“Former Speaker Boehner is still held in high regard by a large percentage of the GOP membership and voter base,” Erik Altieri, executive director of NORML, a marijuana advocacy group, said in a statement. “We look forward to his voice joining the growing chorus calling for an end to cannabis criminalization.”
As a politician, Boehner can feel the wind shift. Even a majority of Republicans now support legalization, according to an October Gallup poll. If that has something to do with the growing size of the marijuana industry, so be it. Legal weed brought in $6 billion in 2016, and is expected to reach $75 billion by 2030, according to Vivien Azer, an analyst at Cowen & Co.
In the interview, Boehner couldn’t keep from wagging his finger, just a little. But it was at Congress members who won’t get on board the pineapple express, not the folks who smoke it.
“As public opinion shifts, members’ opinions on this are going to shift -- I’m a prime example,” Boehner said. “Over these last 10 years, my attitude has changed pretty dramatically on this.”