Top Pennsylvania Police And Health Officials Say They’re Prepared To Implement Marijuana Legalization
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Top Pennsylvania police and health officials say they are prepared to implement marijuana legalization if state lawmakers move forward with the reform—and that they stand ready to work with the legislature and governor’s office as the details of legislation to achieve it are crafted.
At a series of hearings before key committees last week, lawmakers raised cannabis policy issues with various state officials—and they were met with largely neutral feedback with a common theme: If Pennsylvania does ultimately enact adult-use legalization, they expect to be equipped to handle it.
Meanwhile, Sen. Sharif Street (D), who has long championed legalization, is predicting that the reform will “happen this year.”
“I don’t have a crystal ball on this stuff—but I think it will,” he said.
But Sen. Appropriations Chairman Scott Martin (R), on the other hand, said, “I don’t see that issue going anywhere with my Senate Republican caucus, and for many different reasons.”
During the hearings before the House and Senate Appropriations Committees last week, lawmakers discussed a variety of proposals included in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) latest budget request, which included plans to enact adult-use legalization in the Keystone state.
While Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee that he has not personally consulted with the governor about his legalization proposal, he said “certainly we would be part of a conversation as any legislation moves forward, and we would appreciate a seat at the table.”
On the House side, Paris was asked at one point about the “patchwork” of local cannabis policies around the state and whether he felt that state-wide legalization could help “standardize enforcement.”
“I would say, depending on how it was written, perhaps,” he said.
Rep. Charity Krupa (R) told the police commissioner that she was “very disappointed to hear that you were not given a seat at the table with respect to the conversations regarding legalizing marijuana” with the governor’s office. And she claimed legalization experiences in other states showed the reform is associated with “increased crime, increased arrest, increased addiction issues, increased homelessness [and] increased truancy.”
“There will be a real financial burden to the Pennsylvania State Police. It’s a fair statement that legalizing marijuana is going to make your job harder, correct?” she asked.
The state police representative, however, said the answer to that question ultimately depends on the substance of whatever legislation is put forth.
“I would say that, certainly Pennsylvania—if the legislature chooses to move forward— would not be the first one to do it,” he added. “And I think it’s our job to try and enforce the law as written, learning best practices and lessons from others who have gone before us.”
Another lawmaker strongly pushed back against his colleague’s assertion that cannabis legalization leads to various societal harms.
Rep. Joe Webster (D) said that “the accusation or the statement that there’s increased car accidents or crime associated with legalization is what any good attorney would call circumstantial evidence.”
Webster, who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, said he personally spoke with the author of a Colorado study that Krupa cited and learned that population growth was not taken into account in the research. Colorado’s population size increased dramatically during the period studied, he said, and the literature also neglected to consider the fact that, at the time of legalization implementation in Colorado—one of the first states in the country to enact the reform over a decade ago—it became a major hub for cannabis tourism that could factor into the data.
“Our situation is a little different. So while we have a lot of policy decisions to make around legalization, we should be really careful about saying what are the [impacts]—whether it’s criminal activity or car accidents associated with the legal state—because no one has determined that in the study,” Webster said. “In fact, there are other studies that say the legal aspects are actually easier, because you’re not arresting people for possession and minor incidents like that. So I want to be careful about those kind of circumstantial statements.”
Rep. Joshua Siegel (D), meanwhile, asked the police representatives whether they felt it was theoretically possible that enacting legalization could ultimately undermine the illicit market by giving adults an alternative regulated marketplace to purchase cannabis.
“Potentially, depending on the legislation,” the commissioner said.
Paris also affirmed in response to another question from a committee member that, even if the state moved forward with legalization, officers would continue to prohibited from consuming the drug—just as they are under the existing medical cannabis program. He pointed to the ongoing federal ban on possessing firearms for people who consume marijuana.
There were also multiple back-and-forths between the officials and lawmakers about public safety concerns—particularly as it concerns impaired driving. And the takeaway was generally that while the continued lack of a tool to detect active impairment from THC is problematic, there are other methods of ensuring road safety, including the utilization of drug recognition experts, or DREs.
At a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Lt. Col. George Bivens recognized that state police are “going to need additional resources, particularly in the patrol function, with regards to highway safety and then on the investigative side.” He said the department has spoken to colleagues in other states that have enacted legalization about the issue.
Police representatives also addressed questions about what kind of additional funding they anticipate needing if legalization is put into place, and there was acknowledgment that there would likely be a fiscal impact to take into account if they’re asked to help facilitate expungements for prior cannabis convictions.
Meanwhile, unlike the state police, the Department of Health (DOH) secretary told lawmakers that she has been in touch with the governor’s office about the legalization proposal, “particularly on how it will impact the medical marijuana program.”
DOH Secretary Debra Bogen told the Senate Appropriations Committee that “it’s important to us to make sure that that medical marijuana program remains available to people who need it.”
