New Bipartisan Pennsylvania Bill Would Create Marijuana Regulatory Board Ahead Of Possible Adult-Use Legalization

Bipartisan Pennsylvania senators have introduced a bill to create a new regulatory body in the state that would begin overseeing medical cannabis while preparing to eventually handle the adult-use market as well.

The 52-page legislation is being sponsored by Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), along with 16 other members from both parties. While it wouldn’t legalize adult-use cannabis as the lead sponsor has supported, it would establish a regulatory infrastructure that could be used to oversee such a program.

Laughlin, who has sponsored legalization bills in the past, previewed the new measure in May, writing that Pennsylvania should first take steps to make sure the state is “ready to act when legalization becomes law” by establishing a Cannabis Control Board (CCB) now.

“Legalization of adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania is no longer a matter of if, it is when. And when that day comes, the state should not be scrambling to build a regulatory system from scratch,” he said. “A transparent, efficient framework should already be in place, one designed to support a safe, well-regulated cannabis industry from day one.”

At the time, he indicated that the board would also be responsible for regulating the hemp market under the proposal, but the language of the introduced legislation is somewhat opaque on that component of the cannabis industry.

In a cosponsorship memo, the senator said his bill would “transfer regulatory control of the Medical Marijuana Program to the CCB, ensuring continuity, efficiency, and improved oversight of medical cannabis businesses and patient access.” It would further “establish uniform safety standards to protect consumers from untested and potentially harmful products.”

The bill text itself also doesn’t contain an explicit references to adult-use, or recreational, marijuana, and it would not enact legalization on its own. But the description indicates that the sponsors feel the current regulatory regime under the Pennsylvania Department of Health should be replaced with a more targeted agency that would ostensibly be suited to oversee an adult-use market if lawmakers move to end prohibition.

“By consolidating oversight under a single regulatory board, we can eliminate inconsistencies, enhance transparency, and provide the structure needed to responsibly manage this industry,” the memo says.

Most of the bill describes the process of establishing the CCB, with details about the selection criteria and other procedural information. The duties section of the legislation lists various authorizations for the board, including members’ ability to conduct investigations, promulgate regulations, consult with other departments and more to achieve its oversight goals.

Meanwhile, Sen. Shariff Street (D), one of the original cosponsors of the new bill, said last week that he was working with bipartisan and bicameral lawmakers to develop a passable marijuana legalization measure as the legislature approached Monday’s budget deadline—telling supporters at the time that “we’re getting close” and they shouldn’t “ease up” on the fight.

“There are some basic things that we know we need to have done,” he said. “We need to make sure when we pass a recreational adult-use bill that we seal and expunge the records of all those people who’ve been who’ve had cannabis convictions in the past.”

Street thanked his bipartisan colleagues in the House—including Reps. Emily Kinkead (D), Abby Major (R) and Amen Brown (D), who have championed their own legalization proposals—for working with the Senate “in a collaborative way.”

“We have a good core group of us who’ve been working to move this bill—to move this concept forward—and I think we’re gonna get it done,” he said. “We need your voices to stay engaged. We need to stay involved.”

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) recently said marijuana legalization would not be included in the 2026 budget as lawmakers approached the deadline he expected they would miss. But Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is still holding out hope that negotiators can “get it done.”

Legislators appear to be at an impasse on certain key issues, including the governor’s request to legalize adult-use cannabis via the legislation. Pittman said he doesn’t see a path forward for the reform on that schedule, however.

Shapiro, on the other hand, hasn’t quite thrown in the towel, saying at a press briefing earlier last month that “we all understand we have to compromise” on a number of issues to reach a budget agreement.

Pittman, for his part, criticized House lawmakers for passing a marijuana legalization bill that would have involved state-run shops. The legislation was quickly rejected by a Senate committee.

Following that defeat, the governor said he still remained “hopeful” that lawmakers could deliver a reform bill to his desk by a budget deadline at the end of last month—and he urged the GOP-controlled Senate to “put their ideas on the table.”

“We’ve had really good, honest dialogue about it,” the governor, who separately criticized the Senate for abruptly derailing the House marijuana legalization bill, said.

“Look, I think this is an issue of competitiveness,” he said. “Every state around us, with the exception of West Virginia, has gotten it done. You go visit some of these dispensaries along our border—in this case with Maryland, [that] is probably the closest one here. Sixty percent of the people walking into those dispensaries are from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Whether Pennsylvania legislators will advance legalization this session remains to be seen. But two Democratic lawmakers—Street and Rep. Rick Krajewski (D)—recently said they’re aiming to reach a compromise and pass reform legislation before the budget deadline.

Also, in May, Sen. Marty Flynn (D) announced his intent to file a new bill to legalize marijuana in the state, calling on colleagues to join him on the measure.

While the House legislation Krajewski sponsored alongside Rep. Dan Frankel (D) was rejected in a Senate committee following its expedited passage through the House along party lines, Street said he’s “cautiously optimistic we’re going to be able to revive the bill and amend it and move forward with a work product that allows us to get a bill on the governor’s desk and realize revenue.”

Following the Senate committee vote, lawmakers from both chambers who support legalization have been trading criticisms about each other’s roles in the stalled push to end prohibition.

Krajewski, for example, recently wrote in a Marijuana Moment op-ed that Senate Republicans who killed his House-passed cannabis legalization bill are “stuck in their prohibitionist views of the past” and are “out of touch with the will of our Commonwealth.”

Prior to that vote, Pennsylvania’s Republican attorney general said that while he doesn’t currently support the House-passed marijuana legalization bill, he’s open to changing his mind about the policy change after continuing to review the details.

For what it’s worth, a recent poll found 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.

The governor has repeatedly called for adult-use marijuana legalization. However, he hasn’t endorsed the specific idea of having a state-controlled model.

GOP lawmaker Major—who is sponsoring another forthcoming legalization bill that envisions a traditional private sales model alongside Democrat Kinkead—said during the House floor debate on HB 1200 that she stands opposed to the competing bill, emphasizing that she disagrees with the state-run stores proposal.

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.

Regardless of which direction Pennsylvania lawmakers do—or don’t—go on marijuana legalization this session, a survey released in April 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, Laughlin 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.”

Another GOP Pennsylvania senator, Sen. Gene Yaw (R), is backing the push to legalize marijuana in the commonwealth, pointing out that, historically, prohibition “has not turned out well,” noting the country’s experience with alcohol criminalization.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.