HARRISBURG, PA, Today, Senator Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) and Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) introduced bipartisan legislation to legalize adult use marijuana in Pennsylvania. The bill prioritizes safety, community reinvestment, social and economic equity, agriculture, and creates vital tax revenue streams for the Commonwealth.
“I’m proud to join my Republican colleague and introduce this historic, bipartisan bill to legalize marijuana,” said Senator Sharif Street. “In close collaboration with Senator Laughlin, key community groups and stakeholders throughout the Commonwealth, we developed a bill that will benefit communities across the Commonwealth. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Legislature and with the Administration to build support for this critical legislation that aims to make Pennsylvania’s cannabis market the most diverse and inclusive in the country while enabling those who have been harmed by prohibition to seal their records and rebuild their lives.”
“While my colleague Senator Street and I come from different political parties, we see a bipartisan way forward on marijuana legalization that is premised on safety and social equity,” said State Senator Dan Laughlin. “As the marijuana movement reaches Pennsylvania, legalization must be done the right way. This bill ensures a legalized market in the Commonwealth is implemented safely and responsibly, with a thoughtful approach that provides opportunities to medical and recreational consumers, farmers, and small, medium and minority-owned businesses.”
Currently, the legal cannabis industry employs approximately 250,000 Americans and supports over 300,000 indirect jobs and full-time workers. The cannabis industry has experienced a 100 percent growth rate over the last four years and projects, with proper reform, a million more jobs can be created by 2025.
Further, this past election cycle showed that American attitudes toward cannabis have been transformed and are more mainstream than ever. In November 2020, cannabis experienced a tidal wave of legislative wins, making recreational marijuana legal now in 15 states and approved for medical use virtually nationwide. With New Jersey passing marijuana legalization this week and New York expected to legalize marijuana in their upcoming budget session, Pennsylvania is at risk of losing thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue to neighboring states.
Polling indicates that nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvanians support adult use marijuana legalization. According to testimony provided by the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office, adult-use marijuana legalization can generate between $400 million to $1 billion of new tax revenue for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Laughlin-Street Bipartisan Adult Use Cannabis Legalization Bill prioritizes safety, social and economic equity and, engages Pennsylvania’s agricultural industry. Their proposal ensures the vitality of Pennsylvania’s world-class medical marijuana industry while creating thousands of jobs and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue for the Commonwealth.
Safe and Legal:
• Sets the minimum marijuana consumption age at 21 years old; mandates age
verification for every purchase.
• Bans any marketing directed toward children and provides the appropriate deterrence
to keep marijuana out of the hands of anyone under 21 years old.
• Empowers law enforcement with the means to adjudicate driving under the influence, and, to pursue and eradicate an illicit market.
• Provides clarity and consistency for workplace rules regarding marijuana use for all
those operating in good faith and protects the Second Amendment rights of all
Pennsylvanians.
Social and Economic Equity:
• Expunges non-violent marijuana convictions and decriminalizes marijuana up to a
certain limit.
• Creates licenses for social and economic equity applicants and establishes that the
majority of new licensees are granted to social and economic applicants.
• Leverages Pennsylvania’s existing medical marijuana licensees to fulfill demand on an enhanced timetable while providing social and economic equity licensees the capital and know-how to succeed.
• Implements a Business Development Fund, administered by the Commonwealth
Financing Authority, to support loans, grants, and studies.
• Allows limited Home Grow for Patients
Agricultural Engagement:
• Authorizes farmers and craft growers across the Commonwealth to engage in the
cultivation of marijuana.
• Through established demand, enables any applicant who wants a license to get a license to cultivate marijuana in a manner that is safe and regulated.
New Tax Revenue and Jobs:
• The Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office projects that marijuana legalization can
generate between $400 million to $1 billion of new tax revenue for the Commonwealth.
• The proposal will create thousands of new jobs.