(FILES) In this August 9, 2007 file photo, former US Senator Mike Gravel speaks at the Visible Vote ’08 Presidential Forum, in Los Angeles, California. Gravel has been appointed as the head of cannabis company Kush, which produces marijuana products for recreational and medicinal use, its parent company said December 30, 2014. Gravel will be in charge of marketing marijuana products, including a cannabis lozenge called “Kubby,” Cannabis Sativa said. Marijuana is still an illegal drug across much of the United States, but some states have begun to decriminalize its use, sometimes for medical purposes but also in some cases for recreation. Nevada-based Kush is a subsidiary of Cannabis Sativa, but will now operate independently under Gravel, who has been a director at the company since it was founded. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECKROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images ORG XMIT: Former US ORIG FILE ID: 536416858