Editorial: Where does Pennsylvania fall with the future of recreational marijuana?
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Pennsylvania has not yet decided where it will stand with marijuana.
Sure, the state has a position on medical marijuana. It’s legal with one of a list of approved diagnoses and a card issued by an approved doctor. Medical cannabis then can be obtained at an authorized dispensary.
But that’s already done. The question is what’s next.
The future of cannabis legislation is about recreational use. As of Jan. 1, there are 24 states where marijuana is legal to use just for fun. The District of Columbia allows it, too.
That means 15 states are with Pennsylvania. They have approved cannabis for its medicinal benefits, such as relieving anxiety, helping with glaucoma or counteracting the side effects of chemotherapy. They remain on the fence regarding full-on legalization.
The Keystone State, however, is unique in one way. It is almost entirely surrounded by states that have embraced legalization. Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Ohio all have jumped in. Only West Virginia sits with Pennsylvania, only accepting medical use. New Hampshire is likewise surrounded by legal weed in Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont, but while it hasn’t officially legalized marijuana, it has decriminalized it on top of allowing medical use.
Could that mean Pennsylvania — which has been flirting with the idea for years — could move on legalization sometime soon?
Maybe. The state could benefit from potential revenue. Gov. Josh Shapiro pitched it in his 2024 budget speech. State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, has partnered with Rep. Rick Krajewski, D-Philadelphia, on an idea for state dispensaries that would sell cannabis much the same way Pennsylvania sells liquor and wine, according to Spotlight PA.
But with a new administration in the White House and new leadership in the Department of Justice, is now the right time?
Marijuana remains illegal on a federal level. As president, Joe Biden said he wanted to reclassify it as a lower-level controlled substance. Saying it and doing it are two different things.
President Donald Trump has said he supported legalization, but his first attorney general during his initial term, Jeff Sessions, rolled back an Obama-era policy on not prioritizing marijuana arrests. Trump has spent his first week in office taking back many of his predecessors’ actions. Until there is movement on marijuana, it remains up in the air.
That means Pennsylvania, with a Democratic governor and House and a Republican Senate and attorney general, could stay a state divided when it comes to its recreational future.