Politics
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Should Legalize Marijuana This Year, Voters In Key Tossup Districts Say In New Poll
Strong majorities of Pennsylvania voters in five key tossup districts are in favor of legalizing marijuana in the state—and they want to see lawmakers enact the reform this year—according to a new poll.
The survey, commissioned by the advocacy group Responsible PA and conducted by the firm Change Research, is the latest signal to the legislature that voters are ready to see prohibition replaced with a regulated cannabis market, in line with a bipartisan bill that was introduced earlier this month.
As the November election approaches, the poll shows more than 60 percent of voters in five state House districts—HD 16, HD 72, HD 118, HD 144 and HD 151—back the policy change. Notably, in four of those districts, former President Donald Trump is currently leading Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race.
- HD 16 (Beaver County): 72 percent support legalization, including 43 percent who strongly support it.
- HD 72 (Cambria County): 64 percent support legalization, including 36 percent who strongly support it.
- HD 118 (Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties): 65 percent support legalization, including 40 percent who strongly support it.
- HD 144 (Bucks County): 64 percent support legalization, including 39 percent who strongly support it.
- HD 151 (Montgomery County): 72 percent support legalization, including 38 percent who strongly support it.
Asked about how they want lawmakers to approach the issue, majorities in four districts and a plurality in the other said legalization should pass “this fall.” That sentiment was strongest in HD 151 (58 percent) and lowest in HD 72 (46 percent).
Those voters agreed with the statement that the reform is “crucial for Pennsylvania to stimulate economic growth, generate substantial tax revenues, create jobs, and catch up with Pennsylvania’s neighboring states that have already legalized.”
“Public support for legalization of adult-use cannabis isn’t partisan and it’s not regional,” Responsible PA spokesperson Brittany Crampsie said in a press release on Thursday. “Our polling has shown that Pennsylvanians statewide are ready for the legislature to act this fall.”
“Other states have safely, seamlessly legalized cannabis and seen enormous fiscal benefits. We’ve seen studies of the financial benefit this state can expect including thousands of new jobs and millions in new revenue,” she said. “As lawmakers stare down re-election campaigns and a dwindling budget surplus, it has never been a better time to adopt a popular, fiscally responsible program.”
With the legislature set to reconvene on Monday, the survey underscores that “Pennsylvanians demand legislative action to legalize adult-use cannabis now,” Crampsie said.
The poll also asked about motivations behind voters’ support for legalization, and it found that sizable majorities in each of the district feel it would promote public health by giving adults access to tested and regulated products, stimulate the economy by creating jobs and generating tax revenue and also promote criminal justice by ending a policy of criminalization that has disproportionately impacted minority communities.
With certain neighboring states having already enacted legalization, the survey additionally asked whether voters in each of the districts have travelled across state borders to buy marijuana from a regulated source. On the high end, 24 percent of those in HD 144 said they have; on the low end, 11 percent of those in HD 72 have.
The findings also underscore the bipartisan nature of support for legalization, as the poll shows that Trump is currently ahead with voters in four out of five districts—at the same time that Democratic candidates for the state legislature are leading over their Republican competitors in all five districts.
With the election front of mind, the survey also found that candidates who embrace legalization could have an edge. In HD 118, for example, 31 percent of respondents said they would support the reelection of a candidate who voted in favor of the reform. A plurality of voters in each district said they would take into account the candidate’s entire record before deciding.
“The 2024 elections in Pennsylvania’s House districts are shaping up to be closely contested, with cannabis legalization emerging as a key issue that could tip the scales,” the survey concludes. “Voters across the political spectrum favor regulated cannabis for its economic benefits and potential to advance criminal justice reform. As Pennsylvania approaches this pivotal legislative session, the message from voters is clear: It’s time for action on cannabis legalization.”
The survey involved interviews with 1,695 likely general election voters across the five districts.
The results are being released about a week after bipartisan Pennsylvania lawmakers officially filed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in the commonwealth. There’s been a stepped-up push for reform in the legislature as neighboring states such as Ohio move forward to open legal cannabis markets.
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In July, the governor of Pennsylvania said the administration and lawmakers would “come back and continue to fight” for marijuana legalization and other policy priorities that were omitted from budget legislation he signed into law that month.
When the Pennsylvania legislature approved the budget bill that Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) enacted, lawmakers also accidentally left medical marijuana dispensaries out of a section providing tax relief for the cannabis industry. And it hasn’t been clear whether the omission could be fixed without future legislative action.
At a press briefing in July, 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 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 participated in an X Spaces event in June 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 in June, 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.
Also, on Tuesday local legislators in Pittsburgh unanimously approved an ordinance banning many employers in the city from discriminating against registered medical cannabis patients.
Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.
