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HARRISBURG – In a state budget proposal, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro urged the Pennsylvania legislature to legalize recreational marijuana.
Table of Contents
- Is Pot Legal In Pa
- Pennsylvania With Recreational Weed In 2022?
- Can Doctors, Nurses Smoke Marijuana? (license Faq)
- Where Is Marijuana Legal Around The World?
- Recreational Marijuana Legalized In 2 States, Rejected In 3 In 2022 Election Referendums
- Ufcw Local 1776 Keystone State
- Legality Of Cannabis
- As Another Neighboring State Moves Forward On Recreational Marijuana, Pennsylvania Remains Stuck In Neutral
- Legalizing Marijuana: The State Vs Federal Pot Legislation Conundrum
- Florida Mmj Card Reciprocity
- Cannabis In Pennsylvania
Is Pot Legal In Pa
Shapiro isn’t breaking new ground. His predecessor, Democrat Tom Wolf, championed legalization in 2019 and unsuccessfully championed it in his final years in office.
Pennsylvania With Recreational Weed In 2022?
And the relationship in the state Senate, still controlled by Republicans, appears to be changing. The state senator who controls the central committee favors legalization, and the lawmaker responsible for setting the chamber’s agenda has expressed willingness to study the issue, despite his belief that Pennsylvania should wait for the federal government to act.
“The real question is: What are the details of how he sees it [the process]?” State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Ind.) addressed Shapiro’s claims at a press conference in February.
Shapiro’s call sets off a high-profile debate with a lot at stake: government coffers, people who want to participate in a potentially multibillion-dollar industry, and tens of thousands of marijuana users, many of whom have suffered legal consequences for past drug use.
“We do a lot of things that wouldn’t be interesting to the general public,” it said. Sharif Street (D., Philly), a prominent legalization advocate, told Spotlight PA. “It’s interesting for society. People are interested. People want it to happen.”
Can Doctors, Nurses Smoke Marijuana? (license Faq)
Legalization advocates argue the commonwealth is falling behind neighboring states and losing hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue, draining law enforcement resources. They also point out that the increasingly unpopular drug prohibition has disproportionately harmed black and brown communities.
Opponents argue that legalizing cannabis violates existing federal law, lacks additional research and opens the door to a booming industry that could quickly gain market power without adequate public health and safety guidelines.
Shapiro laid out a rough outline of his vision for legalization, leaving most of the details up to the Legislature.
He said in his February budget speech that the industry must be “responsibly regulated and taxed”. The final proposal, he continued, should create jobs and invest in “communities that have been disproportionately harmed by criminalization.” He also urged people “convicted of non-violent possession of small amounts of marijuana to delete their records.”
Where Is Marijuana Legal Around The World?
His executive budget estimates that legalized recreational sales taxes will raise about $250 million in annual revenue over five years.
If Pennsylvania lawmakers accept Shapiro’s call and proceed with marijuana legalization, they will be responsible for figuring out important details, such as who can grow and sell the drug and how the market will be regulated.
State Sen. Dan Laughlin (R. Erie), who co-sponsored the legalization bill with Street, told Spotlight PA that he “strongly doubts” the existing legislation will pass without changes.
“As the process goes on,” he said, “there are a lot of people who want to influence what the final product looks like.”
Recreational Marijuana Legalized In 2 States, Rejected In 3 In 2022 Election Referendums
A bill in the state House and another in the Senate would allow recreational marijuana use at age 21 and eliminate nonviolent convictions, such as possession of cannabis, a priority for Shapiro and legislative Democrats.
On the other hand, the proposals differ: some put the state in charge of sales, while others give the green light to the existing industry to expand.
A bill backed by state 20 Democrats would direct the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to set up state-owned cannabis stores similar to retail stores that sell wine and spirits. The rule is supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers International, an influential union that represents some medical marijuana workers as well as state liquor store workers.
The association argued that the state’s retail trade would allow commercial sales to begin sooner and generate more revenue by taxing marijuana growers and processors in addition to customers. Pennsylvania’s marijuana industry opposes the idea.
Ufcw Local 1776 Keystone State
Meredith Buettner, executive director of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition, said in an email that the state’s retail stores could put Pennsylvania on a collision course with the federal government and undermine an industry that has already invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the commonwealth.
