A top aide to Pennsylvania’s governor says lawmakers should stop introducing new competing marijuana legalization bills and instead focus on building consensus on the issue—but emphasized that any measure that advances needs to contain equity provisions if the governor is going to sign it into law.
Meghna Patel, Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary of planning and policy, was in attendance at a conference organized by Ethos cannabis and Thomas Jefferson University. Josh Shapiro, (D), discussed with his office the opportunities and challenges of legalizing adult-use marijuana while still maintaining the existing state medical marijuana program.
While multiple bills to legalize adult-use have been introduced in the Legislature, they have not yet been passed. Certain legislators say that lack of engagement by the governor is key, despite calls for reforms and including legalization in budget requests.
Patel responded to a MEDCAN24 question about the criticism by saying that “she’s not behind the scenes” so she can’t talk about the current status of negotiations. She did, however, stress that the first step in legalization is for the legislature to approve a state budget which was already two months late.
She said, “It’s up to the House and Senate to reach a consensus before presenting something to the Governor so that he can approve it.” This is how it has always been. It’s exactly the same process to approve adult-use marijuana.
There have been at the very least several bills introduced. It is important to reach a consensus. Patel says that these bills do not need to be introduced. We don’t want to introduce six or seven more bills. We need to reach a consensus in the House as well as the Senate and send this bill to the Governor. “That’s our goal, to reach a consensus in both the House and Senate.
The Shapiro employee also said that there would be no deal if the final bill passed did not meet the top priorities of the Administration.
She said that Expungements are, “the central function of the Governor’s Cannabis Policy.” ‘The only way he will sign adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania is to make sure that the expungement is possible for the people who have been convicted.”
She noted that when a cannabis conviction is on someone’s record, “the opportunities available to you become less and less… With this conviction, you can’t get housing. Sometimes you can’t get even job. You’re bothered by it at different stages of your life.
When it’s ” [illegal] in the boundary of Pennsylvania, but our neighboring states like Ohio, like New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland—when they have legalized—this becomes a Pennsylvania problem,” Patel said. When we legalize cannabis for adult use, we will first address this issue to ensure that Pennsylvania, not just the United States, is a place of opportunity.
She added that Governor has also called for funding that is coupled with legalization to help people who are disproportionately impacted and wish to join the legal sector.
Patel noted that, beyond gridlock at the state legislature, one issue that is hindering reform efforts was the stigma that still surrounds cannabis. This stems from “the history” of drug prohibition.
She said that the stigma is at the core of the conversation about legalizing adult-use marijuana and the limits of what can be done within regulation. We would be more open about this if there was a magic wand. It would be openly discussed. We’d talk about what policies we need to adopt to accept it as a substance, and how safe to make this. “I think that in the absence, we will see unsafe products coming out.”
The administration also has other priorities, including ensuring law enforcement does not continue to allocate resources for marijuana criminalization. They will also maintain a strong medical cannabis program as well as address the unregulated and intoxicating hemp markets.
“I consider it very important that we maintain and improve our program for medical marijuana. When adult-use cannabis is legalized, there will be a need to provide a certain type of cannabis for medical purposes. This cannabis can help with the treatment and management of their condition. This is very important. This equity lens is at the heart of the law, which I have mentioned. We want to ensure that it remains focused when it becomes operational. The top priority for me would be to ensure that this vision comes true. This can only occur if there’s a new law passed to address all these different products, including those that don’t fall into the cannabis category.
The governor’s vision for Pennsylvania is one in which everyone has access to economic opportunity and is healthier.
Patel explained that Pennsylvania has also learned from other states, who had already adopted the adult-use of cannabis reform, and that it is in the process of implementing the change.
She added, “We are not going to fit in the borders of a single state. We also cannot have a program which does not consider the future or innovation.”
The Friday summit takes place amid ongoing tension and blame-pointing within the Pennsylvania Legislature over efforts to legalize adult marijuana use. A GOP senator, who is sponsoring reform legislation, insists that the House should make first moves and a Democratic Representative pushes back against that suggestion.
Last month, Sen. Dan Laughlin said that the House would “need to pass my bill and then send it to the Senate Law and Justice Committee” before he could “negotiate with the Senate and governor.”
The Democratic-controlled House, however, has already advanced a legalization proposal this session that called for a state-run sales model. This measure was quickly quashed by Laughlin’s Senate committee. The GOP member and other lawmakers insisted that a more conventional approach, which would license private businesses, had a much better chance.
Laughlin separately said recently that supporters are “picking up votes” to enact the reform this session.
Shapiro, for his part, said last month that he won’t “concede” on his plan to legalize adult-use cannabis through the budget.
Meanwhile, 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, candidate for Pennsylvania Treasurer (R), cited Ohio as a neighbor who launched their own market in adult cannabis use this year. “They generated around $115 million of revenue,” Garrity said. And while the populations of both states are relatively comparable, Shapiro’s budget projected $536.5 million in cannabis revenue in the first fiscal year of implementation.
However, she did say that, if Pennsylvania goes ahead with implementing the reform, “she’ll make sure that it is 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 Laughlin in July.
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However, the House-passed legalization measure with the state-run sale model may not be dead as an opportunity to promote reform. 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 polls show bipartisan support among voters for legalization, the reform in the Legislature has always stalled, largely due to GOP resistance. 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 powerful Appropriations Chair, who is a Republican and chairs that influential committee, also said this month, despite opposition from Senate Majority leader Pittman, he did not plan to advance any bills legalizing adult use.
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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