it,» Musk wrote on Twitter last Saturday before pointing out the paradox that the Cannabis dispensaries have been designated as essential businesses in a number of U.S. states during the lockdown, but at the same time, many people are still in prison for cannabis-related offenses.

Selling weed literally went from being a serious felony to an essential business (allowed to remain open during the pandemic) in much of America, and yet many people are still in prison. It doesn’t make sense; it isn’t right.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2020

His tweet was shared by Joe Rogan on Instagram with the caption, «Elon is right.»

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBGheevF3ph/

In September 2018, Elon Musk appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast, during which the two shared a blunt. After discussing AI and Musk’s companies, Rogan lit a joint, piquing Musk’s interest.

At that point, Rogan offered the Tesla CEO the joint, to which Musk replied, «I mean, it’s legal, right?» before taking a puff. Musk then sipped some whiskey before telling Rogan that «alcohol is a drug, too.».

The video went viral before taking a heavy toll on Musk’s two main companies: electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and space company SpaceX. Tesla’s stock price plummeted by 9% following the incident, and two executives quickly left the company.

Although the cannabis is legal in California, the substance remains illegal under federal law, which prompted NASA to order a mandatory review of SpaceX's workplace culture because the company is a federal contractor.

Before smoking a blunt on the Rogan podcast, Musk had sparked controversy with another cannabis-related tweet in August 2018. The businessman had tweeted that he was considering buying back Tesla shares at 420$ per share.

According to a report by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Musk's tweet allegedly misled investors and led to Musk's removal from Tesla's board of directors.