A state Senate bill introduced by Laughlin and Street would use Pennsylvania’s existing medical marijuana infrastructure, which includes 178 dispensaries, to sell recreational cannabis. Cresco Labs, Trulieve and many other public, multi-state companies that sell medical marijuana in Pennsylvania prefer this route.
“The current dispensary infrastructure is the best way to increase the adult market safely and quickly,” Trulieve lobbyist Angela Zaidon told state lawmakers at a February hearing on recreational cannabis.
Cannabis has already become a profitable business in Pennsylvania. By July 2023, drug sales were nearly $5 billion, according to the state Department of Health.
Legality Of Cannabis
Spotlight PA has identified at least 24 marijuana companies or organizations that employ at least nine lobbying firms. Among those registered with the advocacy group are at least seven state-based operators whose growing market share could give them a bigger role in shaping marijuana policy.
Industry leaders told state House lawmakers they want the Commonwealth to keep cannabis possession illegal until the recreational industry grows, end unregulated sales at gas stations and convenience stores and create a new agency solely to regulate sales.
They oppose Shapiro’s proposed 20 percent tax, which would increase the state’s 6 percent sales tax, because it would make Pennsylvania uncompetitive with neighboring states, they argue. That tax rate would likely force consumers to cross state lines or buy on the black market, they add.
Such an outcome would undermine the purpose of legalization, which is to provide consumers with “safe, regulated products … rather than someone buying something off the street,” said Shelley Egerton, a former Michigan state regulator who now lobbies for PharmaCann. Chamber of Commerce. The company is a marijuana grower and trader with operations in eight states, including Pennsylvania.
As Another Neighboring State Moves Forward On Recreational Marijuana, Pennsylvania Remains Stuck In Neutral
Lawmakers, particularly Democrats who lead the state House of Representatives, insist that legalization should spread economic benefits among small business owners and people affected by the criminalization of marijuana.
Allowing medical marijuana companies to jump straight into recreational sales would give these large publicly traded companies a competitive advantage, argued Shalin Title, a former Massachusetts marijuana regulator turned cannabis advocate.
These companies “generally can combine their desire for profit with the legitimate desire of marijuana users to obtain legal products more quickly,” Title said in an email. “But giving ourselves advantages reduces competition and hurts consumers in the long run” by raising prices and reducing the number of dealers, he said.
His influence has caused resentment among grassroots legalization advocates and some lawmakers. But according to pro-legalization Street, lobbyists’ game is normal.
Legalizing Marijuana: The State Vs Federal Pot Legislation Conundrum
“The members of the General Assembly are big boys and girls,” he told Spotlight PA, “and we can handle a little lobbying talk.”
A state House bill would allow adults to grow limited amounts of cannabis in their homes. Lawmakers who support the change say it will lower costs, increase accessibility for users and prevent incumbent cannabis sellers from dominating the industry.
“Do they all grow? No, they don’t,” Cheron Perry-Thomas, who runs a marijuana marketing company and advocates for racial justice in the industry, told Spotlight PA. “However, I believe people should have the right.”
This exemption is part of a broader list of social justice policies associated with marijuana legalization, such as the expungement of criminal records for marijuana-related offenses and exclusive access to licenses for the industry.
Florida Mmj Card Reciprocity
Lawmakers and racial justice advocates say such a policy should be included in any deal legalizing recreational marijuana.
Shapiro proposed replacing $5 million in revenue annually into a restricted account for restorative justice efforts. Other states granted much more.
Critics of legalization have focused on the unknowns, namely the effects of more potent products on consumers and the additional costs of dealing with unintended consequences, from increased addiction and mental health treatment to stronger highway policing.
Studies have shown a link between increased marijuana use and car accidents, and law enforcement officials have expressed concern about how to investigate drivers who are high.
Cannabis In Pennsylvania
“What do we pay for every dollar we receive?” asked Scott Bohn, executive director of the State Police Chiefs Association and a member of the state’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Council. “What is the cost of this government policy? There are questions we would like to answer.”
“From what I’m seeing across the country, I’m not one to jump on the bandwagon right now,” state Rep. Cathy Rapp (R., Warren), the top Republican on the House Health Committee, said at the hearing. .
Some lawmakers and advocates have called for the decriminalization of marijuana possession and the repeal of short-term, non-violent cannabis convictions further as politicians debate the details of legalization, particularly because
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