John Boehner Joins Advisory Board of Marijuana Company, Despite Past Opposition

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner has changed his tune on legalized marijuana. Boehner, who served as an Ohio congressman from 1991 to 2015 and is noted for his cigarette smoking, announced on Twitter this morning that he has joined the board of advisors of a national cannabis company.  New York-based Acreage Holdings, the company Boehner is joining, legally grows and distributes weed throughout 11 states in America. Boehner’s latest position was announced in a joint statement with former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, who is joining in the same role.

Boehner’s addition is viewed as a major turning point for Acreage Holdings, as well as in the nationwide argument to legalize weed. The company, which advocates for widespread legalization, can now tout the involvement of a highly visible member of the Republican party, one that has consistently opposed the decriminalization of marijuana in the past.

The announcement of Boehner’s decision also comes at a decisive time in the development of legalized marijuana as a legitimate business. With more than 60 percent of the country’s support and billions of dollars in revenue, the economic prospects for legalization have never been clearer. However, Boehner claims he has no financial investment in Acreage, and that his change of heart simply came from researching cannabis use to treat veterans, as well as seeing how it helped a friend’s back pain.

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This article appears in Apr 11-17, 2018.