Dan Bartkowiak: As voters reject marijuana, Pa. policymakers should avoid the failed experiment

One big takeaway from the 2024 election cycle has largely escaped notice in the Northeast: Voters decisively rejected every state ballot initiative to legalize the sale and marketing of marijuana for recreational use. This rejection marks a clear victory for families over the marijuana industry’s addiction-for-profit business plan.

In Florida and North and South Dakota, Republican governors led successful campaigns against these harmful initiatives. North Dakota’s Gov. Doug Burgum opposed “full, unfettered legalization,” while South Dakota’s Gov. Kristi Noem was more direct: “I’ve never met anyone who got smarter by smoking dope.”

“I ran for governor telling people that I wanted to build stronger families and create more opportunities for our kids, and I just don’t see smoking pot as a gateway to helping people be better,” concludes Noem.

Most notably, Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis exposed the industry’s true motivations behind their ballot initiative. “Amendment 3 isn’t about freedom; it’s about greed. … Florida does not need to copy policies that failed in California and Colorado.” DeSantis called out one marijuana corporation that spent an alarming $140 million in an attempt to maximize their profits, comparing it to “Big Pharma on steroids.”

States experimenting with legalization have witnessed alarming trends: record-high marijuana use, particularly daily consumption. The New York Times reports the industry now markets an arsenal of products designed for maximum appeal and potency — from discrete vape pens to enhanced pre-rolled joints and concentrates containing up to 99% THC. This is resulting in more people finding out the hard way that today’s marijuana is increasingly addictive.

“Not only are people using marijuana at higher rates than ever before, more people are reporting that their marijuana use is having a negative impact on their lives,” stated New York Times investigative reporter Megan Twohey.

As Manhattan Institute’s Charles Fain Lehman rightly identifies, “We can now see what happens when a state says yes to drugs. Today, voters can look at California, which is blanketed in unlicensed shops. They can talk to friends in New York City, who complain constantly of the smell of weed. They can learn about Colorado, where 15% of marijuana users report driving after using.”

“(M)ore permissive drug policy does not just mean that people can partake of a joint without the police hassling them. It also creates big social problems: car crashes (accounting for an estimated 1,400 fatalities per year), public disorder (a 35% increase in chronic homelessness in states that legalize), and surging insanity (a 70% increase in psychosis among teens that use),” stated Lehman.

The many consequential harms from government partnering with the marijuana industry to push recreational use and commercialization are reasons why it is opposed by law enforcement agencies like the Fraternal Order of Police, medical associations like the American Academy of Pediatrics, public safety advocate groups like AAA and business associations like the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Association.

Unlike neighboring states, Pennsylvania has the opportunity to reject the predatory practices of an industry pushing potent marijuana products into our communities. There is nothing recreational about the negative impact of weed. With mounting evidence of increased traffic fatalities, chronic homelessness and rising teen mental health problems in legalized states, our elected officials must prioritize public health and safety over industry profits. Pennsylvania’s unique position — without statewide ballot initiatives — allows our legislators to make the informed choice to protect our communities from these documented harms.

It’s worth noting that DeSantis points out problems with Florida’s medical use program. “There’s almost a million Floridians that have these marijuana cards. … I can guarantee you all those people do not have debilitating illnesses.”

Pennsylvania’s existing medical-use marijuana program is broken. Not only have controversial conditions like anxiety disorders been added subsequently to Pennsylvania’s 2016 state law on medical use of marijuana, but an investigation by SpotlightPA uncovered a variety of concerns with medical professionals authorizing marijuana cards — many through a third-party company online, including a lack of thorough background checks. A handful of doctors are profiting from loosely issuing thousands of cards annually, with one Philadelphia doctor issuing more than 43,000 cards alone. “Nobody recommends any medication with those kind of numbers,” says psychiatrist Dr. Libby Stout.

“There’s very little quality control on the physician end,” states Dr. Steven Evans, a physician certified to issue medical cards from Bucks County. As a result, Evans points to the “ruse” that the medical program allows for more recreational use of marijuana.

If we want to help Pennsylvanians with medical needs, it’s not by forcing pot shops in their neighborhood pushing an addictive drug like marijuana, with uncapped THC potency that causes negative health outcomes.

For Pennsylvania lawmakers, the fiscally responsible path forward is clear: reject policies that expand access to increasingly potent and dangerous THC products. Pennsylvania must learn from others’ mistakes rather than repeat them.

Dan Bartkowiak is chief strategy officer for Pennsylvania Family Institute, a statewide nonprofit organization.