Former House Speaker John Boehner has joined the board of a cannabis company, his views on having “evolved” since he said he was “unalterably opposed” to legalization in 2009.
Acreage Holdings is one of the largest cannabis corporations in the country, which cultivates, processes and dispenses cannabis in almost a dozen different states. Its mission is to "make cannabis available to any patient who can benefit from safe and reliable access."
Although Boehner said in 2009 that he was "unalterably opposed" to legalizing cannabis, he told Bloomberg that "over the last 10 or 15 years, the American people’s attitudes have changed dramatically. I find myself in that same position.
Boehner is joined on the board by former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who was nominated for vice president by the Libertarian Party in 2016. The two released a statement explaining their choice to join the company.
“While we come at this issue from different perspectives and track records, we both believe the time has come for serious consideration of a shift in federal marijuana policy. Over the past 20 years a growing number of states have experimented with their right to offer cannabis programs under the protection of the 10th amendment. During that period, those rights have lived somewhat in a state of conflict with federal policy. Also, during this period, the public perception of cannabis has dramatically shifted, with 94 percent of Americans currently in favor of some type of access, a shift driven by increased awareness of marijuana’s many medical applications.”
The two specifically highlight cannabis’ potential as a treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, chronic pain, and other problems often faced by veterans.
"Yet the VA does not allow its doctors to recommend its usage. There are numerous other patient groups in America whose quality of life has been dramatically improved by the state-sanctioned use of medical cannabis.”
"While the Tenth Amendment has allowed much to occur at the state level, there are still many negative implications of the Federal policy to schedule cannabis as a Class 1 drug: most notably the lack of research, the ambiguity around financial services and the refusal of the VA to offer it as an alternative to the harmful opioids that are ravishing our communities.”
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