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Two Pennsylvania legislative panels held a joint hearing to discuss marijuana legalization on Thursday, with multiple lawmakers asking the state\u2019s top liquor regulator about the prospect of having that agency run cannabis shops.<\/p>\n
Members of the House Health Committee and Liquor Control Committee heard testimony from a series of experts who also discussed issues such as impaired driving, workplace drug policies and the need for product testing in a legal market.<\/p>\n
Rep. Dan Frankel (D), chair of the Health Committee, has previously raised the possibility of pursuing legalization through a state-run model similar to the one Pennsylvania currently has for alcohol. Several lawmakers took the opportunity to ask Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) Executive Director Rodrigo Diaz about that concept at this latest hearing.<\/p>\n
He was asked about the capacity of PLCB being able to manage enhanced ID checks, security, tax collection product approvals and more. Diaz signaled that the board would find a way to address the various concerns, but he stressed that \u201cwe don\u2019t advocate\u2014we will do what you tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re asking you though is to be cognizant of these issues that you\u2019re raising and address them so that we\u2019re not just making it up,\u201d he said, adding that regulators want \u201cclear guidance as to how you want us to address those kinds of issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frankel also said at the hearing that the panel has \u201cwrestled with\u201d how to navigate the workplace safety issue and ensuring that any future policies \u201ccreate an environment where people are safe and not wrongly accused of being impaired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another witness, Ryan Vandrey, who is a professor of behavioral pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University, walked the committee through alternatives to urine- or blood-based drug tests, including cognitive impairment tests. He also took another member\u2019s question about how legalization could mitigate the prevalence of unregulated products in the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is one of the strongest arguments for broader legalization of regulated cannabis products, because there\u2019s been a proliferation of unregulated cannabinoid products that are essentially the same and, in some cases, even stronger or more impairing than delta-9 THC,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think they entirely go away and they\u2019ll still exist as a market, but the market would be much smaller,\u201d Vandrey said. \u201cResearch has showed that that\u2019s happened\u2014that those products are much less available and less likely to be used in states where adult-use cannabis has been legalized.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nFrankel said in closing remarks that the hearing \u201chelped educate us in a very meaningful way, and we are taking this seriously as we develop a piece of legislation to look at adult-use.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the latest in a series of legalization hearings in the Keystone State, though normally they are convened by the House Health Subcommittee on Health Care. About two weeks ago, members of that panel had a conversation centered on social justice and equity considerations for reform<\/a>.<\/p>\n That took place days after Rep. Amen Brown (D)\u00a0filed a marijuana legalization bill that he described as \u201cgrounded in safety and social equity.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n At a prior meeting last month, members focused on\u00a0criminal justice implications of prohibition and the potential benefits of reform<\/a>.<\/p>\n At another\u00a0hearing in February, members looked at the industry perspective<\/a>, with multiple stakeholders from cannabis growing, dispensing and testing businesses, as well as clinical registrants, testifying.<\/p>\n At the subcommittee\u2019s previous cannabis meeting in December, members\u00a0heard testimony and asked questions about\u00a0various elements of marijuana oversight<\/a>, including promoting social equity and business opportunities, laboratory testing and public versus private operation of a state-legal cannabis industry.<\/p>\n And during the panel\u2019s first meeting late last year, Frankel said that state-run stores are \u201ccertainly an option\u201d he\u2019s considering for Pennsylvania, similar to what New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) recommended for that state last year<\/a>, though a state commission later\u00a0shied away from that plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the cannabis proposal the Brown filed in the House this month is an identical companion to a bipartisan Senate cannabis legalization measure<\/a>\u00a0that was introduced last year.<\/p>\n \u2014 While Pennsylvania lawmakers have put forward legalization bills in the past, it\u2019s not clear what might serve as the vehicle for reform this year.<\/p>\n Gov. Josh Shapiro (D)\u00a0once again proposed legalization as part of his budget request<\/a>\u00a0in February, seeking to establish a system that would be implemented starting this summer. But while he suggested certain parameters such as having the Department of Agriculture regulate the program, there\u2019s not legislative text yet.<\/p>\n Last month, the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a report that found\u00a0the state stands to generate $271 million in annual revenue if marijuana is legalized<\/a>\u00a0and taxed according to the governor\u2019s proposal\u2014but it would have been more if the commonwealth hadn\u2019t been lapped by other neighboring states that have already enacted the reform.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris (D) said in a recent interview that it\u2019s \u201chigh time\u201d to\u00a0legalize marijuana and lay the groundwork for businesses in the state to export cannabis to other markets<\/a>\u00a0if federal law changes\u2014and he sees a \u201creal opportunity\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n However, the committee\u2019s minority chairman, Rep. Seth Grove (R), said he\u2019s doubtful that the Democratic-controlled House will be able to craft and deliver legalization legislation that could advance through the GOP majority Senate.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania lawmakers also recently advanced a pair of bills meant to\u00a0prevent police from charging medical cannabis patients with impaired driving<\/a>\u00a0without proof of intoxication.<\/p>\n A Republican senator in Pennsylvania introduced a bill last week meant to remove state barriers to medical marijuana patients carrying firearms<\/a>\u00a0after previewing the legislation and soliciting co-sponsors earlier this year.<\/p>\n In December, the governor signed a bill to allow all licensed medical marijuana grower-processors in the state to\u00a0serve as retailers and sell their cannabis products directly to patients<\/a>. Independent dispensaries could also start cultivating their own marijuana.<\/p>\n A poll released in February found that about\u00a0two-thirds of Pennsylvania voters in the state support enacting marijuana legalization<\/a>.<\/p>\n Key Congresswoman Says \u2018Now Is The Time\u2019 To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill, Despite McConnell\u2019s \u2018Concerns\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Pennsylvania Lawmakers Press Liquor Regulator About State\u2019s Ability To Run Marijuana Shops During Joint Legalization Hearing<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Two Pennsylvania legislative panels held a joint hearing to discuss marijuana legalization on Thursday, with multiple lawmakers asking the state\u2019s top liquor regulator about the prospect of having that agency run cannabis shops. Members of the House Health Committee and Liquor Control Committee heard testimony from a series of expertsContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":74636,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74635"}],"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=74635"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74637,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74635\/revisions\/74637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Pennsylvania Lawmakers Press Liquor Regulator About State\u2019s Ability To Run Marijuana Shops During Joint Legalization Hearing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"