Who?
Sen. JD Vance (R-OH)
LISTEN: Laslo & Vance
Ask a Pol asks:
Any thoughts on the DEA moving to reschedule marijuana?
Key Vance:
“My view on weed is, like, we have to strike a balance between, you don't want people thrown in prison for having a dime bag. That mercifully doesn't happen most of the time in this country. I also think we haven't quite figured out how this new regime coexists with not polluting our public spaces, right?” Sen. JD Vance exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “This is, like, a big frustration that I have, you take your kids downtown Cincinnati to go to a restaurant, and you walk by, like, five people who are stoned. It smells terrible. I don’t want that. ”
Caught our ear:
“Frankly, we just need a different cultural sensibility that if we're going to go into this more open regime, people have to actually take some responsibility and not do it around, y’know, six year old kids,” Vance told us.
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ICYMI — Ask a Pol’s exclusive w/ Rep. Chuy Garcia
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), slightly edited for clarity.
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. J.D. Vance
SCENE:
Matt Laslo: “Any thoughts on the DEA moving to reschedule marijuana?”
J.D. Vance: “No. I just heard about this a few minutes ago. I mean, my view on weed is, like, we have to strike a balance between, you don't want people thrown in prison for having a dime bag. That mercifully doesn't happen most of the time in this country. I also think we haven't quite figured out how this new regime coexists with not polluting our public spaces, right? This is, like, a big frustration that I have, you take your kids downtown Cincinnati to go to a restaurant, and you walk by, like, five people who are stoned. It smells terrible. Like, I don't want that. I also don't want people getting arrested for, y’know, having a dime bag. And I think we have to strike that balance a little bit better.”
ML: “Yeah? But that kinda means Congress needs to step in and write some rules of the road or something?”
JDV: “I think it’s states need to be a little bit more aggressive about public use enforcement. And, frankly, we just need a different cultural sensibility. If we're going to go into this more open regime, people have to actually take some responsibility and not do it around, y’know, six year old kids.”
Another congressional reporter then asks Vance about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps.
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With DEA rescheduling, Sen. JD Vance worries about marijuana "polluting our public spaces"