WATCH NOW: McDermott fires up joint in Senate campaign ad calling for legal pot |

WATCH NOW: McDermott smoked marijuana at ‘Grateful Dead’ shows, vows to legalize if elected to U.S. Senate

“Hoosiers are going in droves over the borders in Michigan and in Illinois, on a daily basis, to buy cannabis,” McDermott said. “Then they return home and they’re doing so at risk that if they are pulled over they can be charged with a felony — they can be charged with a crime, they could be thrown in jail, they could lose their job — to buy something that’s completely legal in 37 out of the 50 states.

“It’s not right.”

Indeed, McDermott and his friends shown talking about the benefits of marijuana in the ad, including two attorneys, a physician, a professional distiller, and Hammond City Councilman Dave Woerpel, traveled one mile into Illinois, where marijuana is legal, to light up and record the commercial.

McDermott said the marijuana he consumed was purchased at Mission Dispensary in Calumet City, Illinois, located just west of Hammond, the city of nearly 80,000 residents he’s led as mayor since 2004.

“None of us did anything wrong. We purchased a product in Illinois. We consumed it there. Everything was done legally,” McDermott said. “We’re in the dark ages in Indiana still worried that we’re going to get arrested for having it. It’s time for it to come to an end.

“So many people are intimidated about talking about cannabis, and I’m going to break that stereotype. I’m a very successful person and I’ve used cannabis before.”

McDermott said if he was serving in the U.S. Senate right now he would vote in favor of advancing to the president’s desk the House-approved Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, which currently is stalled due to a Senate tradition requiring a 60-vote supermajority to pass most measures.

The landmark legislation, backed by U.S. Reps. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, and Andre Carson, D-Indianapolis, would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, establish procedures for expunging previous marijuana convictions from people’s records and impose a tax on the sale of cannabis products.

That, in theory, could lead to marijuana being legalized in Indiana, where Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and Statehouse Republicans repeatedly have said they will not consider any marijuana legalization proposals while the drug still is classified by the federal government as an illegal controlled substance.

McDermott said Indiana is losing out on cannabis-related manufacturing, retail and agricultural jobs, as well as millions of dollars of marijuana-related economic growth and health benefits, by not already legalizing marijuana under a nonprosecution policy initially adopted by the U.S. Justice Department in 2013.

He observed that about 70% of the vehicles in the parking lot at Mission Dispensary have Indiana license plates, and Mission is just one of many dispensaries operating near Indiana’s borders.

“We’re passing up opportunities to reduce veterans’ dependence on opioids, and peoples’ dependence on opioids altogether, using cannabis as an alternative,” McDermott said. “I’ve seen dozens of people die of overdose deaths as Hammond mayor and never once have I seen anyone overdose on cannabis.”

McDermott emphasized that his position in favor of marijuana legalization applies only to adults and only in appropriate circumstances.

For example, he and his friends had a designated driver to bring them back to Indiana after filming the commercial where they used marijuana in Illinois.

“I approach it like alcohol. If you’re going to use it, use it in appropriate situations,” McDermott said. “Just because weed would be legal doesn’t mean we’d advocate people driving with it or we’d advocate kids having it. They shouldn’t. You don’t do it at work. You don’t do it before work. It’s all the same rules that apply to alcohol.”

McDermott also said he’s only focused on legalizing cannabis. He’s not looking to legalize any other drugs because none are as comparatively safe as cannabis, he said.

“The most dangerous thing about marijuana, in my opinion, is obtaining it,” McDermott said in reference to states like Indiana where cannabis remains illegal. “The actual product itself is not that harmful.”

In addition to the risks of obtaining marijuana in Indiana’s unregulated marketplace, McDermott said he saw in his past work as a public defender the negative and uneven effects of marijuana arrests on individuals nabbed for possessing the drug.

He said marijuana arrests tend to target racial or ethnic minorities, and individuals with low incomes, who often lack the resources to obtain an attorney and get their criminal cases either thrown out or reduced to a significantly lesser charge.

“A lot of times people just plead to the charge and it just goes on their record and it keeps them from a good college, it keeps them from good jobs. Some people can get fired for it,” McDermott said. “Why should anybody have to worry about losing their job over this issue? It’s a plant.”

It’s not yet known what effect McDermott’s enthusiastic embrace of marijuana legalization will have in his Nov. 8 general election contest against U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., for a six-year year term representing Indiana in the U.S. Senate.

The Young campaign, when asked by The Times for the senator’s position on marijuana legalization, pointed to a statement Young made as a 2014 U.S. House candidate that medicinal marijuana should remain a state-level decision.

“We need to respect the state prerogative here,” Young said. “I suspect, though, that this is an area that will continue to evolve in the law, and we’ll have to adapt accordingly.”

For his part, McDermott said while marijuana isn’t the most important issue Hoosiers are facing right now, it’s the best way for him to show Indiana voters who he is and how he’ll lead if they elect him to the Senate.

“This is how I feel. This is no political BS, no political calculation. This is how I feel. That’s why I’m doing it,” McDermott said.

“The only way I’m going to win this race is to be 100% authentically Tom McDermott, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m not going to BS people. I’m not going to freaking lie. I’m just going to be honest and tell people how I feel. We’re all adults, we can talk about this issue. Obviously people smoke marijuana. I mean, I did it, it was in Illinois, and it was completely legal. It’s fine.”

In addition to the marijuana ad, McDermott is beginning a “Weed Tour” of the Hoosier State on Wednesday alongside other marijuana legalization advocates, including Indiana secretary of state candidate Destiny Wells and Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.

The four-day, seven-stop tour will highlight the economic and health care opportunities associated with marijuana legalization that Indiana is giving up by being among the last states to take that step.

“We have seen the impact that recreational and medicinal cannabis use has made on the states around us, and not only are Hoosiers contributing to neighboring states’ economies, Indiana is now on the verge of losing out altogether,” said Mike Schmuhl, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party.

“It’s unfortunate to see Indiana Republicans have no plan on cannabis, and instead, see them oppose this common sense policy due to partisanship. Democrats have taken the lead on this effort because it’s a win-win for the state’s economy and for Hoosiers altogether. Legalizing cannabis will also fulfill Democrats’ consistent promise of creating a better future for our families.”

The Democrats’ Weed Tour kicks off in Indianapolis, and features stops in Fort Wayne and South Bend on Thursday, Lafayette and New Albany on Friday, and Terre Haute and Evansville on Monday.