{"id":52758,"date":"2022-02-07T09:42:28","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T17:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/02\/07\/pennsylvania-senators-discuss-marijuana-legalization-for-first-time-at-gop-led-committee-hearing\/"},"modified":"2022-02-07T13:46:17","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T21:46:17","slug":"pennsylvania-senators-discuss-marijuana-legalization-for-first-time-at-gop-led-committee-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/02\/07\/pennsylvania-senators-discuss-marijuana-legalization-for-first-time-at-gop-led-committee-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Senators Discuss Marijuana Legalization For First Time At GOP-Led Committee Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

A Pennsylvania Senate committee on Monday held the first in a series of hearings on legalizing marijuana for adult use in the state.<\/p>\n

The issue was taken up by the Senate Law and Justice Committee. While reform bills have been introduced in past sessions and the reform has the support of Gov. Tom Wolf (D), this marks the first time a legislative panel has debated recreational legalization in the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania General Assembly.<\/p>\n

Stakeholders, law enforcement representatives and local lawmakers participated in Monday\u2019s hearing, and issues discussed included whether creating a regulated market would be sufficient to eliminate illicit sales, how police would be affected and the impact on impaired driving.<\/p>\n

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Today state lawmakers are taking the first real step to legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

I’m excited to see this moving forward. It’s what Pennsylvanians say they want.<\/p>\n

For me to sign, legislation must rightfully include decriminalization and restorative justice measures.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) February 7, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Sen. Mike Regan (R), who chairs the committee, plans to use feedback that he receives from this and subsequent hearing to inform his own forthcoming legalization bill. He and Rep. Amen Brown (D) circulated a cosponsorship memo last year<\/a> to build support for the reform.<\/p>\n

Brown recognized at Monday\u2019s meeting<\/a> that ending prohibition would not totally eliminate the illicit market, but \u201cif we legalize cannabis, it would not be as large as it is\u201d and \u201cso I believe if we make the right decision, we can definitely impact the black market to send them in a different direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Committee members focused largely on the law enforcement aspects of legalization, rather than specific legislative proposals like a bipartisan measure sponsored by Sens. Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D) that was introduced last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Earlier today, I took part in the Pennsylvania Law and Justice Committee Hearing on Recreational Marijuana.<\/p>\n

It was an excellent way to learn more about how law enforcement and prosecutors deal with marijuana-related matters in their communities. pic.twitter.com\/QDt6uy0kbL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator Dan Laughlin (@senatorlaughlin) February 7, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Those senators also recently filed introduced a bill that would allow medical marijuana patients to cultivate their own plants<\/a> for personal use. Street had attempted to get the reform enacted as an amendment to an omnibus bill this summer,\u00a0but it did not advance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The legalization hearing<\/a> comes just days after Pennsylvania medical cannabis regulators announced<\/a> a mandatory recall of hundreds of marijuana vaporizer products that contain additives not approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The panel\u2019s next hearing, which Regan said will be held with the next month, will focus on how other states have approached recreational legalization laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to discuss these issues out in the open,\u201d Laughlin said at the hearing. \u201cIn my opinion, by continuing to ignore this issue, we are supporting criminal enterprises because, for all intents and purposes, we de facto legalized adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania through the medical program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several members described the idea that Pennsylvania will legalize cannabis as an inevitability that the legislature needs to address and advance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can talk about the finer points at another hearing on how best to do that,\u201d Laughlin said, \u201cbut we are experiencing the absolute worst, in my opinion, almost in the whole country by having a medical program and having a black market at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Street is behind another recent cannabis measure to provide state-level protections to banks and insurers<\/a>\u00a0that work with cannabis businesses.<\/p>\n

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Watch the 1st of 3 hearings on ending cannabis prohibition in PA today at 9:30 am on my Facebook or https:\/\/t.co\/S1splmKyF6<\/a> #CannabisCommunity<\/a> #legalizePA<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/qIoqR8z4qK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator Sharif Street (@SenSharifStreet) February 7, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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In the interim, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), who is running for U.S. Senate this year, said one of his key goals in his final year in office is to ensure that as many eligible people as possible submit\u00a0applications<\/a>\u00a0to have the courts\u00a0remove their cannabis records and restore opportunities<\/a>\u00a0to things like housing, student financial aid and employment through an expedited petition program.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania lawmakers could also take up more modest marijuana reform proposals like a bill filed late last year to\u00a0expand the number of medical marijuana cultivators<\/a>\u00a0in the state, prioritizing small farms to break up what she characterized as a monopoly or large corporations that\u2019s created supply problems.<\/p>\n

Additionally, another pair of state lawmakers\u2014Reps. Jake Wheatley (D) and Dan Frankel (D)\u2014formally unveiled a legalization bill they\u2019re proposing<\/a>\u00a0last year.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia voters also\u00a0approved a referendum on marijuana legalization<\/a>\u00a0in November that adds a section to the city charter saying that \u201cthe citizens of Philadelphia call upon the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Governor to pass legislation that will decriminalize, regulate, and tax the use, and sale to adults aged 21 years or older, of cannabis for non-medical purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolf, the governor, said last year that marijuana legalization was a priority<\/a>\u00a0as he negotiated the annual budget with lawmakers. However, his formal spending request didn\u2019t contain legislative language to actually accomplish the cannabis policy change.<\/p>\n

The governor, who signed\u00a0a medical cannabis expansion bill in June<\/a>, has repeatedly called for legalization and\u00a0pressured the Republican-controlled legislature to pursue the reform<\/a>\u00a0since\u00a0coming out in favor of the policy in 2019<\/a>. Shortly after he did that, a lawmaker filed a separate bill to\u00a0legalize marijuana through a state-run model<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A survey from Franklin & Marshall College released last year found that\u00a060 percent of Pennsylvania voters back adult-use legalization<\/a>. That\u2019s the highest level of support for the issue since the firm started polling people about it in 2006.<\/p>\n

An attempt to provide protections for Pennsylvania medical marijuana patients from being charged with driving under the influence\u00a0was derailed in the legislature last year<\/a>, apparently due to pushback by the state police association.<\/p>\n

\n

Weedmaps Ad Satirizes Plight Of Broccoli Emoji As Marijuana Stand-In On Social Media<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Pennsylvania Senators Discuss Marijuana Legalization For First Time At GOP-Led Committee Hearing<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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A Pennsylvania Senate committee on Monday held the first in a series of hearings on legalizing marijuana for adult use in the state. The issue was taken up by the Senate Law and Justice Committee. While reform bills have been introduced in past sessions and the reform has the supportContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":52759,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52758"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52758"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52760,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52758\/revisions\/52760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}