Pennsylvania’s governor has formally urged Harrisburg’s divided Legislature to legalize recreational marijuana.
During his hour-plus budget address in the State Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro told assembled members of the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives to join neighboring states in amending the law. He noted that a referendum on this topic passed in conservative-leaning Ohio with 58% of the vote.
“Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland — practically all of our neighbors — have legalized marijuana,” Shapiro said in his speech.
“Our failure to legalize and regulate this only fuels the black market and drains much-needed resources for law enforcement. It’s time to catch up.”
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Once fully implemented, a taxed and regulated recreational marijuana industry could bring $250 million in annual revenue to the state, according to Shapiro.
Though Shapiro didn’t mention legalization in his 2023 inaugural address, his prior budget projections have included $188 million from recreational cannabis within a 10-year period. Shapiro said Tuesday any legalization bill should include provisions to expunge the records of nonviolent offenders and to ensure job and wealth creation in “communities that have been disproportionately harmed by criminalization.”
“Let’s stop hamstringing ourselves and start competing,” Shapiro said.
It’s unclear whether Shapiro’s calls will be heeded in the Legislature. Some Republican lawmakers, who have the majority in the state Senate, have been reluctant to support legalization.
Sen. Dan Laughlin in 2021:PA legal pot bill among ‘most fiscally conservative things I’ve gotten to work on’
Members of the Pennsylvania Family Institute and others who oppose this initiative have pointed to a Colorado Christian University Centennial Institute study that suggests legal pot has come with approximately $4.50 in social costs for every $1 it’s produced in the Centennial State.
Discussions on the idea have been ongoing for years, state Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) told the USA TODAY Network in January. Frankel and the House healthcare subcommittee that he chairs scheduled a hearing on adult use cannabis earlier this week.
H/T: www.goerie.com
