Utah state senator who tried weed on Facebook Live wants legislature to follow suit: 'I'm totally serious'

Abby Haglage


Jim Dabakis, a talk-show host turned lawmaker in Utah, knows how to tell a good story. So when the Democratic state senator learned that his colleagues plan to vote against Utah’s Medical Cannabis Act next month, he staged an unforgettable cannabis-edibles tasting session — featuring himself — on Facebook live.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 200,000 times, Dabakis identifies himself as a “marijuana virgin” who has been inspired to try the drug after coming to the conclusion that likely “nobody” in the state’s legislature had tried it before. “I decided to come to Las Vegas and see what this is about,” he says. Standing in front of a dispensary called NuLeaf, Dabakis reveals that he paid $30 for marijuana gummies and that he is going to try them live on camera “as great sacrifice.”

After struggling to open the bag (“it’s not easy, I don’t think we have to worry about kids getting into it!”), he opens the bag and says it “smells like gummy bears.” Dabakis then breaks off half, per instructions he was given. “Here goes, I’m going to try it,” he says. “It’s tangerine, but I’m not really tasting it,” he says, then crinkles his nose. “I wouldn’t recommend it as sheer candy; it’s kind of bitter.”

For a second after eating it, Dabakis pretends to be off-balance, but then — after catching a laugh — says he’s taking a “designated driver” to a hotel to hang by the pool. He assures viewers that he used “no taxpayer dollars” to pull off the stunt and that he’s doing it under supervision. “We’re looking at major changes in Utah laws,” he says. “At least one legislator ought to see what this is all about.

Comments poured into the video praising the state senator’s moves, a response that he tells Yahoo Lifestyle has been “overwhelming” and unexpected. “You are my hero and a true hero to the people of Utah,” wrote one user named Doug. “This is why you are my favorite!” added a user named Arlin. “If you read the comments, it makes one’s ego soar,” Dabakis tells Yahoo Lifestyle about the response, chuckling. “But it was not an act of nobility or courage; it was just out of curiosity.”

Dabakis ended his initial video saying that he would provide an update afterward about how he felt, and, true to his word, the state senator posted a new video 24 hours later revealing what he felt. “I made it back to Salt Lake and I’m healthy, I wouldn’t suggest shooting up marijuana to anybody, but I’ll tell you, I think it’s a lot of ho-hum. I think the ‘reefer madness’ crowd, you guys need to try it,” he says. “I felt a little high, you know, a little bit OK, but it didn’t change my life. It wasn’t like AHHH.”

In speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle, Dabakis revealed that his real motivation for pulling off the stunt was to dispel the “hysteria” that he’s witnessed from other lawmakers who think the dangers of marijuana outweigh the benefits. “It’s heart-wrenching to go into the homes of children who are convulsing 10 times a minute and when they use cannabis or take some kind of cannabis derivative it’s down to one. It breaks your heart,” he says. “So what was I weighing in my mind was: ‘What’s the other side?’ I get the good side, but maybe something dramatic will happen to me?”

As he details in the video, nothing dramatic did happen. “I was a little mellow,” he tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “But the establishment in the state is frantic that it will destroy Utah, and I think it will help a bunch of people instead.” Dabakis notes that the vast majority of the Utah Senate is made up of Mormons, and that the Mormon church has been openly opposed to legalizing medical marijuana.

But that won’t stop him.

In the follow-up video, Dabakis implores his fellow state senators to relax their views and then suggests that they all partake ahead of the Nov. 6 vote. “Everybody, mellow out, recognize that this is nothing to be afraid of because the people who are terrified by it seem to the be the people who HAVE NEVER TRIED IT,” he says. “I would suggest that a final dispensation be given to everyone in the Utah legislature to go try gummy bears, maybe we can pass a special session … we can do it in the capitol with nurses … All I’m saying is ‘no big deal.'”

When asked whether he really wants the entire Utah legislature to try marijuana, Dabakis responds with an emphatic: “I’m totally serious!” Although he’s yet to get a response from any state senators, he’s still hopeful. “I think it would be the single most illuminating thing we could talk about,” he tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Virtually all the anti-marijuana people have never ever tried cannabis, so it’s an awkward debate,” he says. “It would really be good for them to try it. I think they’d find out what I found: It’s not a big deal, it’s fine. If it’s going to help a bunch of people, then all these other arguments fade away.”

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