Politics
Pennsylvania Governor Pledges To Keep Up Marijuana Legalization Fight Despite Budget Setback
The governor of Pennsylvania says the administration and lawmakers will “come back and continue to fight” for marijuana legalization and other policy priorities that were omitted from budget legislation he signed into law last week. However, key lawmakers have suggested that the state’s top official hasn’t been very engaged in efforts to enact the reform to date and that there is splintering among Democrats over the specific details of a legal cannabis market.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) was asked about the fact that cannabis legalization wasn’t included in the legislation he signed into law this month, and while he said he wouldn’t comment on private conversations with legislators about the measure’s shortcomings, he hasn’t given up the push for reform.
“As I said before, everybody had to compromise and we didn’t always get what we wanted, but we all are going to come back and continue to fight for the things that we believe in,” he said at the press conference last Thursday. “The things that I laid out in my budget I still believe in and we’re going to continue to fight for in the future.”
Shapiro had included cannabis legalization as part of his budget proposal sent to lawmakers in February, touting its revenue potential as neighboring states move ahead with the reform
“Now Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland—practically all of our neighbors—have legalized marijuana,” the governor said in his budget speech at the time. “We’re losing out on an industry that, once fully implemented, would bring in more than 250 million dollars in annual revenue. And our failure to legalize and regulate this only fuels the black market and drains much needed resources for law enforcement.”
Watch Shapiro discuss the lack of marijuana legalization provisions in his budget, starting at 25:17 into the video below:
Rep. Dan Frankel (D), a longtime champion of marijuana legalization, told Spotlight PA last week that the omission of cannabis reform from the enacted budget was partially due to a lack of Democratic consensus around what regulatory framework would work best, with divides over proposals to enact a traditional private model and one that instead mirrors the state-controlled alcohol industry.
“To my knowledge, this was not a serious consideration in this budget negotiation this session,” Frankel said, adding that while he intends to discuss the issue with the Legislative Black Caucus over the coming months, he doesn’t anticipate that a legalization measure will advance this year given the limited number of session days that are left.
But he said he’s optimistic about the broader path forward, stressing that his Republican colleagues have participated in hearings he’s overseen over the past year and that he’d say, “by and large that they’re very thoughtful about this.”
“Many of them—I would not say all of them—have a realistic view that the toothpaste is out of the tube,” especially in light of regional marijuana legalization dynamics, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R) seemed to pit blame on the lack of legalization in the budget on the governor’s limited involvement.
“He talked about it in his budget address,” she said. “We never heard another word about it. It’s a lot of show, but not a lot of ‘go,’ as far as I’m concerned.”
Meredith Buettner Schneider, executive director of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition, said she’s still holding out hope that lawmakers can advance cannabis reform this fall as lawmakers work to reach a consensus.
“Trying to put together a piece of comprehensive legislation that can be successful in two different chambers controlled by two different parties, it’s certainly an uphill battle,” she said. “[Shapiro] coming to the table over the next couple months would be really critical to getting something done.”
Meanwhile, when the Pennsylvania legislature approved the budget bill that the governor has since signed into law, lawmakers accidentally left medical marijuana dispensaries out of a section providing tax relief for the cannabis industry. And it’s not clear if the omission can be fixed without future legislative action.
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At a press briefing this month, the chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus seemed to temper expectations about the potential timeline of passing legalization legislation, pointing out that the rest of the session will likely be too politically charged heading into the November election to get the job done this year.
Other lawmakers have emphasized the urgency of legalizing as soon as possible given regional dynamics, while signaling that legislators are close to aligning House and Senate proposals.
Meanwhile, a recent report commissioned by activists projected that Pennsylvania would see up to $2.8 billion in adult-use marijuana sales in the first year of implementing legalization, generate as much as $720 million in tax revenue and create upwards of 45,000 jobs.
Sens. Sharif Street (D) and Dan Laughlin (R) also recently participated in an X Spaces event where they said the votes are there to pass a marijuana legalization bill as soon as this year, though they stressed that the governor needs to work across the aisle to get the job done—and argued that it would be helpful if the federal government implemented its proposed cannabis rescheduling rule sooner rather than later.
Street was also among advocates and lawmakers who participated in a cannabis rally at the Pennsylvania State Capitol last month, where there was a significant emphasis on the need to incorporate social equity provisions as they move to advance legalization.
Laughlin, for his part, also said an event in 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.”
Warren County, Pennsylvania District Attorney Robert Greene, a registered medical cannabis patient in the state, filed a lawsuit in federal court in January seeking to overturn a ban preventing medical marijuana patients from buying and possessing firearms.
Two Pennsylvania House panels held a joint hearing to discuss marijuana legalization in April, with multiple lawmakers asking the state’s top liquor regulator about the prospect of having that agency run cannabis shops.
Also in April, members of the House Health Committee had a conversation centered on social justice and equity considerations for reform.
At a prior meeting in March, members focused on criminal justice implications of prohibition and the potential benefits of reform.
At another hearing in February, members looked at the industry perspective, with multiple stakeholders from cannabis growing, dispensing and testing businesses, as well as clinical registrants, testifying.
At the subcommittee’s previous cannabis meeting in December, members heard testimony and asked questions about various elements of marijuana oversight, including promoting social equity and business opportunities, laboratory testing and public versus private operation of a state-legal cannabis industry.
And during the panel’s first meeting late last year, Frankel said that state-run stores are “certainly an option” he’s considering for Pennsylvania, similar to what New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) recommended for that state last year, though a state commission later shied away from that plan.
Last year, Shapiro signed a bill to allow all licensed medical marijuana grower-processors in the state to sell their cannabis products directly to patients.
Separately, Pennsylvania’s prior governor separately signed a bill into law in July 2022 that included provisions to protect banks and insurers in the state that work with licensed medical marijuana businesses.
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Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.
