Recreational marijuana is currently illegal in the state of Pennsylvania, but legislators are discussing the potential change.
In Pennsylvania, recreational marijuana is illegal. Lawmakers and advocates are saying that could change soon.
Governor Josh Shapiro recently said he will call for recreational cannabis legalization as part of his next budget proposal.
“I think it is an issue of fairness, justice and competitiveness,” Shapiro said during a Dec. 3 stop in Pittsburgh. “All the states around us have approved or are in the process of approving recreational marijuana. Folks are going across state borders in order to purchase it and paying taxes to those states. They should be keeping their money right here in Pennsylvania.”
Recreational marijuana is legal in six states surrounding Pennsylvania. Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia have all legalized recreational cannabis. In West Virginia, it is legal for medicinal use.
From an economic standpoint, the Marijuana Policy Project, which tracks sales and tax revenue by state, reported that states with legal adult-use marijuana sales collected more than $4 billion in tax revenue on such sales in 2023.
In Ohio, state officials reported more than $203 million in recreational marijuana sales in the first four months of the program. Legal sales began in August.
Ohio has a 10% excise tax on recreational cannabis sales. Just over $20 million in tax revenue reportedly has been generated for the state so far this year.
In the state legislature, Representatives Emily Kinkead and Aaron Kaufer introduced a 220-page bipartisan recreational marijuana bill that largely mirrored a bipartisan measure that has been stuck in the Senate. The House measure emphasizes that it could bring in up to $240 million a year in new taxes and generate 33,000 new jobs.
Representative Dan Frankel plans to introduce a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana in the next legislative session. He has been a longtime advocate for legalizing recreational marijuana. Frankel’s bill would legalize marijuana for adults 21 years and older.
“The bottom line is we’re in an environment where the toothpaste is out of the tube and you can’t put it back,” Frankel said. “Every state around us has had a legal market, and some of them not very well regulated. And, in addition to that, you have an illicit market that is thriving with all of the stores that are selling unregulated products, eating into legal medical marijuana sales.”
Other lawmakers are opposed to legalization, citing concerns over safety and regulation.
Conversations in Harrisburg continue to revolve around the eventual legalization of marijuana and the state’s ability to regulate its usage by adults and youth.