Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill to enhance safety standards for the state’s medical marijuana programs and to increase oversight. Separately, lawmakers are working to legalize adult use of cannabis.
In a 194-8 voting, Monday’s chamber approved the House Health Committee chairman Dan Frankel’s (D) medical cannabis bill, who is a major advocate of marijuana reform.
Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program, which was implemented nearly a decade earlier, has now been sent to the Senate. Lawmakers say this new measure is needed to improve the testing compliance, the product audits, the lab inspections and other aspects of industry.
A previous version of this proposal was approved by the House last session with 196 votes to 6.
Frankel, in a release to the press on Monday, said that this legislation would help make sure that labs are independent, accountable and transparent. This will prevent issues like those that undermined patient confidence in other states.
My bill, which would strengthen the oversight of labs that produce medical marijuana was passed by a bipartisan House today. If it’s made in PA and sold in PA, it should meet Pennsylvania’s standards for safety – period.
https://t.co/f7dYRVltDg pic.twitter.com/BJMAP7DSWS— State Rep. Dan Frankel (@RepDanFrankel) March 17, 2025
Bill is mostly a reaction to issues raised in hearings of the Health Committee which the sponsor preside. Experts gave testimony on such issues as incorrect product labeling, and contamination in marijuana programs of other states.
Frankel’s bill, if passed, would force the Department of Health of California to conduct more rigorous lab tests, to monitor potency and purity of cannabis products, and to enhance reporting obligations to ensure safety standards for patients.
Frankel stated that “the availability of medical cannabis has provided relief and healing for hundreds of thousands Pennsylvanians, since 2018 when the first dispensaries opened their doors. These patients deserve to be informed about what they are getting.” It’s about giving patients the same confidence they would have in other prescription treatments.
The lawmaker said that safety was “one of the main promises” of medical marijuana.
He said that these products helped thousands of Pennsylvanians to manage their chronic pain and fight cancer. They also gave children who have epilepsy the chance to live a more fulfilling life. Patients and their families know that the products they receive are safe. Here’s the fact: This trust is not always justified, even on regulated markets. “We know from experience in other states that even the labs intended to assure safety may be the issue.”
He added, “This is a great opportunity for us to be ahead of the curve on these issues and prevent them from becoming our problems.”
This bill is moving forward in the House amid increased interest among legislators about legalizing marijuana use by adults, as proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat from New York City, has again called for the legalization of adult-use marijuana in his budget request.
In a video interview released on Monday, the governor emphasized that the state is “losing out” to others that have already enacted the reform, while maintaining a policy that’s enriched the illicit market.
“I believe it is an issue of freedom, and I support that.” “I mean, people should be allowed to smoke in a legal and safe way”, he stated. “We should shut down the black market—and, by the way, every state around us is doing it. Pennsylvanians pay their taxes and drive into other states.
Frankel and Rep. Rick Krajewski (D) also announced in December that they plan to file adult-use 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 the Legislature would support his push to eliminate cannabis prohibition through the model of state-run sale he proposes.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania’s Republican attorney general recently said he wants to be a “voice for potential public safety risks” of enacting the governor’s proposal—though he said his office would be ready to enforce the new law if lawmakers did vote to pass it.
The state’s agriculture secretary separately told lawmakers that he’s fully confident that his department is in a “really good” position to oversee an adult-use marijuana program if lawmakers act.
Meanwhile, last month, top Pennsylvania police and health officials told lawmakers they are prepared to implement marijuana legalization if the legislature moves forward with the reform—and that they stand ready to work together as the details of legislation to achieve it are crafted.
Separately, amid the growing calls for marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania, a GOP state senator said prohibition has been a “disaster,” and a regulated sales model for cannabis—similar to how alcohol and tobacco are handled—could serve as an effective alternative.
Voters are ready to see that policy change, according to a poll released last month.
The survey, commissioned by the advocacy group ResponsiblePA, found that nearly 7 in 10 voters in the state support the reform—including a majority of Republicans. And 63 percent of respondents want to see this reform implemented by the legislature in the coming year.
A Republican Pennsylvania senator also recently defended the push to legalize and regulate marijuana, calling it “the most conservative stance” on the issue.
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While Shapiro once again included a proposal to enact cannabis legalization in his latest budget request, there’s been mixed feedback from legislators—some of whom want to see the governor more proactively come to the table to discuss possible pathways for reform and others skeptical about the possibility of advancing the issue this session.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Martin (R), for example, said last month that he doesn’t “see any path whatsoever” to enacting legalization in line with the governor’s plan.
The state secretary of the Department of Revenue also predicted that Shapiro’s proposal would be approved during this budget cycle. He indicated that the reforms could begin within months.
House Majority leader Matt Bradford (D) said, meanwhile, following the Governor’s Budget Speech that there is “real diversity of opinion among our members.” This was likely in reference to split opinions on regulatory models. Some lawmakers are pushing for a cannabis state 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.”
Key lawmakers have expressed skepticism about the governor’s ability to see through the cannabis reform he’s proposing, however.
The governor must take the lead in something. Kim Ward (R), Senate President pro Tempore, said: “If he wants to get something done, it is up to him.” “He can’t throw an idea out there—which he did last year—and say, ‘Let the legislature figure it out. It’s mine to sign. “Then I will go to all the states and do press conferences.”
House Minority Leader was asked about marijuana and other budgetary proposals 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.
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.
Many legalization supporters and observers believe Pennsylvania will be among the states that pass recreational marijuana laws this session. However, details are important. 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.
Sen. Dan Laughlin (R) last spring introduced a bill meant to remove state barriers to medical marijuana patients carrying firearms. The bill didn’t get passed, but the senator 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.”
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.
Additionally, in September, bipartisan Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R) and Kinkead 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.
Since that time, several federal court decisions have raised questions about the constitutionality and the gun 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 against him dismissed.
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