Many may be surprised to read that the former House Speaker, John Boehner, has joined marijuana company Acreage Holdings’ board.
This is because Boehner used to be an opponent of the drug, but according to him, his thinking on marijuana has “evolved.”
He tweeted, “I’m joining the board of #AcreageHoldings because my thinking on cannabis has evolved. 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.”
“One of the nation’s largest, multi-state actively-managed cannabis corporations,” is how Acreage Holdings describes itself.
The company also announced on Wednesday that Boehner is now on its board of advisors. Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld also joined the board.
The company’s CEO Kevin Murphy, said that Boehner and Weld “have shaped the political course of our country for decades and now they will help shape the course of this nascent but ascendant industry.”
“I decided to get involved because of the struggles of our country’s veterans and the opioid epidemic, after learning how descheduling the drug can potentially help with both crises,” Boehner said to CNBC.
“Descheduling will reduce the conflict between federal policy and state programs” which have pursued more lenient policies on marijuana under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. constitution, he added.
