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The governor of Pennsylvania says he remains \u201chopeful\u201d that lawmakers can deliver a marijuana legalization bill to his desk by a budget deadline at the end of this month\u2014and he\u2019s urging the GOP-controlled Senate to \u201cput their ideas on the table\u201d after the defeat of a House-passed cannabis reform measure in that chamber.<\/p>\n
During a press briefing on unrelated transportation issues, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) was asked about the status of talks around cannabis and gaming legalization, both of which he proposed as part of his latest budget request.<\/p>\n
Shapiro said the administration has had \u201csome good conversations that have been ongoing, particularly on the skill games side,\u201d but he feels that \u201cfolks understand the importance of finally regulating and taxing both of those issues\u2014and we\u2019re going to continue to work through it over the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had really good, honest dialogue about it,\u201d the governor, who recently criticized the Senate for abruptly derailing the House marijuana legalization bill<\/a>, said.<\/p>\n Asked whether he anticipates that legalization could be delivered to his desk by the end of the month in a budget package, the governor said \u201cthat\u2019s my hope.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook, I think this is an issue of competitiveness,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery state around us, with the exception of West Virginia, has gotten it done. You go visit some of these dispensaries along our border\u2014in this case with Maryland, [that] is probably the closest one here. Sixty percent of the people walking into those dispensaries are from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is we\u2019ve got to catch up. And instead of going and funding schools and parks and roads and bridges and mass transit in other states, I want those revenues to stay here in Pennsylvania,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cI also think it\u2019s really important that we regulate what is now a black market system, and it is critically important that we have a justice component to this and wipe away the convictions of those who have on their record possession of small amounts of marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to have some justice in that space as well. So I\u2019m hopeful we\u2019ll be able to get it done the Senate. The House passed a measure a few weeks ago\u2026 I called it at the time sort of an opening salvo in this. The Senate has different ideas. They should put their ideas on the table, but we can\u2019t cede this ground to other states. It\u2019s time for Pennsylvania be more competitive, and I\u2019m hopeful we\u2019ll get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether Pennsylvania legislators will advance legalization this session remains to be seen following the defeat of the House bill, which called for a novel system of state-run dispensaries. But two Democratic lawmakers\u2014Sen. Sharif Street (D) and Rep. Rick Krajewski (D)\u2014recently said they\u2019re aiming to reach a compromise and pass reform legislation<\/a> before the budget deadline.<\/p>\n Also, last month Sen. Marty Flynn (D) announced his intent to file a new bill to legalize marijuana<\/a>\u00a0in the state, calling on colleagues to join him on the measure.<\/p>\n While the House legislation Krajewski sponsored alongside Rep. Dan Frankel (D) was rejected in a Senate committee following its expedited passage through the House along party lines, Street said he\u2019s \u201ccautiously optimistic we\u2019re going to be able to revive the bill and amend it and move forward with a work product that allows us to get a bill on the governor\u2019s desk and realize revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), who has sponsored legalization legislation with Street, recently seemed to suggest that lawmakers should pump the brakes on the push to enact the policy change amid resistance to reform within his caucus and\u00a0instead pass a bill to create a new regulatory body<\/a>\u00a0that can begin overseeing medical cannabis and hemp while preparing to eventually handle the adult-use market as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI remain committed to crafting a cannabis bill that can pass the Senate and be signed into law to benefit all Pennsylvanians,\u201d Laughlin said. \u201cThat starts with honest dialogue from everyone involved, including House leadership and the governor, to develop a realistic approach\u2013not political theater.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the Senate committee vote, lawmakers from both chambers who support legalization have been\u00a0trading criticisms about each other\u2019s roles in the stalled push to end prohibition<\/a>.<\/p>\n Krajewski, for example, recently wrote in a Marijuana Moment op-ed that Senate Republicans who killed his House-passed cannabis legalization bill are \u201cstuck in their prohibitionist views of the past\u201d<\/a> and are \u201cout of touch with the will of our Commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to that vote, Pennsylvania\u2019s Republican attorney general said that while he doesn\u2019t currently support the House-passed marijuana legalization bill, he\u2019s open to changing his mind about the policy change<\/a>\u00a0after continuing to review the details.<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, a recent poll found that Pennsylvania voters say they\u00a0favor a model where cannabis is sold by licensed private businesses<\/a>, rather than through a system of state-run stores.<\/p>\n The governor has repeatedly called for adult-use marijuana legalization<\/a>. However, he hasn\u2019t endorsed the specific idea of having a state-controlled model.<\/p>\n Rep. Abby Major (R)\u2014who is\u00a0sponsoring another forthcoming legalization bill<\/a>\u00a0that envisions a traditional private sales model alongside Rep. Emily Kinkead (D)\u2014said during the House floor debate on HB 1200 that she stands opposed to the competing bill, emphasizing that she disagrees with the state-run stores proposal.<\/p>\n While Democrats control the House and governor\u2019s office, they will still need to reach a deal with the GOP-controlled Senate to effectuate change. And in addition to the conflicting perspectives among pro-legalization legislators, another potential barrier to reform is exactly that political dynamic.