Pennsylvania Lawmakers Clash On Competing Marijuana Legalization Proposals As Top GOP Senator Doubts Any Of Them Will Pass This Year

Key Pennsylvania lawmakers are at odds on the path forward for marijuana legalization—while a top Republican senator is dismissing the idea that the reform is achievable at all this session.

Among legalization supporters, the current contention goes back to whether Pennsylvania should take a novel regulatory approach to cannabis with a state-run model, as House Health Committee Chair Dan Frankel (D) is proposing, or create a more conventional private market for adult-use sales.

Frankel—who released a cosponsorship memo for his state-run marijuana proposal late last year alongside Rep. Rick Krajewski (D)—said in an interview with New Castle News that “this will be the bill that we will see,” adding that he’s worked “hand-in-hand” with Democratic leadership.

The measure wouldn’t be exclusively based on a state-run model, however, with a “hybrid” system envisioned that would incorporate private businesses into the cannabis supply chain. But for the sponsors of a separate, bipartisan legalization bill that’s forthcoming, having the state control adult-use marijuana sales is effectively a non-starter.

“There are zero votes for a state-store model in the Republican caucus,” Rep. Abby Major (R) told Axios. Despite the disconnect with Frankel’s comments, the lawmaker said she thinks “we are the closest we have ever been, truly” to legalizing cannabis in the Commonwealth.

Rep. Emily Kinkead (D), the lead Democratic sponsor of the legalization bill alongside Major, gave a more diplomatic response about the state of play, saying that “we need all the options on the table.”

“No one’s bill right now is going to be the final version. The sooner we can get those conversations started, the better,” she said, adding that she and Major “are going to have to move something in May or early June.”

While Democrats control the House and governor’s office, they will still need to reach a deal with the GOP-controlled Senate to effectuate change. And in addition to the conflicting perspectives among pro-legalization legislators, another potential barrier to reform is exactly that political dynamic.

Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) said that while he sees a “path forward” for enacting regulations for separate gaming-related reform, “I’m not seeing consensus between the four caucuses and the governor collectively that [marijuana legalization] should be a priority.”

Regardless of which direction Pennsylvania lawmakers do—or don’t—go on marijuana legalization session, a survey released last week 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. It did not advance, however.

Meanwhile, a Republican Pennsylvania senator 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 argued that, beyond using any resulting tax revenue to fund day-to-day projects and public services, the state should earmark a portion of those tax dollars for a fund to “provide a sustainable source of prosperity that lasts for 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.

Polls have shown bipartisan support for legalization among voters, but the reform has consistently stalled in the legislature, owing in large part to GOP opposition. 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.

Krajewski, who is planning to file legalization legislation with Frankel this session, also recently said the policy would provide for “more responsible usage” of cannabis, compared to the status quo that’s left adults either buying from the illicit market or traveling across state lines to get regulated products.

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.

While Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program was enacted nearly a decade ago, lawmakers say the measure, which now heads to the Senate, is necessary to improve testing compliance, product audits and lab inspections, among other aspects of the industry.

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 have also launched a new survey that invites legal marijuana businesses across the country to provide information about their operations to help the state better understand the cannabis industry as lawmakers consider enacting adult-use legalization this 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 it’s an issue of freedom and liberty. I mean, if folks want to smoke, they should be able to do so in a safe and legal way,” he said. “We should shut down the black market—and, by the way, every state around us is doing it. Pennsylvanians are driving to those other states and paying taxes in those other states.”

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.

Separately, a recent poll shows 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 as some legislators have promoted.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.