Who?
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) — Member, Senate Banking Committee
LISTEN: Laslo & Cramer
Ask a Pol asks:
If Trump came out strongly in support of medical marijuana, would that be a game-changer for the Republican Party?
Key Cramer:
“Certainly,” Sen. Kevin Cramer exclusively told Ask a Pol. “It would certainly be the game-changer for the party. And I do think it would be easier to do some of these other things
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Caught our ear:
It’s felt like cannabis has been a four-letter word all Congress.
“It has been a four-letter word,” Cramer told us. “It changes the conversation for sure.”
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), slightly edited for clarity.
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Kevin Cramer (10-1-2025)
SCENE: Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo catches Sen. Kevin Cramer walking through the US Capitol after he voted on the Senate floor.
Matt Laslo: “You probably didn’t catch this, but [President Donald] Trump on Truth Social sent out like a medical cannabis, like CBD, post.”
Kevin Cramer: “Oh did he, yeah? I know he’s done some of that.”
ML: “If he came out strongly in support of medical marijuana, would that be a game-changer for the party?”
KC: “Certainly. It would certainly be the game-changer for the party, and I do think it would be easier to do some of these other things. Now, the legalization across the board would be a problem, I think.”
ML: “Yeah?”
KC: “But I wouldn’t put anything past him. I’ve often thought about what would be the ramifications within our very diverse base on this topic if he went full-throated.”
ML: “Yeah?”
KC: “Um, so I don’t know. I do think, though, that the increments that we’ve talked about before — whether it’s, you know, simply on the banking side or if it’s something a little more than that on the medical side — he could definitely, he could make a change. No question about it.”
ICYMI — Sound familiar? Ask a Pol founder Matt Laslo’s wire service, The LCB, sold this to Marijuana Moment
ML: “Yeah? Because his DEA still has to do rescheduling that Biden’s administration started.”
KC: “Well, see, that’s the first thing, right? And he’s all about that, as you know. I mean, he has said it. So that what I’m talking about, if he reschedules, that is a big deal.”
ML: “Yeah? So you’re watching for that even though…?”
KC: “Oh, I keep observing it. And, um, you know, you know me, I mean, I’m willing to be — I’m open-minded to some of it.”
ML: “Yeah?”
KC: “I’m — I want to be incremental. I recognize that states are changing the rules already, and that we should probably pay some attention to that. I just, I’m not — on a personal level — comfortable with the rescheduling myself. But you got to be pragmatic about this.”
ML: “Yeah? And all that stuff usually gets debated — like, it’s felt like cannabis has been a four-letter word all Congress.”
KC: “It has been a four-letter word. It has. It changes the conversation for sure.”
What should we ask Congress next?
ML: “Yeah?”
KC: “There’s no question about it.”
ML: “Yeah.”
KC: “And both parties — but what isn’t anymore? Everything now is between the libertarian right and the far left, you know?”
Cramer motions with his hands.
ML: “Yeah.”
KC: “They all meet back here somewhere.”
ML: “That’s the beauty of politics.”
KC: “It is.”
ML: “Good to see you.”
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