“We want to make sure that there is safety around it and access is limited to protect vulnerable populations,” she said. “So again, we will work closely with the governor’s office, and we have been and will continue to do so.”
“The governor made clear that an adult-use program is important from an economic standpoint. Our neighboring states—all except for West Virginia—do have an adult-use program,” Bogen continued. “People are going across the border and bringing it back into the state. So again, that’s important. Our focus in the Department of Health is really around safety and protecting vulnerable populations, as well as education and also tracking the public health effects.”
Part of that public safety mandate, she said, is to maintain effective packaging and labeling rules for any products that are brought to market.
At the House Appropriations Committee hearing, Bogen was also asked about the prospect of legalization and said “there are a lot of things learned from surrounding states on what they’ve done and what’s worked well.”
“There’s a real opportunity [for Pennsylvania] because we’d be the 25th—I think, I’ve lost track—but somewhere around the 25th state,” she said. “We can learn from all of those to bring in a safe, legal market to allow us to be able to make sure that those products are safe.”
Rep. Emily Kinkead (D), who has sponsored legalization legislation, raised the issue of the rise of drugs like xylazine and fentanyl in the illicit supply, asking Bogen for her thoughts on “the public health aspect of cannabis legalization as it impacts the exposure to other substances that we’re seeing.”
Bogen replied that “we currently have cannabis use going on in the state. We know people go across the borders. Many of our surrounding states actually have an adult-use program, and people are bringing it into the state.”
“And there’s also an illicit market as well. I think this is one of the governor’s agenda items,” she said. “If you bring in legal cannabis to the state, can you reduce the exposure to illicit supplies of the drug on the market?”
“That is important. You know, we run the medical marijuana program in the Department of Health, and we spend a lot of time on ensuring that the products are safe—that they are tested, that they are packaged so that they’re not appealing to children, that they’re not labeled appealing for children. And again, I think the there are a lot of things learned from surrounding states on what they’ve done and what’s worked well. And there’s a real opportunity…we can learn from all of those to bring in a safe, legal market to allow us to be able to make sure that those products are safe.”
On the Senate side, Sen. Art Haywood (D) told the health secretary that he was “so glad you shared that we already have adult marijuana in Pennsylvania, and we already have it from people who go across the border and bring it back.”
“So it’s not regulated here, but I’m sure we’ve got adult-use marijuana [from] all the border states that we share,” he said. “So it’s present, but unregulated.”
Notably, the official also responded to concerns about potential health impacts from cannabis use by recognizing that “many people can use cannabis recreationally without developing a substance use disorder.”
“Some people are at higher risk. I think it’s important and incumbent upon us to make sure people know what the early signs are that there’s treatment available and what that looks like,” she said.
Finally, at a House Appropriations Committee hearing, the head of the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) also took questions on the governor’s legalization proposal.
Secretary Latika Davis-Jones started by saying, “first and foremost, the Shapiro administration firmly believe that a substance use disorder is not a crime.”
“When it comes to things like adult-use cannabis, I think it’s really important that we really focus on what it is that our department is charged to do,” she said. “And so the legalization of adult-use cannabis is definitely outside of the scope of my department, and the authority definitely sits with the General Assembly.”
Meanwhile, amid the growing calls for marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania, a GOP state senator says 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.
Voters are ready to see that policy change, according to a poll released this week.
The survey found that nearly 7 in 10 voters in the state support the reform—including a majority of Republicans. And 63 percent want to see the legislature enact the reform this year, rather than delaying it.
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While Shapiro once again included a proposal to enact cannabis legalization in his latest budget request, there’s been mixed feedback from legislators—some of whom want to see the governor more proactively come to the table to discuss possible pathways for reform and others skeptical about the possibility of advancing the issue this session.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Martin (R), for example, said this week that he doesn’t “see any path whatsoever” to enacting legalization in line with the governor’s plan.
At the same time, the state secretary for the Department of Revenue has predicted that Shapiro’s proposal could be passed during the current budget cycle, indicating that he feels reform could start to be implemented within months.
House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D), meanwhile, said following the governor’s budget speech that “there is real diversity of opinions among our members,” likely referencing split perspectives on regulatory models, with some lawmakers pushing for a state-run cannabis program.
He also said recently that he feels the time is ripe to advance marijuana reform this session, saying “it strikes me as abdicating our responsibility to protect our communities and our children, and at the same time, we are losing revenue that is going to go into our neighboring states.”
This comes after Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), who supports marijuana legalization, said the governor’s latest cannabis proposal “undermines” the goals of the reform and has “no real path forward.”
“I have long believed that Pennsylvania needs a responsible, well-regulated adult-use cannabis program that prioritizes public safety, eliminates the illicit market and generates legitimate economic growth,” Laughlin said. “That’s why I have introduced legislation for the past four years to legalize cannabis in a way that makes sense for consumers, businesses and law enforcement.”
