Reformers marijuana just won himself an unexpected ally: former speaker of the house John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio.
On Wednesday morning, Boehner tweeted, “I join the Board AcreageHoldings #because my thoughts about cannabis developed. I am convinced that de-scheduling the drug is necessary, so that we could conduct research to help our veterans, and reverse the opioid epidemic devastate our communities.”
Descheduling marijuana would remove it from the strict regulatory standards established by the controlled substances act, the basis for us drug policy. It will not fully legalize pot, but it would allow the States to reform marijuana from decriminalization, medical legalization outright legalization without the threat of Federal intervention.
Boehner linked in the press release areas company announcing how he and former Massachusetts Governor bill weld, who was the libertarian candidate for Vice President in 2016, joined the company’s Board of advisors. The company specializiruetsya on creating the business of marijuana across the country.
This is a significant change compared to seven years ago, when Boehner said that he “categorically against” the legalization of marijuana.
“Over the past 10 or 15 years, the attitude of the American people has changed dramatically,” Boehner told Bloomberg. “I find myself in the same position.”
Republicans are increasingly coming to reform marijuana
It’s not just Boehner. He suggested that many Americans, including Republicans came for the reform of marijuana in recent years.
In fact, according to a recent Gallup poll, a majority of Republicans now support marijuana legalization. 2017 Gallup poll was the first time a majority of Republicans supported legalization.
Marijuana has been legalized for recreational use in nine States and Washington, D.C., and it was legalized for medical purposes in 29 States.
One of the reasons for the growing support is likely to be these experiments with legalization at the state level: Colorado became the first state to allow recreational marijuana sales in 2014, the policy itself will not be a complete disaster the opponents of legalization warned that it will be (although experts caution that it is still too early to assess the full effect). What most likely happened more Americans to reconsider their opinion on this issue — so now almost two-thirds of voters support the legalization, including a majority of Republicans.
And now, the movement for the reform of marijuana Boehner on their side.
Read more about marijuana legalization, explaining to read VOX.
Sourse: vox.com
