Pennsylvania officials are launching a new online survey to gather information from legal marijuana companies across the nation. The state is looking to better understand cannabis as it considers adult use legalization in this session.
The Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience, (CODE PA), is currently distributing the survey to all states, and plans to interview certain respondents in order to help inform the future of policy-making within Pennsylvania.
CODE PA, in an official notice, stated that it was “gathering insight from businesses within the cannabis, hemp non-industrial, and cannabinoid sectors in States where adult use cannabis is legalized.” The research focuses on how the industry is currently viewed, what lessons have been learned and any challenges.
It was noted that this survey wasn’t intended to allow businesses “to weigh in” on current legislation being discussed in Pennsylvania’s legislature. Instead, it’s “an opportunity to share you experience.”
The short questionnaire must be submitted by the 11th of May to qualify for an interview with a representative.
CODE PA stated that “our goal is to involve a broad range of voices including those in the hemp, cannabis, and cannabinoid industries (both for medical use and adult-use), from U.S. States where adult-use marijuana is legal.”
Meredith Buettner Schneider is the executive director of Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition. She told MEDCAN24 that it’s important that “policymakers listen directly to those who have real experience” as they look at legalizing adult-use cannabis.
We encourage companies in states that have legalized marijuana to join this survey. This will help to inform an intelligent, efficient approach to legalization within the Commonwealth,” said Ms. Smith.
The agency’s project comes as new polling shows a majority of Pennsylvanians support legalizing marijuana—and opposition to the reform has fallen by nearly 50 percent over the last decade.
To that end, bipartisan Pennsylvania lawmakers recently asked their colleagues to join them on a forthcoming bill to legalize cannabis for adult use in the state.
In a cosponsorship memo, Reps. Emily Kinkead (D) and Abby Major (R) touted the state’s “robust” medical cannabis program—but pointed out that “all but one of our neighboring states have legalized recreational adult-use cannabis.”
Kinkead separately made the case in a recent interview that legalizing cannabis in Pennsylvania will help the state mitigate public health and safety concerns associated with the illicit market, including the fact that unregulated products can be laced with fentanyl.
The lawmaker previously introduced a separate bipartisan marijuana legalization bill, alongside 15 other cosponsors, last September. The bill did not progress, though.
Meanwhile, a Republican Pennsylvania senator recently called for the creation of a state “legacy” fund, using tax revenue from adult-use marijuana sales and gaming to make long-term investments in the Commonwealth’s economy.
Senator argued, that the state, in addition to using tax revenues to finance day-today public projects, should also set aside a part of these tax dollars to create a “sustainable source of prosperity” that would last for many generations.
Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D) recently said that Democrats are ready to pass a marijuana legalization bill this session, but that the party “will need Republican support” to get the job done—adding that it will be a “heavy lift.”
Another Democratic lawmaker said legislature is “substantially closer” to reaching a deal on marijuana legalization, and an initial vote on a bipartisan cannabis reform bill could come as early as this month.
In polls, there is bipartisan support among voters for legalization, but it has stalled repeatedly in the legislative branch, in part 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.
Rep. Rick Krajewski (D)—who announced in December his intent to file a legalization measure alongside House Health Committee Chair Dan Frankel (D)—also recently said the policy would provide for “more responsible usage” of cannabis, compared to the status quo that’s left adults either buying from the illicit market or traveling across state lines to get regulated products.
Separately last month, the Pennsylvania House approved a bill sponsored by Frankel that’s meant to strengthen safety standards and oversight of the state’s medical marijuana program as lawmakers work to advance adult-use legalization.
Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program has been in place for nearly 10 years. However, legislators say that the bill, now headed to the Senate to be voted on, will improve compliance with testing, audits of products, and laboratory inspections amongst other industry aspects.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Democratic lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would allow farmers and other small agriculture operators to sell marijuana they cultivate to existing growers and and processors if the state moves to legalize adult-use cannabis.
Separately, an independent Pennsylvania agency is projecting more tax dollars to be generated from adult-use marijuana sales compared to what the governor’s office has estimated, although it expects significantly less overall revenue from cannabis legalization due to differing views on licensing fees.
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Also, in a video interview released last month, the governor emphasized that the state is “losing out” to others that have already enacted adult-use legalization, while maintaining a policy that’s enriched the illicit market.
I think this is a matter of liberty and freedom. He said that if people want to smoke they should have the option to do it in a way that is safe and legal. “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.
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, in February, 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.
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.
A Republican Pennsylvania senator also recently defended the push to legalize and regulate marijuana, calling it “the most conservative stance” on the issue.
Separately, a recent poll shows 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 as some legislators have promoted.
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Max Pixel provided the photo.
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