Cannabis push looks for GOP support in Pennsylvania
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The push to legalize recreational cannabis in Pennsylvania is gaining fresh momentum — and bipartisan backing — as lawmakers look to close a looming budget gap and reclaim tax revenue lost to neighboring states.
Why it matters: A majority of Pennsylvanians support legalizing recreational cannabis, according to an April survey from Muhlenberg College, and supporters are searching for ways to get a bill past skeptics in the state Senate.
Driving the news: State Reps. Emily Kinkead (D-Pittsburgh) and Abby Major (R-Armstrong) will introduce a legalization bill soon that proposes to let the private market run dispensaries, the lawmakers tell Axios.
- It differs from another bill from Democratic state Reps. Dan Frankel of Pittsburgh and Rick Krajewski of Philadelphia that aims to have the state run dispensaries.
What they're saying: Major said the only chance to garner necessary Republican votes in the state Legislature is through privatization of dispensaries.
- "There are zero votes for a state-store model in the Republican caucus," she said.
Context: Lawmakers have been attempting to fully legalize cannabis since the state created its medical program in 2018, but efforts haven't moved very far as Republican leadership has bristled, citing moral opposition and disagreements with Democrats over policy.
- Pennsylvania's power levers have remained split between Democrats and Republicans since 2014.
- Democrats currently control the state House and governorship, while Republicans control the state Senate.
State of play: Gov. Josh Shapiro supports legalization and has said the state needs the additional $250 million a year it would raise to help combat its structural deficit.
- Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana County) has issues with legalization efforts and hasn't signaled that he is ready to bring a bill forward in the chamber. His office didn't respond to a request for comment.
- Even so, state Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie), a supporter of recreational cannabis, said in January that if a bill were brought to the floor, it would garner more support from Republicans than in previous years.
Between the lines: Pittman is opposed to cannabis-related criminal-expungement clauses included in the bill, and he told SpotlightPA last year that he worries increasing cannabis use will worsen addiction rates.
- Republicans' opposition to recreational cannabis isn't extreme, and the economic opportunity of legalization could tip the scales toward support, former state Sen. Mike Regan told SpotlightPA in February. Regan is a Republican from York County who led a panel exploring recreational cannabis legalization in 2022.
Caveat: Kinkead doesn't expect her bill to move directly into law without changes and said it's meant to move the conversation closer to advance some version of legalization.
- "We need all the options on the table," she tells Axios. "No one's bill right now is going to be the final version. The sooner we can get those conversations started, the better."
Yes, but: Major acknowledged there are several steps to smooth out before Republican leadership will likely bring the bill to the floor, but talk in Harrisburg has more momentum on legalization's side than ever before.
- "I think we are the closest we have ever been, truly," she said.
What's next: Kinkead said that for recreational cannabis to be included in this year's budget, per the governor's request, "we are going to have to move something in May or early June."