According to Senator Robert Penn Republican, who is a supporter of marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania, the latest proposal by Governor Tom Wolf “undermines and undermines” reform goals.
Despite the fact that Sen. Dan Laughlin has been a long-time advocate of legalization and sponsored bipartisan legislation to end prohibition, he stated on Wednesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D)’s budget proposal for enacting the policy change has fundamental flaws.
“I’ve believed for a long time that Pennsylvania requires a well-regulated, responsible adult-use marijuana program, which prioritizes public security, eradicates the illegal market, and creates legitimate economic development,” Laughlin stated. “That is why, for the past 4 years, I’ve introduced legislation that would legalize cannabis for businesses, law enforcement and consumers.”
He said, “I will work to develop a policy that is responsible and efficient.” “Unfortunately, both [former] Gov. Tom Wolf and Shapiro both included marijuana revenue projections into their budgets. However, neither administration had made any genuine efforts to work with either me or my legislative colleagues to pass a cannabis bill. Pennsylvania cannot move forward by simply projecting cannabis revenue, without creating a practical plan.
Pennsylvanians deserve a cannabis policy that works, not just another budget projection with no real path forward.https://t.co/PwzXeaQobS
— Senator Dan Laughlin (@senatorlaughlin) February 5, 2025
The governor has faced this criticism repeatedly. In his most recent budget proposal, he projected that legal cannabis sales would generate $536.5 millions for the state. His plan involves a higher tax rate on marijuana than other states cannabis markets.
The senator stated that Shapiro’s proposal for a tax rate of 26 percent is excessive and counterproductive. “A high tax rate will drive customers to the black markets, increase crime and undermine the goals of legalization.” “If we are going to get this done right, then we must have a plan which competes against illicit sellers and ensures appropriate regulation.”
“As I review the Governor’s proposal over the next few months, I will work with colleagues from both sides to draft a sensible and effective legalization law,” Laughlin stated. “Pennsylvanians should have a marijuana policy that is effective, and not just a budget with ambiguous goals.”
It comes at a time when the Governor is trying to promote his marijuana proposal. His office has created a video featuring interviews of Pennsylvanians, who are in favor of legalization. However, they also feel frustrated about the lost revenue for neighboring states which have already adopted the reform.
Cannabis for adult use is legal in five of our neighbors. So Pennsylvanians are driving out to New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Ohio… and just spending their money there.
We’re losing out — and leaving $1.3 billion in revenue on the table.
And people… pic.twitter.com/g7RAumuVye
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) February 5, 2025
“Five states in our immediate vicinity have legalized the use of cannabis by adults.” So Pennsylvanians are driving out to New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Ohio… and just spending their money there,” Shapiro said. “We’re losing out—and leaving $1.3 billion in revenue on the table. People know that.
But Laughlin, who is not alone in his skepticism regarding the ability of the governor to carry out the reforms he proposes for cannabis use, has also expressed doubts.
The governor must take the lead in something. Kim Ward (R), Senate President pro Tempore, said that the governor must take the initiative if he is to get something accomplished. “He can’t throw an idea out there—which he did last year—and say, ‘Let the legislature figure it out. I will sign it. “Then I will go to all the states and do press conferences.”
House Minority leader Jesse Topper was asked, too, about marijuana and other budget items proposed by the Governor. And he said while he’s “not going to speak for the governor,” there’s “one person that has the ability to bring those deals together—and that is the governor.”
He referenced recent remarks from Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) who said there are logistical challenges to advancing legalization that he’s unsure lawmakers will be able to overcome.
The feedback from GOP lawmakers is reminiscent of earlier criticism from the caucus about the governor, who they’ve claimed has made the call for reform without meaningfully engaging with the legislature about how to get it done.
House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D) said following the budget speech that “there is real diversity of opinions among our members,” likely referencing split perspectives on regulatory models, with some lawmakers pushing for a state-run cannabis program.
He also said recently that he feels the time is ripe to advance marijuana reform this session, saying “it strikes me as abdicating our responsibility to protect our communities and our children, and at the same time, we are losing revenue that is going to go into our neighboring states.”
After the Budget was announced, a leading Democrat said that there is some splintering in the House about how to best implement a regulated market for cannabis.
Also, the new Republican state attorney general of Pennsylvania recently raised concerns about the “potential harm that could be caused criminally” by enacting the reform.
He said that he expects to introduce legislation in this year to make Pennsylvania one of 25 states to have legalized adult-use marijuana. He also thinks that more of his GOP colleagues could get on board with the reform soon than have in the past.
The devil lies in the detail. While legalization activists and observers consider Pennsylvania to be one of the more likely states this year to pass an recreational marijuana law, there are still many details that need attention. One lawmaker has floated a relatively simple bill to decriminalize personal possession, while two others plan to introduce more sweeping legislation that would legalize through a state-run system of stores.
Laughlin, a state legislator from Colorado, introduced a measure last spring that would remove the barriers for medical marijuana users to carry guns. The bill didn’t get passed, but the legislator said that in a recent interview he believed political support was growing for the legalization of marijuana.
The senator said an event last May that the state is “getting close” to legalizing marijuana, but the job will only get done if House and Senate leaders sit down with the governor and “work it out.”
Reps. Dan Frankel (D) and Rick Krajewski (D) announced in December that they planned to file legalization legislation, emphasizing that there’s a “moral obligation” to repair harms of criminalization while also raising revenue as neighboring state markets mature.
Frankel, who is one of the sponsors for the bill, said that they hope it will be voted on “sometime during early spring”. However there are still questions about whether or not lawmakers would support his push to eliminate cannabis prohibition.
A separate decriminalization measure, meanwhile, from Pennsylvania Rep. Danilo Burgos (D), would make simple possession of cannabis a summary offense punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time. Current law considers low-level cannabis possession a misdemeanor that can result in up to 30days of jail time, maximum $500 fine, or both.
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Additionally, in September, bipartisan Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R) and Emily Kinkead (D) formally introduced a bipartisan marijuana legalization bill, alongside 15 other cosponsors.
In July, the governor said his administration and lawmakers would “come back and continue to fight” for marijuana legalization and other policy priorities that were omitted from budget legislation he signed into law that month.
As for medical marijuana, the governor in October signed a bill to correct an omission in a law that unintentionally excluded dispensaries from state-level tax relief for the medical marijuana industry.
About three months after the legislature approved the underlying budget bill that Shapiro signed containing tax reform provisions as a partial workaround to a federal ban on tax deductions for cannabis businesses, the Pennsylvania legislature passed corrective legislation.
Separately, at a Black Cannabis Week event hosted recently by the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunities (DACO) in October, Street and Reps. Chris Rabb (D), Amen Brown (D), Darisha Parker (D) and Napoleon Nelson (D) joined activists to discuss their legislative priorities and motivations behind advancing legalization in the Keystone State.
Other lawmakers have also emphasized the urgency of legalizing as soon as possible given regional dynamics, while signaling that legislators are close to aligning House and Senate proposals.
As for cannabis and gun ownership, Laughlin had been looking at the issue for more than a year before introducing last year’s bill, writing last February to the state’s acting police commissioner to “strongly encourage” he review a federal ruling that the U.S. government’s ban on gun ownership by people who use marijuana is unconstitutional.
Over the past few years, several federal courts have raised questions about the constitutionality and the legality of federal firearms ban. A federal judge in El Paso, for example, recently ruled that the ongoing ban on gun ownership by habitual marijuana users was unconstitutional in the case of a defendant who earlier pleaded guilty to the criminal charge. The man was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea. He also had the charges filed against him dismissed.
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Brian Shamblen is the photographer.
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