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) said that while he sees a \u201cpath forward\u201d for enacting regulations for separate gaming-related reform, \u201cI\u2019m not seeing consensus between the four caucuses and the governor collectively that [marijuana legalization] should be a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of which direction Pennsylvania lawmakers do\u2014or don\u2019t\u2014go on marijuana legalization this session, a survey released in April shows\u00a0a majority of adults in the state support the reform<\/a>\u2014and opposition to the policy change has fallen by nearly 50 percent over the last decade.<\/p>\n Kinkead has made the case in another recent interview that legalizing cannabis in Pennsylvania will\u00a0help the state mitigate public health and safety concerns<\/a>\u00a0associated with the illicit market, including the fact that unregulated products can be laced with fentanyl.<\/p>\n The lawmaker\u00a0previously introduced a separate bipartisan marijuana legalization bill<\/a>, alongside 15 other cosponsors, last September. It did not advance, however.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Laughlin recently called for the\u00a0creation of a state \u201clegacy\u201d fund, using tax revenue from adult-use marijuana sales<\/a>\u00a0and gaming to make long-term investments in the Commonwealth\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n The senator argued that, beyond using any resulting tax revenue to fund day-to-day projects and public services, the state should earmark a portion of those tax dollars for a fund to \u201cprovide a sustainable source of prosperity that lasts for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Another GOP Pennsylvania senator, Sen. Gene Yaw (R),\u00a0is backing the push to legalize marijuana in the commonwealth<\/a>, pointing out that, historically, prohibition \u201chas not turned out well,\u201d noting the country\u2019s experience with alcohol criminalization.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D) recently said that\u00a0Democrats are ready to pass a marijuana legalization bill this session<\/a>, but that the party \u201cwill need Republican support\u201d to get the job done\u2014adding that it will be a \u201cheavy lift.\u201d<\/p>\n Polls have shown bipartisan support for legalization among voters, but the reform has consistently stalled in the legislature, owing in large part to GOP opposition. But not all Republican members are against the policy change\u2014and one recently said she felt her party should\u00a0seize the \u201copportunity to snatch\u201d the issue from Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n Separately in March, the Pennsylvania House approved a bill sponsored by Frankel that\u2019s meant to\u00a0strengthen safety standards and oversight of the state\u2019s medical marijuana program<\/a>\u00a0as lawmakers work to advance adult-use legalization.<\/p>\n While Pennsylvania\u2019s medical cannabis program was enacted nearly a decade ago, lawmakers say the measure, which now heads to the Senate, is necessary to improve testing compliance, product audits and lab inspections, among other aspects of the industry.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Democratic lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would allow farmers and other small agriculture operators to\u00a0sell marijuana they cultivate to existing growers and and processors<\/a>\u00a0if the state moves to legalize adult-use cannabis.<\/p>\n Separately, an independent Pennsylvania agency is\u00a0projecting more tax dollars to be generated from adult-use marijuana sales<\/a>\u00a0compared to what the governor\u2019s office has estimated, although it expects significantly less overall revenue from cannabis legalization due to differing views on licensing fees.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania officials have also launched a new survey that invites legal marijuana businesses across the country to provide information about their operations to help the state better understand the cannabis industry as lawmakers consider enacting adult-use legalization this session.<\/p>\n \u2014 Also, in a video interview released in March, the governor emphasized that\u00a0the state is \u201closing out\u201d to others that have already enacted adult-use legalization<\/a>, while maintaining a policy that\u2019s enriched the illicit market.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s an issue of freedom and liberty. I mean, if folks want to smoke, they should be able to do so in a safe and legal way,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should shut down the black market\u2014and, by the way, every state around us is doing it. Pennsylvanians are driving to those other states and paying taxes in those other states.\u201d<\/p>\n The state\u2019s agriculture secretary separately told lawmakers that he\u2019s fully confident that his department is in a\u00a0\u201creally good\u201d position to oversee an adult-use marijuana program<\/a>\u00a0if lawmakers act.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in February, top Pennsylvania police and health officials told lawmakers\u00a0they are prepared to implement marijuana legalization<\/a>\u00a0if the legislature moves forward with the reform\u2014and that they stand ready to work together as the details of legislation to achieve it are crafted.<\/p>\n Amid the growing calls for marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania,\u00a0a GOP state senator said prohibition has been a \u201cdisaster,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and a regulated sales model for cannabis\u2014similar to how alcohol and tobacco are handled\u2014could serve as an effective alternative.<\/p>\n A Republican Pennsylvania senator also recently\u00a0defended the push to legalize and regulate marijuana<\/a>, calling it \u201cthe most conservative stance\u201d on the issue.<\/p>\n Texas Hemp Advocates Deliver 100,000+ Petitions To Governor\u2019s Office, Urging Him To Veto THC Ban Bill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Pennsylvania Governor Is \u2018Hopeful\u2019 Lawmakers Will Send Marijuana Legalization Bill To His Desk By End Of This Month<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The governor of Pennsylvania says he remains \u201chopeful\u201d that lawmakers can deliver a marijuana legalization bill to his desk by a budget deadline at the end of this month\u2014and he\u2019s urging the GOP-controlled Senate to \u201cput their ideas on the table\u201d after the defeat of a House-passed cannabis reform measureContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":81524,"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\/81523"}],"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=81523"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81525,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81523\/revisions\/81525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Pennsylvania Governor Is \u2018Hopeful\u2019 Lawmakers Will Send Marijuana Legalization Bill To His Desk By End Of This Month<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"