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The Biden administration\u2019s move to federally reschedule marijuana \u201cadds support\u201d for an effort to legalize cannabis in Pennsylvania, the governor\u2019s office says.<\/p>\n
While moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would not legalize it, a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) says the move could bolster state-level reform efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernor Shapiro has made clear that we need to catch up\u2014practically every one of our neighbors has legalized marijuana and is benefiting from hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity and revenue\u2014and this important step by the federal government only adds support to the Governor\u2019s proposal,\u201d Shapiro\u2019s spokesperson Manuel Bonder told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Shapiro once again proposed legalization as part of his budget request<\/a> in February, seeking to establish a system that would be implemented starting this summer. Lawmakers have also been holding a series of hearings to discuss various policy considerations as they work to draft a legalization bill.<\/p>\n Rescheduling marijuana under the CSA wouldn\u2019t federally legalize it<\/a>, but advocates and stakeholders hope that the modest reform will act as a catalyst both for congressional and state-level legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Shapiro Administration stands ready to work with the General Assembly to take advantage of this opportunity to legalize marijuana and make our Commonwealth more competitive and more just,\u201d Bonder said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two Pennsylvania legislative panels held a joint hearing to discuss marijuana legalization last week<\/a>, with multiple lawmakers asking the state\u2019s top liquor regulator about the prospect of having that agency run cannabis shops.<\/p>\n Last month, 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 in March, members focused on criminal 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)\u00a0recommended for that state last year<\/a>, though a state commission later\u00a0shied away from that plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n The cannabis proposal the Brown filed in the House last month is an identical companion to a bipartisan Senate cannabis legalization measure<\/a>\u00a0that was introduced last year.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a former DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson recently said the agency\u2019s marijuana rescheduling proposal is \u201cunderstandable\u201d because it \u201creflects the reality\u201d<\/a> of public opinion toward the medical value of cannabis\u2014even if he personally has concerns about the broader move toward reform.<\/p>\n A Democratic congressman also told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that, in light of DEA\u2019s rescheduling determination, he expects the Justice Department will \u201creissue and expand\u201d the Obama-era guidance<\/a> that generally formalized a policy of non-intervention with respect to state marijuana laws.<\/p>\n \u2014 Back in Pennsylvania, the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a report in March that found the 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 House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris (D) said in a recent interview that it\u2019s \u201chigh time\u201d to legalize 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 month 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 Former DEA Head Says Marijuana Rescheduling \u2018Reflects The Reality\u2019 Of Public Support For Reform<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Biden\u2019s Marijuana Rescheduling Move \u2018Adds Support\u2019 For Pennsylvania Legalization Effort, Governor\u2019s Office Says<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The Biden administration\u2019s move to federally reschedule marijuana \u201cadds support\u201d for an effort to legalize cannabis in Pennsylvania, the governor\u2019s office says. While moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would not legalize it, a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) saysContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":74958,"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\/74957"}],"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=74957"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74959,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74957\/revisions\/74959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Biden\u2019s Marijuana Rescheduling Move \u2018Adds Support\u2019 For Pennsylvania Legalization Effort, Governor\u2019s Office Says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"