The Austin Chronic: A Chat With the State Rep Candidate Who Ripped a Bong in Her Campaign Ad

A screenshot from Sally Duval’s campaign ad (courtesy of Sally Duval for TXHD73)

Sally Duval lights a big cone joint and begins talking to the camera, pointing out the lack of logic in how Texas has regulated cannabis. What she’s saying makes a lot of sense, probably even to non-stoners, and throughout the 90-second spot, Duval comes off as a tough and good-natured Hill Country mom – especially, later in the campaign ad, when she rips a sweet little bong in her kitchen and laughs as she coughs.

Best campaign ad of the election season in Texas – hands down.

Duval, a Democrat, is running for state representative in District 73, which covers Comal and western Hays County, a swath including Dripping Springs, New Braunfels, and Wimberley. She runs her family business and has never before sought state office. So what compelled her to jump in the race? The incumbent was running unopposed.

“I think the people in District 73 deserve a choice,” she explained.

Austin Chronic: What prompted the decision to make a campaign ad where cannabis reform is the central focus ... and one where you are smoking weed?

Sally Duval: The idea came from a political gal I work with, Cat Kaminsky, who reminded me of the ad that [Louisiana Senate candidate] Gary Chambers did called “37 Seconds,” in which he smoked a blunt. We worked with people who know the policy to write the script and then ran with it, with some tweaks. I insisted that it be about freedom, because that’s where I come from on the issue.

I know cannabis is no worse than other intoxicants that are currently legal, alcohol in particular, and I know this from a lifetime of experience with cannabis use for pleasure. I believe that we should be able to use it if we want to and not be stigmatized or lose our careers or be thrown in jail because we want to enjoy cannabis for the pleasure of it. To the best of my knowledge, pleasure is still legal.

There’s no moral difference between cannabis consumers who want to have fun and people who can drink a beer to get a buzz – and I don’t see why there’s a legal difference. We should be able to pursue pleasure without big government telling us what to do in our own backyard ... and our kitchens.

AC: What’s been the reaction to that ad?

Duval: It was really exciting to watch it go viral – almost a million views on X [formerly known as Twitter] without paying for any promotion, which, to me, proves how many people out there are just like me. We want to do what we want to do, just legally for a change.

AC: You’re a regular citizen running for state office. Can you explain what that’s like for anyone considering doing the same?

Duval: It’s a huge investment of your own time – I don’t know how anyone can do this and still have a full-time job that they need to pay the bills. It also requires a whole lot of money and, if you’re allergic to asking for help or donations like I am, you’ll go into a significant amount of credit card debt. On the bright side, people who don’t like the incumbent appreciate having another option.

AC: You’re running against Carrie Isaac, who has sponsored legislation related to increased investment in the border wall, preventing vaccine mandates, and grants to increase security in schools. Why should people vote for you instead?

Duval: I don’t see her doing anything to help the average working person, and that’s my focus. She voted for the private school voucher plan and didn’t say a word about giving more money to our schools, which are living on 2019 appropriation figures. So she’s on board with the privatization of our public school system, which will allow many children to be indoctrinated into religious aspects of life while not socializing with the rest of the population. I don’t know what she believes. I think she’ll say whatever Greg Abbott and his lackeys want her to say.

AC: What issues are important to the residents of District 73 and how would you help them if you made it to the state house?

Duval: Cost of living is probably the biggest problem for people in the district, and I have a couple ideas that could help with that. The management of growth is a huge issue and there are solutions for that like granting counties some level of control over what gets built in the area. The problem is when one man’s property rights are overriding the rights of those around them. Like in my neighborhood, someone wants to put a huge music venue on Fitzhugh Road. Counties need to have the ability to say “no” or “only if you do this.”

AC: Texas’ cannabis laws have led to a very Wild West situation. What’s wrong and how can it be fixed?

Duval: The current situation is they’ve chosen to do nothing. The bare minimum would be to institute an age requirement on the purchase of [hemp derived cannabis] products in stores, and that’s not a requirement right now. We also have at least 7,000 small businesses on the knife’s edge because Dan Patrick can’t figure out if he wants to regulate or ban it. Our laws enable a black market with all the crime, violence, and product uncertainty that comes with it.

In my perfect world, we’d regulate the recreational use of full THC cannabis for pleasure, and people must have the freedom to grow their own, because it’s a plant! We’ll have to figure out how to tax it appropriately – not too much because then people will just go back to the black market. And we’ll need to make sure the licensing of stores is liberal enough that small businesses can get a chunk of the business and it’s not just something that becomes a corporate profit center.

It would lead to a small-business boom and a farmers boom, plus law enforcement and the justice system could spend their time on other things. Another benefit would be reducing the hypocrisy in our government and legal system. I believe that the hypocrisy of our current laws has led to many people checking out of the system and not voting because they have no faith that the government can do what’s right.