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WASHINGTON — Proponents of ending the federal ban on marijuana have picked up a powerful ally.

The National Cannabis Roundtable will be spearheaded by former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who already is involved in the marijuana business as a member of the board of advisors of Acreage Holdings, one of the nation’s largest cannabis cultivation, retail and real estate companies.

Boehner will provide advice and serve as honorary chairman of the roundtable.

“The states have led on this,” Boehner said Friday in a conference call with reporters. “The federal government is lagging behind.”

While Boehner said he won’t lobby, other members of his powerhouse lawyer-lobbying firm that works for, Squire Patton Boggs, will.

Squire Patton Boggs is home to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and former U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, and was paid $24 million to lobby last year, the fourth highest among lobbying firms, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group.

The roundtable will count growers, processors, retailers, investors, and publicly traded companies among it supporters, Boehner said.

Unlike other lobbying efforts, the roundtable will focus solely on Washington. Its priorities are to remove federal restrictions on cannabis research, allow legal marijuana businesses to set up bank accounts and accept credit cards, address problems in the U.S. tax code hindering cannabis businesses, and enable states to decide whether to legalize marijuana and how to regulate it.

An increasing number of states are legalizing marijuana, either for medical or personal use. Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Legislature are debating allowing New Jerseyans to use the drug recreationally. Legislative leaders could begin moving a bill as early as next week.

Almost two-thirds of Americans, 66 percent, backed legalizing marijuana in a Gallup poll last October, the highest support score ever recorded in that survey. Less than one-third, 32 percent, opposed legalizing cannabis.

“When the American people are for something, members will tend to follow,” Boehner said. “Every day that goes by, members are learning more and more about this and hearing more and more from their constituents.”

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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