States, not the federal government, should be allowed to make their own decisions about recreational marijuana use, said John Boehner, the former House speaker.
“If the states decide they want to do this, this is up to them, I am not going to be an advocate on what the states should and should not do… that’s clearly up to them,” Boehner said in WCPO-TV in Cincinnati.
Boehner had opposed legalization of marijuana, but said he has changed his opinion, noting its benefits to those who suffer from epilepsy and those who face post-traumatic stress disorder.
“When you look at kids with epilepsy… they’re taking the non-psychotic part of this plant and reducing the number of seizures they have,” Boehner said.
“Even with chronic pain issues, or veterans with PTSD, they ought to be able to have access to medical marijuana because we believe it actually helps them,” Boehner said in the interview.
Boehner has been lobbying to get marijuana to be changed from a Schedule 1 drug so that more research can be done, the report said.
The Republican former House speaker represented Ohio in Congress and is now on the advisory board of Acreage Holdings, a cannabis company that works in 11 states, Cincinnati.com reported in April.
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