The governor of Pennsylvania is urging lawmakers to reconsider proposals for legalizing marijuana. He says that Pennsylvania is losing out to other states that have already implemented the reform while continuing a policy which has enriched the illegal market.
On Monday, Governor. Josh Shapiro was asked about the call he made to legalize cannabis for adults, which is included in his most recent budget request. This has been discussed by multiple committee hearings during recent weeks.
“I believe it is an issue of liberty and liberties. “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.
Shapiro stated, “It is time that we got some of those revenues here.”
The governor admitted he had not always supported the legalization reform.
No, really, I did not. He said, “This is a problem I’ve struggled to deal with in my role as father, former prosecutor and former attorney general for Pennsylvania.” “I have learned more about this issue. It’s something I didn’t know 5, 6, 7 years ago, so my perspective has changed. This is something I did not know 5 or 6 years ago. My perspective has changed.”
On Saturday, he posted the same message on X that “Pennsylvanians looking to purchase cannabis can drive across to our neighbors who have legalized cannabis for adult use.”
He said, “Instead we are losing money by not regulating the industry to create real opportunities.” “Let us legalize adult use cannabis and remove the records for people who have received convictions due to nonviolently possessing small amounts marijuana.”
We shouldn’t fool ourselves. Pennsylvanians that want to purchase cannabis can simply drive across the border into one of our neighboring States who has legalized cannabis for adult use.
We are losing because we don’t regulate this industry, and instead create opportunities.
Let’s legalize…
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) March 15, 2025
Many lawmakers have recently discussed the prospects of legalization.
For example, 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 says 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 says 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 earlier this 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. 63 percent of respondents want the legislation to pass the reforms this year rather than postpone them.
Recently, a Republican Pennsylvania Senator also defended the recent push to legalize marijuana and regulate it by calling it the “most conservative position” on the subject.
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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 Speaker Matt Bradford, (D), said that following the budget address by Governor Brown, “There is a real diversity in opinions amongst our members”. He was likely referring to divergent perspectives regarding regulatory models.
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, Senate Pro Tempore (R), said that if he wanted something to be done, then he needed to take the lead. “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. After that, I’ll hold press conferences in all parts of the state.
House minority leader, was also asked to comment on the possibility of marijuana being included in the budget of 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.
According to the Republican chairman of an important Senate committee, he plans to bring up legislation to make Pennsylvania the first state in the U.S. that legalizes marijuana for adult use. 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), introduced a law last spring to lift state limitations on the possession of firearms by medical marijuana users. Although the bill never moved forward, the legislator said recently that political support has grown for marijuana legalization.
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”, though 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.
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. A court in El Paso allowed the defendant to withdraw his plea, and then ordered the dismissal of the criminal charge.
A new poll shows that marijuana consumers are more stressed than the general public since Trump took office.
Philip Steffan is the photographer.
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