Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was spotted in a cable news ad for “the American Cannabis Summit” Wednesday, which hyped an hour-long video promoting a membership program that provides information to prospective cannabis investors.
John Boehner appears in cannabis ad: pic.twitter.com/fSR06lcFjV
— Matt Shuham (@mattshuham) January 9, 2019
Boehner announced in April that he was joining the board of Acreage Holdings, a cannabis company with licenses to grow and dispense the drug in multiple states. It wasn’t immediately clear if the television ad was connected to Acreage.
If viewers of Wednesday’s ad texted the number that flashes on screen, they were sent a link to a webpage hosted by “the National Institute for Cannabis Investors,” which describes itself as “a global cannabis-investing news service.”
The webpage contains a single video — which can only be paused and played, though a navigable version and transcript are available elsewhere — featuring Boehner and two others reading from scripted material about the potential of cannabis for investors.
Boehner is joined on-screen by NICI’s “founding publisher,” Mike Ward and Danny Brody, vice president of investor relations at The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. and an NICI board member. The video appears to have gone live in October.
Elsewhere on NICI’s website, the video is described as “an uncensored, highly controversial prediction that could help you make a fortune.”
In the hour-long presentation, the former House speaker talks about cannabis’ history, its uses by veterans to treat “PTSD, depression, [and] chronic pain,” and other selling points.
“Yes, I’m all in,” Boehner says at one point. “This is the time to go all in on cannabis.”
Elsewhere, per the transcript, Boehner exclaims: “Look, this rapid growth is happening while cannabis is still quasi-legal. The federal government is holding the industry back in a serious way. But even if nothing changes, our guys are projecting it will reach $50 billion within five years.”
Eventually, the video promotes a membership program that offers investment information.
“Literally, every cannabis stock we’ll bring you has the potential to deliver a 1,000%+ windfall,” the ad copy shouts. “And we’re also going to show you how to become a cannabis angel investor.”
