For seven years, residents of the Commonwealth with medical needs have had access to cannabis through the state’s medical marijuana program. While that program has remained robust, all but one of our neighboring states have legalized recreational adult-use cannabis. And when Ohio opened its market, it did so with the vast majority of its licenses perched on the border of Pennsylvania in order to capture Pennsylvania dollars. Sure enough, in the first three months of operation alone, Ohio collected $15.5 million in tax revenue from legal recreational sales.
 

It is well past time for Pennsylvania to move in a similar direction, and our proposed legislation represents a bipartisan path to legalize adult-use cannabis, establishing strong tenets for an adult-use market. And perhaps most importantly, this bill is not just about legalization, it's about setting up a stable, well-regulated market that prioritizes public safety and public health, protects children from exposure, promotes social justice, and fosters economic opportunity. 
  
In Pennsylvania, legalization of adult-use would not only boost local economies and create upwards of 30,000 new jobs, but also create a new revenue stream for our state, allowing us to reinvest in essential services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure. Moreover, this bill ends the blanket criminalization of marijuana users, particularly in communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis-related arrests, while providing a robust pathway for those individuals and communities to participate in and benefit from the legal market.
 

Legalizing marijuana within this framework allows the industry to be regulated, ensuring that products are tested for safety, purity, and potency. Legalization provides an opportunity to implement public health education, prevent misuse through responsible marketing and regulation, and ensure that marketing efforts are designed to avoid targeting children, with strict age verification measures in place. As we are seeing more synthetic Delta variant products marketed to children every day with no idea regarding the contents, this regulation is imperative. 
  

Key Features of the Legislation: 
 

• Independent Regulation: Establishes an adult-use cannabis program overseen by an independent commission of experts, ensuring implementation and regulation are managed with transparency and integrity. Also brings the medical marijuana program under the oversight of this commission for purposes of streamlining and clarity of communication and regulation. 

• Eliminating the Illicit Market: Creates strong regulatory guardrails around the licensed sale and legal use of cannabis and intoxicating hemp and synthetic products, helping to eradicate the illicit market and keep consumers safe. 

• Justice Reform: Implements a "clean slate" policy for those with prior cannabis-related convictions, providing pathways to expungement and addressing longstanding racial disparities in marijuana enforcement. 

• Inclusive Economic Growth: Provides support for small businesses, including rural, minority, female, and veteran-owned enterprises, to ensure that the benefits of legalization are shared broadly. Also provides designated funding to support investments in communities disproportionately impacted by the failed War on Drugs. 

• Jobs and Labor Participation: Supports the creation of family-sustaining jobs and encourages meaningful participation in the labor force across the Commonwealth, as well as explicitly protecting the ability of workers in the industry to unionize. 

• Consumer Safety Protections: Establishes robust guidelines for labeling, packaging, and advertising to protect children and adolescents from targeted marketing and ensure product safety. 

• Support for Law Enforcement and Local Governments: Provides funding to assist law enforcement with regulation enforcement and allocates resources to local municipalities hosting cannabis businesses. 

• Agricultural Strength: Leverages Pennsylvania's strong agricultural infrastructure to support cannabis production and designates revenue to provide consistent funding to the Agriculture Innovation Grants program, boosting our farming communities. 

• Economic Opportunities for All: Creates significant economic opportunities across the Commonwealth, including thousands of new jobs and increased revenue to reinvest in essential services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure. 

This bipartisan legislation reflects strong support for legalization across the Commonwealth and the input of stakeholders at every level. Please join us in co-sponsoring this important legislation as we work to move cannabis legalization forward in Pennsylvania.