Legalizing Marijuana Can Help Reduce Fentanyl Poisonings, Pennsylvania Lawmaker Says
From toxifillers.com with love
Legalizing marijuana 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, a Democratic lawmaker behind a forthcoming reform bill says.
It will also provide a much-needed revenue stream and create tens of thousands of jobs, she says.
About a week after Reps. Emily Kinkead (D) and Abby Major (R) circulated a cosponsorship memo seeking support for their soon-to-be-filed cannabis legalization measure, Kinkead spoke with WHTM-TV about the proposal in an interview released on Sunday.
“Everybody is recognizing that legalizing cannabis is not an ‘if’ question anymore. It’s a ‘when’ and a ‘how,’” she said.
“We are seeing more and more drugs on the illicit market—not just cannabis or not just opioids—that are laced with fentanyl and other drugs that are not what people think that they are buying,” she said. “So legalizing cannabis allows us the ability to tell people what it is that they are buying and that they can rely on that.”
While the text of the legislation has not yet been released, the sponsors’ memo says it’s designed to address the illicit marketplace, provide relief for those who’ve been impacted by criminalization, develop an inclusive industry, support job creation and bolster the state’s agriculture economy.
Kinkead previously introduced a separate bipartisan marijuana legalization bill, alongside 15 other cosponsors, last September. It did not advance, however. She said the latest version “includes some updates from stakeholders” but did not detail those revisions.
“We need more revenue streams,” she said. “This legalization could create upwards of 30,000 jobs—and good, family-sustaining jobs.”
At this stage, the sponsors are “really just trying to make sure that we have all of the pieces of the narrative available when we’re really seriously talking about how do we legalize cannabis in Pennsylvania,” Kinkead said.
Despite the bipartisan nature of the measure, it remains to be seen whether the legislature will actually move forward with any proposal to enact legalization—including one put forward by Gov. Josh Shapiro (D)—this session.
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 is making the case 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.
Rep. Rick Krajewski (D)—who announced in December his intent to file a legalization measure alongside House Health Committee Chair Dan Frankel (D)—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 last month, 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.
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Also, in a video interview released last month, 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 Mike Latimer.
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