Former House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican and one-time marijuana opponent, has stepped up his advocacy on behalf of the MJ industry by taking to the airwaves to say Uncle Sam shouldn’t interfere in state-legal cannabis markets.
“If the states decide they want to do this, this is up to them,” Boehner said when asked about recreational marijuana legalization by a reporter from Cincinnati TV station WCPO.
In April, Boehner joined the advisory board of New York-based Acreage Holdings, a plant-touching cannabis company with business interests in 11 states.
Although he’s mostly touted the value of medical marijuana – including for epileptic children and military veterans struggling with chronic pain or post-traumatic stress disorder – Boehner also has taken the traditional GOP line of states’ rights over federal power when it comes to cannabis issues.
That could be key when it comes to future action by Congress, in getting political support from both Democrats and Republicans.
Boehner is one of multiple conservative Republicans who have come out in favor of federal marijuana reform in recent months, giving legs to the possibility of congressional action on marijuana industry issues such as rescheduling, tax relief and banking access.
