Pennsylvania Democrats Say Senate Control Would Bring Rapid Cannabis Reforms
- Democrat state lawmakers in Pennsylvania believe flipping three Senate seats in the upcoming November elections could lead to the legalization of adult-use cannabis in the state.
- The Democrat-controlled House approved an adult-use cannabis legalization bill last year, but it stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate; Democrats aim to legalize cannabis, expunge past convictions, and foster equitable industry opportunities if they gain full legislative control.
- Key Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Joanna McClinton and State Sen. Sharif Street, emphasized the significant difference in cannabis policy support between the House and Senate majority leadership during a recent policy summit.
- Governor Josh Shapiro supports adult-use cannabis legalization and has proposed budgets including cannabis tax revenue, but legislative resistance has removed these provisions; Pennsylvania's medical cannabis program started in 2016 and could use improved regulatory oversight.
Democrat state lawmakers in Pennsylvania said that if their party can flip three Senate seats this November, the state will be on the short path to legalizing adult-use cannabis, WHYY reports.
The Democrat-controlled House approved an adult-use cannabis legalization proposal last year, but the bill died in a Republican-controlled Senate committee. But if Democrats can capture control of both legislative bodies, they would move quickly to legalize adult-use cannabis, expunge past cannabis-related convictions, and build a new industry with equitable opportunities for Black communities and others, House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D) said last week during a cannabis policy panel discussion.
McClinton was joined by state Sen. Sharif Street (D) and Rep. Jordan Harris (D) for the discussion, which took place at a policy summit
“Pennsylvanians, in 39 days, could put us in a position where we can have that. There is just a sea-change difference in what the House majority leadership is willing to do on this issue versus what the Senate majority leadership is willing to do on this issue.” — State Sen. Sharif Street (D), during the panel discussion
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) supports adult-use legalization and has included cannabis-derived tax revenue in his budget proposals for multiple years, but lawmakers pushed to remove the language each time.
Pennsylvania passed its medical cannabis reforms in 2016, although a recent audit of the program suggested that the market needs more regulatory oversight.