“I take this issue seriously and will continue to work toward a responsible and effective policy,” he said. “Unfortunately, while both [former] Gov. Tom Wolf and now Shapiro have included cannabis revenue projections in their budgets, neither administration has made a genuine effort to work with me or legislative leadership to get a bill passed. Simply projecting revenue without crafting a functional plan does nothing to move Pennsylvania forward.”
This has been a recurring criticism of the governor, who projected in his latest budget request this month that the state stood to generate $536.5 million from legal cannabis sales under his plan, which involves a relatively high tax rate for marijuana compared to other state cannabis markets.
Laughlin isn’t alone in his skepticism about the governor’s ability to see through the cannabis reform he’s proposing.
“The governor needs to lead on something. If he wants something done, he needs to lead on it,” Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R) said. “He can’t throw an idea out there—which he did last year—and say, ‘Let the legislature figure it out. I’ll sign it. Then I’ll go do press conferences all over the state.’”
House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R) was also asked about the prospect of enacting various of the governor’s budget proposals, including marijuana. And he said while he’s “not going to speak for the governor,” there’s “one person that has the ability to bring those deals together—and that is the governor.”
He referenced recent remarks from Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) who said there are logistical challenges to advancing legalization that he’s unsure lawmakers will be able to overcome.
The feedback from GOP lawmakers is reminiscent of earlier criticism from the caucus about the governor, who they’ve claimed has made the call for reform without meaningfully engaging with the legislature about how to get it done.
Also, the new Republican state attorney general of Pennsylvania recently raised concerns about the “potential harm that could be caused criminally” by enacting the reform.
The Republican chair of a key Senate committee recently said he’s expecting to take up legislation this year that would make Pennsylvania the 25th in the U.S. to legalize adult-use marijuana. He also thinks that more of his GOP colleagues could get on board with the reform soon than have in the past.
While many legalization advocates and observers think Pennsylvania is among the most likely states to pass a recreational marijuana law this session, the devil is in the details. One lawmaker has floated a relatively simple bill to decriminalize personal possession, while two others plan to introduce more sweeping legislation that would legalize through a state-run system of stores.
Laughlin last spring introduced a bill meant to remove state barriers to medical marijuana patients carrying firearms. While it didn’t move forward, the lawmaker said in the recent interview that he believes political support for legalization more broadly has been building.
The senator said an event last May that the state is “getting close” to legalizing marijuana, but the job will only get done if House and Senate leaders sit down with the governor and “work it out.”
Reps. Dan Frankel (D) and Rick Krajewski (D) announced in December that they planned to file legalization legislation, emphasizing that there’s a “moral obligation” to repair harms of criminalization while also raising revenue as neighboring state markets mature.
Frankel said sponsors hope for a vote on the bill “sometime early spring,” though questions remain as to whether the legislature would be willing to get behind the push to end cannabis prohibition, especially through the state-run sales model he is proposing.
A separate decriminalization measure, meanwhile, from Pennsylvania Rep. Danilo Burgos (D), would make simple possession of cannabis a summary offense punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time. Currently, low-level possession is considered a misdemeanor, carrying a penalty of up to 30 days in jail, a maximum $500 fine or both.
Additionally, in September, bipartisan Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R) and Kinkead formally introduced a bipartisan marijuana legalization bill, alongside 15 other cosponsors.
In July, the governor said his administration and lawmakers would “come back and continue to fight” for marijuana legalization and other policy priorities that were omitted from budget legislation he signed into law that month.
As for medical marijuana, the governor in October signed a bill to correct an omission in a law that unintentionally excluded dispensaries from state-level tax relief for the medical marijuana industry.
About three months after the legislature approved the underlying budget bill that Shapiro signed containing tax reform provisions as a partial workaround to a federal ban on tax deductions for cannabis businesses, the Pennsylvania legislature passed corrective legislation.
Separately, at a Black Cannabis Week event hosted recently by the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunities (DACO) in October, Street and Reps. Chris Rabb (D), Amen Brown (D), Darisha Parker (D) and Napoleon Nelson (D) joined activists to discuss their legislative priorities and motivations behind advancing legalization in the Keystone State.
Other lawmakers have also emphasized the urgency of legalizing as soon as possible given regional dynamics, while signaling that legislators are close to aligning House and Senate proposals.
As for cannabis and gun ownership, Laughlin had been looking at the issue for more than a year before introducing last year’s bill, writing last February to the state’s acting police commissioner to “strongly encourage” he review a federal ruling that the U.S. government’s ban on gun ownership by people who use marijuana is unconstitutional.
Since then, further federal court cases have questioned the constitutionality of the federal firearm ban. A federal judge in El Paso, for example, recently ruled that the ongoing ban on gun ownership by habitual marijuana users was unconstitutional in the case of a defendant who earlier pleaded guilty to the criminal charge. The court allowed the man to withdraw the plea and ordered that the indictment against him be dismissed.
New Hampshire House Passes Bills To Let Patients Grow Medical Marijuana At Home And Annul Past Cannabis Convictions
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
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