Who?

Ilhan Omar (D-MN) — Co-chair, Congressional Cannabis Caucus

LISTEN: Laslo & Omar

Do you know anything about Trump’s nominee to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, Derek Maltz?

Key Omar:

“No? Maltz who?” Rep. Ilhan Omar exclusively tells Ask a Pol.

He says it's a ‘gateway drug…’

“What is he, a 100 years old?” Omar says. “All of that has been debunked for a really long time, but I think it's such a boomer thing to say…”

ICYMI — Omar exclusive first sold to Marijuana Moment

Caught our ear:

“We are not advocating for legalizing it so that kids can utilize it,” Omar tells us. “So I have no idea why he's talking about kids.”

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Rep. Ilhan Omar

SCENE: There’s a vote underway on the House floor when Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo runs into Rep. Omar’s walking back to her office…

Matt Laslo: “You're going the wrong way.”

Ilhan Omar: “I know. They called votes and I started to see members, and I was like ‘What are we doing, what is going on?’ Came out of meeting, so I didn’t know.”

ML: “Do you know anything about this [Derek] Maltz guy who was tapped to lead the DEA?”

ICYMI — 100 of 100 US senators on SAFER Banking Act

IO: “No. Maltz who?”

ML: “That’s what I'm saying.”

Omar laughs.

ML: “But — and this is my wire service, one of our clients is Marijuana Moment — and so I just told him to send me all his opinions, he says, it's a ‘gateway drug,’ that cannabis is. ‘That all the irresponsible politicians trying to get votes by legalizing marijuana. Maybe it's time to understand the negative impacts from smoking this crap.’”

IO: “What is he, a 100 years old?”

ML: “Right?”

IO: “All of that has been debunked for a really long time, but I think it's such a boomer thing to say, I don't know how old this man is, but — right?”

ML: “And then he says, ‘it's actually causing psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety. So it's really a gateway drug for these kids that don't know any better.’”

IO: “Well, first of all, there are — we are not advocating for legalizing it so that kids can utilize it. So I have no idea why he's talking about kids.”

ML: “Right?”

IO: “Yeah.”

ML: “Do you worry about even, like, the mental health claims he's making?”

IO: “No, it's actually helpful.”

ML: “It's helpful?”

Consider supporting our independent journalism from your US Capitol!

Consider chipping in to support our independent journalism —Venmo, PayPal, Cash App — or just buy us a beer!

IO: “Yes.”

ML: “Cause you can so easily debunk it?”

IO: “Yess — but, I mean, no. It's helpful for a lot of people who are struggling with all types of stuff.”

ML: “Yeah?”

IO: “Yeah.”

ML: “Amen. Preciate ya.”

Andrey Beregovskiy contributed to this report.

Content posted at AskaPolDrugs.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoldrugs.com/subscribe