We've been talking quite a bit
about how various states are trying
to persuade people to get
vaccinated.
And they're doing it through
various incentives, a raffle for a
gun or some other nonsense lottery
that people can be submitted to if
they get those jabs in their arms.
Now it's frustrated me because
think about all of the countries
that do not have the same access to
the vaccine that we have here in
the United States.
Countries that have been fighting
for the ability to manufacture
their own vaccine and
the only way they could do that is
through a vaccine waiver.
I mean, people are suffering
throughout the world because they
don't have what we have in regard
to this coronavirus vaccine.
So it has been really frustrating
to me because we look like
petulant children when really,
we should be grateful that we have
the ability to keep ourselves safe.
But there is one incentive that I
might give a little hat tip to,
a little hat tip to.
Comes from the state of Washington.
Washington state will allow adults
to claim a free pre-rolled
joint when they get their COVID-19
vaccine shot at an authorized
weed dispensary,
the state's Liquor and Cannabis
board announced that Monday.
The Joints for Jabs program will
run through July 12th, with the aim
of convincing more residents to get
their COVID shot and come
after the state received multiple
requests from cannabis retailers to
be allowed to give away pot to
promote state vaccination efforts.
Again, look, obviously I wish that
it didn't have to come to this.
I wish that we really were able to
have a moment of self reflection,
just compare our situation to other
countries.
And not feel the need to focus on
incentives to get vaccinated, but
if there were to be an incentive,
this is it, this is it.
>> I don't know, I mean,
mine was reached.
It was almost the first one.
It was when Krispy Kreme said that
they were going to be involved,
that for me is stronger.
Yeah, imagine, it's too depressing.
I was going to sketch it out.
But imagine being in India
right now.
>> I know. >> And hearing they're
giving away drugs to try to
get people to get the vaccine.
Will it work?
Probably not, drugs, trucks, guns,
million dollars.
None of it's probably
going to work.
There's nothing you can give them
to get them to take their medicine.
God, that's depressing.
Yeah, it's a great program.
They should have been doing it
the whole time.
I was okay with the gun thing.
I like this better, but
isn't it also amazing that inside
of the United States, depending
on where you happen to live,
you can get free weed for
getting medicine, or you can be
strip searched in public because
they think you've got that drug.
>> Exactly, no,
I was going to make that point,
I'm glad you did.
We just did a story on today's show
about two young, well,
one young man and literally a 16
year old teenager who were who were
stripped searched in public because
cops thought they smelled weed.
And so you have that situation in
some parts of this country and
then in Washington State,
it's like we really want you to get
vaccinated so we're going to
give you a free joint.
Obviously, I want pot to
be legalized recreationally,
medicinal, just legalized overall.
That's the right solution.
And in my utopian world, my fantasy
utopian world that doesn't exist,
people wouldn't need incentives to
get vaccinated, but here we are,
Americans continuing to make us
look pretty bad on the world stage.
>> Not to be a downer, but
we're still losing more than 500
people a day, months after
vaccination was available.
>> Yeah, I know, I know.
The number of new cases has slowed
down considerably because, would
you look at that, vaccines work.
And to be fair, yes,
the rate of people getting
vaccinated has in fact slowed down,
but I am happy to see that
the distribution of the vaccine
has been smooth under Biden.
And I believe more than
half of Americans at this
point are fully vaccinated, but
we need to get up to at least 70%.
>> Yeah, if it's going to be
slowing down, at least it's because
we're terrible.
Not because the government failed
us for once.
>> That's right, that's right.