PA Gov Wants Cannabis Legalized, It's Time To Catch Up With Other States And Earn $250M In Revenue, He Says

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) called on lawmakers to legalize cannabis in a budget address on Tuesday. Noting that five of the six border states have legalized some form of cannabis, the governor highlighted the potential economic boost that would come from reform.

"We're losing out on an industry that, once fully implemented, would bring in more than $250 million in annual revenue," Shapiro said "And our failure to legalize and regulate this only fuels the black market and drains much-needed resources for law enforcement. It's time to catch up."

"I ask you to come together and send a bill to my desk that legalizes marijuana," the governor continued. "That bill should ensure the industry is regulated and taxed responsibly. That we create jobs and build wealth here in Pennsylvania, especially in the communities that have been disproportionately harmed by criminalization."

Shapiro also mentioned expungement. "That bill should also contain a provision for those who have been convicted for nonviolent possession of small amounts of marijuana to have their records expunged. Let's stop hamstringing ourselves and start competing again in Pennsylvania.”

The budget proposes the legalization of adult-use cannabis effective July 1, 2024, with sales within Pennsylvania beginning Jan. 1, 2025, and invests $5 million in restorative justice initiatives from adult-use cannabis proceeds, in addition to the immediate expungement of the records of those incarcerated for only a possession related offense attributed to cannabis.

We need to legalize marijuana.

We're losing out on an industry that would bring in more than $250 million in annual revenue.

And our failure to legalize and regulate marijuana only fuels the black market and drains much needed resources for law enforcement.

It's time to catch…

— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) February 6, 2024

See Also: Pennsylvania’s New Cannabis Era: Growers To Sell Directly To Patients, Dispensaries To Grow Their Own Weed

Subcommittee Hearing On Marijuana Policy Reform 

The governor's budget proposal comes one day after members of the House Health Subcommittee on Health Care discussed marijuana policy reform for the third time in recent months, reported Marijuana Moment.

Representatives of multi-state operators such as Cresco Labs CRLBF, Trulieve TCNNF, PharmaCann and Insa took part in the hearing.

"From the outset, my personal goals for adult-use has been to put the health and safety of our constituents first and to allow for equitable and meaningful opportunities, particularly for those harmed by the war on drugs," Rep. Dan Frankel (D), chair of the full Health Committee said at the beginning of the hearing.

Other lawmakers, however, such as Rep. Kathy Rapp (R) expressed some concerns about reform.

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Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Governor Tom Wolf via Wikimedia Commons and Dolomites42 via Pixabay