Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he has had a change of heart on marijuana and will promote its nationwide legalization as a way to help veterans and the nation's deadly opioid crisis. The Ohio Republican, an avid cigarette smoker, has joined the advisory board of Acreage Holdings , a multistate cannabis company. Weld, a Republican as governor, ran in the 2016 presidential election on the Libertarian Party ticket that was headed by legal-pot advocate Gary Johnson. Boehner said in a statement his position "has evolved" from opposing to supporting legalization of marijuana. While marijuana is illegal at the federal level, most states have legalized pot in some form.

Source: ABC News April 11, 2018 18:33 UTC