Ex-House speaker joins pot company
John Boehner says his long-held opposition to marijuana has “evolved”
DENVER – Former House speaker John Boehner dropped his long-held opposition to marijuana to join the board of a rapidly expanding cannabis company.
Boehner, who left the House in 2015, briefly served on the board of tobacco giant Reynolds American after his retirement. He said in a statement Wednesday that his thinking on marijuana has “evolved,” prompting him to join New York-based Acreage Holdings, along with former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, also a Republican.
“I’m convinced de-scheduling the drug is needed, so we can do research, help our veterans and reverse the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities,” Boehner tweeted.
For decades, the federal government has classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance, treated on par with heroin and cocaine. Thirty states permit medical marijuana use, and nine states and the District of Columbia permit recreational use by adults.
Legalization advocates expect Congress will have to reschedule marijuana at the federal level. A federal change could replace the patchwork of statelevel laws, permit distribution of marijuana across state lines and allow marijuana firms to get bank accounts.
“We’re regulated somewhere between alcohol and nuclear waste,” said Michael Bloom, CEO of Californiabased marijuana company Bloom Farms. “In many ways, they don’t even regulate pharmaceuticals as much.”
More than 60% of Americans say recreational marijuana should be legal, double its support in 2000, according to a poll in January by the Pew Research Center. Backing for medical marijuana is even stronger: 88% of Americans say medical cannabis should be legal, according to a CBS News poll in April 2017.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law, or NORML, repeatedly rated Boehner an “anti-legalization” politician.
“Another rich white guy trying to cash in from pot? Shocked. Shocked, I say!” Kevin Sabet Smart Approaches to Marijuana
While many cannabis activists welcomed Boehner’s change of heart, critics said he’s yet another wealthy white man able to slide into the pot industry while tens of thousands of Americans — particularly young black men — remain jailed on drug charges.
Legalization opponents, who have tried to tie the nation’s marijuana industry to Big Tobacco, mocked Boehner’s announcement. Kevin Sabet of Smart Approaches to Marijuana argued that the United States should consider decriminalizing marijuana instead of creating a massive industry selling an intoxicating substance.
“Another rich white guy trying to cash in from pot? Shocked. Shocked, I say!” Sabet tweeted.
Acreage operates in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Illinois, Massachusetts, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland.