Boehner’s bombshell weed reversal a big boost for marijuana

The pot industry panicked when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ended the government’s hands-off policy on weed. Today, it can breathe a bit easier as former Republican House Speaker John Boehner joins the advisory board of U.S. cannabis producer Acreage Holdings.

“It is difficult to overstate the impact of this monumental event for the U.S. cannabis sector,” Vahan Ajamian, analyst at Beacon Securities Ltd., wrote in a note Wednesday.

The announcement that Boehner and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld will advise Acreage, a private company, “should send shockwaves throughout the industry and act as a positive catalyst for the sector as a whole,” Ajamian said.

Boehner’s move marks a fundamental shift for a man who said nine years ago he was “unalterably opposed” to legalization, and indicates that pot is increasingly supported by the American establishment even if the Attorney General still believes “good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

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