The Pennsylvania Senate Committee has rejected the bill that was narrowly approved by the House to legalize pot with state-run shops.
The Senate met on Tuesday. Law and Justice Committee rejected the bills from Reps. Rick Krajewski and Dan Frankel in a vote of 7-3.
“I really expected a little bit of back-and-forth discussions and work on these bills if we are going to truly put a product on the governor’s desk, we are not going to get there—with this model, at least,” Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), who has championed separate bipartisan legalization legislation, said.
He also castigated Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), a supporter of legalization, is accused by the GOP senator of not doing enough for building consensus to pass legislation.
“I think that, if there is a way to get adult-use cannabis approved, the governor will need to help out,” he stated. “I have not seen that yet, but hopefully we can get there—and I know it’s going to be a vigorously discussed process, so I look forward to working…to try and get a passable version through the Senate, through the House and off to the governor.”
The speedy process by which the bill advanced through the House gave lawmakers, particularly on the GOP side, heartburn—a complaint that was reiterated in the Senate committee.
GOP members raised concerns regarding the change in policy itself as well, including possible impaired driving or workplace intoxication. Senate committee members raised procedural and specific concerns, but did not amend the legislation.
Lisa Boscola asked Laughlin why he hadn’t filed an amendment replacing the bill with his previous legalization legislation, which established a traditional private sale model for cannabis. He replied simply, “we’re still not ready.”
Laughlin commented also on the provisions in the bill that would allow the state to run cannabis shops, saying: “the state getting involved with the sale of alcohol and cannabis is a bad message for our citizens.”
He added, “We have also received objections from stakeholders in the beer, wine, and distilled spirits industries.” While the alcohol industry generally supports the legalization cannabis, it is certain that the business and logistical concerns will be raised by the sharing of shelf space with the currently illegal federal product.
The story will be updated as it develops.
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Philip Steffan provided the photo.