Pennsylvania’s Governor, along with key senators from both sides in the debate over marijuana legalization, have indicated that the newly passed House bill to implement the reform, which would include state-run cannabis stores, will need to seriously be amended to stand a chance of passing the GOP controlled Senate.
After the House narrowly passed the legalization bill on a party-line basis on Wednesday, both Democratic and Republican Senators made it clear that this measure, which is headed to the Senate, faces an uphill battle. They are focusing their efforts on the provisions to put the marijuana shops under the control of the state, much like how alcohol stores in Pennsylvania operate.
Even Gov. Josh Shapiro (D)—who has included legalization in his last three budget requests—seemed doubtful the bill from Reps. Rick Krajewski (D) and Dan Frankel (D) will be the final version he would end up signing into law.
Shapiro, who spoke on Tuesday, said: “I think the House has taken a significant step in moving forward the bill legalizing marijuana. “Undoubtedly, this is just the beginning.” “This is going to require some bipartisan compromise.”
Some have emphasized the importance of political dynamics in the debate, such as Sen. Dan Laughlin. (R), a staunch advocate for legalization. He is co-sponsoring a new bipartisan reform legislation with Sen. Sharif Street.
“As an advocate for a responsible legalization approach, I’ve repeatedly stated that it is impossible that the model of the state stores will pass the Senate,” Laughlin said to Spotlight PA.
Senator John McCain, chair of the Senate’s Law and Justice Committee added on his social media page that the House passed bill was already dead in the chamber. The senator said there is “no way to move forward” in the Senate with a store-style model for adult use cannabis.
Street for his part said, “the Senate is going to make some changes” to House Bill. He left open the possibility, however, that “this bill could be the vehicle used to end the cannabis prohibition and get an adult-use law to the governor.”
In a Facebook post, he said that the House made “history” in passing this bill. He called it “real progression,” and added: “I’m against state-run store chains.” [Liquor Control Board] oversight.”
Senate Majority leader Joe Pittman, a Republican, criticized the bill. He said it was “hard to imagine the House spent such a lot of time on this serious issue but ultimately sent us… an unserious Bill.”
He said: “With House Democrats failing to gain bipartisan support in their chamber for this bill, it is clear that advancing marijuana legalization was done in a performance-oriented manner.”
Frankel (the sponsor of cannabis legislation in the House) said at a briefing for the press following the floor voting that “we were very happy to send this bill to the Senate. We hope they will have an open discussion and engage us.”
“You know, we understand that this is the first stage—a historic stage—nevertheless, the first time something has been moved” to the Senate, Frankel said. “We’d like them to look over this and give us feedback. Discussion time! The Pennsylvanians, I believe, are insistent that legalization be implemented for the many reasons outlined by those who participated in this debate.”
Frankel, when asked to respond to Laughlin’s criticism of the House bill that was passed, responded by asking: “What’s your solution to a situation where other states with the same model as the one he has been advocating haven’t been successful?”
The representative stated that when “dispensary licenses have been allocated to specific communities, usually they are unable to survive, and they get bought up by large marijuana companies.
Krajewski said, “if they were serious, the Senate would have sent a bill to us, but instead, we sent it forward.”
If the Senate really wants to pass cannabis legislation, now we have something with which we could negotiate,” said he.
Frankel said that House legislators “haven’t had any substantive conversations” with Senate members about crafting an agreement on cannabis legislation.
While there’s another competing bipartisan legalization measure that’s expected to be unveiled soon, this one already has 27 House Democrats signed on as cosponsors to the Krajewski-Frankel bill—more than one-fourth of the party’s caucus in the chamber.
GOP members raised concerns over the actual policy, including impaired driving or workplace intoxication. The procedural and policy-specific concerns are expected to be amplified in the Republican-controlled Senate
The largest challenge for the legislation going forward will likely come down to its proposal to have the state control cannabis sales—a regulatory model that exists in no other legal market in the U.S.
For what it’s worth, 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.
The Governor has called on the legalization of adult-use cannabis, and included this reform in all his budget requests. The governor has not explicitly endorsed the idea of a state controlled model.
Key Pennsylvania lawmakers have already made clear that they’re at odds on the path forward for legalization—while a top Republican senator recently dismissed the idea that the reform is achievable at all this session.
Rep. Abby Major (R)—who is sponsoring another forthcoming legalization bill that envisions a traditional private sales model alongside Rep. Emily Kinkead (D)—said on the floor on Wednesday that she stands opposed to the now-passed legislation, emphasizing that she disagrees with the state-run stores proposal.
“Besides the fact that this would require state employees and the state itself to violate federal law—risking the freezing of employees, personal and state bank accounts and the state’s access to federal funding—this bill is a costly and inefficient approach for the commonwealth, posing significant risks to our economy, our medical program, social equity and public health and safety,” she said.
Regardless of which direction Pennsylvania lawmakers do—or don’t—go on marijuana legalization session, a survey released recently shows a majority of adults in the state support the reform—and opposition to the policy change has fallen by nearly 50 percent over the last decade.
Kinkead has made the case in another 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. However, it did not move forward.
Meanwhile, Laughlin 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.
The Senator said that, instead of using the tax money to pay for day-to-day services and projects, the State should set aside some of it for “a source of sustainable prosperity for future 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.
The reform is stalled largely because of GOP opposition. Polls show that legalization has bipartisan support among voters. 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.
Separately in March, 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.
Pennsylvania officials also have launched a survey inviting legal marijuana businesses in the United States to share information on their business operations. This will help Pennsylvania better understand the cannabis market as legislators consider adult-use legalization during this legislative session.
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Also, in a video interview released in March, 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. “I mean, people should be allowed to smoke in a legal and safe way,” said he. “We should shut down the black market—and, by the way, every state around us is doing it. Pennsylvanians drive to other states, and pay taxes there.
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.
Pennsylvania House Sends Its Marijuana Bill to Senate After Passing it
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