The leading Republican candidate in the race to become the next governor of Pennsylvania dodged a question about her stance on legalizing marijuana—saying she doesn’t have a “policy position” on the issue and arguing that the sitting governor’s proposal for reform “way, way overstated” potential revenue.
Stacy Garrity was asked by Fox43 to comment on cannabis legalization, a topic that has been heavily debated in Harrisburg in recent sessions.
She began by saying Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) budget proposal includes estimates that are “way, far overstated” about expected revenues from legalization.
Garrity cited Ohio as a neighboring state that launched its adult-use marijuana market in this past year and said “they generated around $115 million revenue.” Shapiro’s budget, despite the fact that the two states have similar populations, projected $536.5 in revenue from cannabis in the first fiscal years of implementation.
Garrity is the GOP candidate for governor. She only provided specifics regarding her concerns about estimated revenues. She said that she did not have an opinion on the issue of legalization.
However, she did say that, if Pennsylvania goes ahead with enacting reforms, “she’ll make sure that they’re banked properly.”
Meanwhile, a Pennsylvania Democratic senator recently said that federal marijuana rescheduling—which President Donald Trump said he’d be making a decision on imminently—would be “very influential” in advancing legalization in his state, giving “political cover” to GOP members on the fence about reform.
Sen. Sharif Street (D) discussed the status of cannabis legalization efforts in the Keystone State, including a bipartisan proposal to end prohibition that he filed alongside Sen. Dan Laughlin (R) last month.
The House did narrowly pass a bill to legalize cannabis with state-run stores, but it was quickly rejected in the Senate in May. Another legalization proposal with a state-run sales was introduced last month, but Street says that regulatory model is a non-starter.
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The House-passed legalization bill isn’t necessarily dead for the session as a vehicle to advance reform, however, and Democrats in the chamber recently called on voters to pressure state senators to sign off on the cannabis measure, arguing that it would benefit health and safety and bring in billions of dollars in revenue for the commonwealth.
While other legalization proposals have since been filed in the state—including from bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers—Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) and others have already signaled disinterest in the reform.
The reform in the state legislature has been stalled for years due to the GOP’s opposition. But not all Republican members are against the policy change—and one recently said she felt her party should seize the “opportunity to snatch” the issue from Democrats.
Scott Martin (the influential Appropriations committee chair) said this month, that in addition to the pushback of Senate Majority leader Pittman, he did not plan on moving forward with any legalization legislation for adult use.
Nevertheless, one Republican senator sponsoring a legalization proposal said last week that supporters in the legislature are “picking up votes.”
Laughlin—who introduced a legalization bill with Street—said support is growing because “people would rather [legalize cannabis] Tax increases are a better way to achieve budget balance.”
Rep. Amen Brown (D) subsequently said he intended to file a House companion version of that measure, circulating a cosponsorship memo to colleagues last month.
Separately, just days after Laughlin and Street filed their measure, Reps. Emily Kinkead (D) and Abby Major (R)—alongside eight other cosponsors—filed legislation in the House to enact the reform. The pair have previously championed other proposals to end prohibition.
Laughlin and 16 other lawmakers also recently filed a separate bill to create a new regulatory body in the state that would begin overseeing medical cannabis while preparing to eventually handle the adult-use market as well.
Separately, a recent poll found that Pennsylvania voters say they favor a model where cannabis is sold by licensed private businesses rather than through a system of state-run stores.
Meanwhile, a Democratic lawmaker recently filed a bill that seeks to require employers to cover the costs of medical cannabis for qualifying patients receiving workers’ compensation.
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