John Boehner at SXSW on March 15
The Forrest Four-Cast: March 13, 2019
Say what you will about the politics of today, but you certainly can’t say it’s boring. With so many shocking twists and turns over the last couple of years, you might have missed the news that hard line conservative John Boehner has become a massive proponent and supporter of legalized pot.
Last month, the former republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives turned cannabis investor announced the launch of an industry-funded lobbying group, The National Cannabis Roundtable, saying “representatives must use what the people tell them to question constantly which policies are serving the greater good. It’s past time for government to rethink how it approaches cannabis.”
He’s definitely staying ahead of the curve. Medical marijuana has been legalized in 33 states plus the District of Columbia, and 11 of those states have also initiated an adult-use program. It’s not a matter of if, but when the rest of the United States will enjoy full access to cannabis.
At his SXSW 2019 Convergence Keynote, Boehner and Kevin Murphy, chairman and CEO of Acreage Holdings, the largest U.S. operator in cannabis, will discuss the likely paths to national legalization and the challenges and opportunities America’s fastest growing industry face today.
Boehner, who opposed legalized marijuana while in Congress, joined Acreage’s advisory board last spring because, he tweeted, his “thinking on cannabis has evolved.’’ Witness this transition at 2 pm on Friday, March 15 at the Hilton Austin Downtown.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
