With 4/20 still fresh in the minds of many, citizens across the country continue to push for common sense and a compassionate approach to cannabis legalization. Pennsylvania is just one of the most recent states whose citizens have added their voices to the chorus. The keystone state tallies more than 20,000 for marijuana possession every year and the people of PA have had enough.
Among those voices is that of Jeff Riedy, Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley NORML chapter, who declared outside the state capitol in Harrisburg, PA that, “Nobody deserves to be a criminal for a plant! Gardening is never a crime.” The crowd of cheering cannabis proponents echoed Riedy’s sentiments as the day’s events unfolded.
PA’s neighbors New York and New Jersey have recently signed legalized cannabis legislation into law and the future of those industries looks bright. While this burgeoning bud business in these locales is set to open within the coming year, PA’s residents and entrepreneurs are wondering why PA is dragging its feet to get its own cannabis legislation off the ground.
Cannabis tourism is a flourishing industry for states that have recreational cannabis laws on the books and retail dispensaries. The industry costs non-legal states millions in potential revenues when their residents travel across borders to spend their money in where legal cannabis is alive and thriving.
In the case of Pennsylvania, those losses can total in the billions. While the state has a viable medical cannabis industry that brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually, that’s likely a fraction of what a recreational cannabis market can produce. Senators Shari Street (D-Philadelphia) and Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) released a statement earlier this year in which they estimated that a recreational cannabis market could generate as much as $1 billion in tax revenue annually. Some estimates raise that figure as high as $2 billion.
One thing is for sure, without an adult-use cannabis infrastructure in place, the state is missing out on hundreds of millions in tax revenue for PA as well as tens of thousands of jobs for its residents. Currently, Pennsylvania has just under 9,000 legal cannabis jobs supporting its medical marijuana industry. The number of cannabis-related positions in the state could reach nearly 50,000 positions with a recreational market. This would elevate Pennsylvania’s cannabis industry to the third-largest in the United States behind California and Colorado.
While tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians are jailed each year in association with cannabis possession, citizens just over the border can walk into a fully legalized dispensary to purchase cannabis and cannabis-related products for their own personal use. The citizens of PA are speaking out and many are unhappy about the state’s stance on pot.
The state’s stance on cannabis costs taxpayers nearly $75 million annually in policing and court costs. This doesn’t even factor in the loss of tax revenue and purchasing power that could have been generated by citizens who have had their records and reputations marred by past pot convictions. The voting public is fed up with the approach governed by War on Drugs. It simply hasn’t worked to curtail drug use and has succeeded in keeping a significant portion of the population at a disadvantage.
Many states have shown that legalized pot is an industry that can be regulated and used to capture tremendous wealth for the states and their citizenry. However, many lawmakers in PA are remaining stubbornly opposed to moving forward with recreational cannabis legislation.
If put to a vote today, considering recent polling revealed that two-thirds of PA voters are for recreational adult use, it is likely the measure would pass. At this point, legalization should be a foregone conclusion. However, voting initiatives are not allowed according to Pennsylvania law. This means that all new legislation must be passed through the state legislature.
One PA politician remains an outspoken example of reason the state’s citizens increasingly look upon for an informed perspective on what’s happening in the state and the nation as a whole. That legislator, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Lt. Gov. Fetterman flew his freak flag on 4/20 with a trio of cannabis banners slung from his office balcony on the unofficial holiday. While he has been a vocal proponent of cannabis legalization, he kept his comments to himself on 4/20 in hopes other voices from the state’s legislation would be able to inspire change and draw attention to the issue of legalization. Senator Dan Laughlin is one such legislator.
A republican representing Erie, Senator Laughlin considers himself “a commons sense legislator.” In his address at the rally, Sen. Laughlin said, “I’m here to solve problems. And this is an issue here in Pennsylvania that needs to be dealt with.” He would go on to assert that the argument surrounding legalization “is about freedom.” He added that the economic opportunities associated with cannabis legalization are too great to ignore. “In my district, I represent the poorest ZIP Code in America,” he said. “This is a jobs bill as much as anything else.”
While Senator Laughlin is no doubt trying to score points with voters after announcing his interest in running for the governorship, he is among a growing class of lawmakers who are finding it hard to ignore their constituents’ views on the matter.
Cannabis legalization is popular among both parties’ voters, despite the republican trope of being committed prohibitionists. This issue could prove to unite both sides of the aisle and usher in an air of cooperation when so much of the nation remains polarized.
