In a press conference today, Gov. Tom Wolf (D-York) announced his support for Pennsylvania to legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana. Wolf joins other prominent Pennsylvania politicians, such as Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D-Braddock), Auditor General Eugene DePaquale (D-York), Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, in their support
“We now know the majority of Pennsylvanians are in favor of legalization, and that includes me,” Wolf said at the press conference. “I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together, especially the criminal justice reforms I am proposing today, which will have an immediately positive influence on thousands of families across Pennsylvania.”
Wolf indicated his support was encouraged by the work of Fetterman, who completed a listening tour of all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, where he discussed recreational marijuana policy and received input from residents.
According to a March poll from Franklin & Marshall College, 59 percent of Pennsylvanians support legalizing recreational marijuana.
A report created from Fetterman’s tour compiled responses from those who attended and submitted comments. Allegheny County, with more than 4,000 responses, showed 90 percent support for recreational marijuana. Beaver, Butler, Washington, and Westmoreland counties all had support in the 80s.
“The Lieutenant Governor made good on his promise to visit all 67 counties to hear from Pennsylvanians about whether or not they support the legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana in the state,” Gov. Wolf said. “And among the many who voiced their opinions, the majority supported legalization.”
But any path to legalization this year would have to go through a state legislature that is controlled by Republicans.
Last July, after state Rep. Jake Wheatley (D-Hill District) introduced a recreational marijuana bill, state House Republican spokesperson Stephen Miskin said supporting legal marijuana could lead to intoxicated drivers and questioned the benefits of using the revenue legalization would raise.
“Legalizing marijuana? Why not legalize heroin, why not legalize cocaine?” Miskin said.
Pro-marijuana advocates skewered this interpretation. Patrick Nightingale of marijuana-advocacy group Pittsburgh NORML said Miskin was “scaremongering” and avoiding an “honest debate” about marijuana use, adding that none of the nine states with legal marijuana have legalized harder drugs.
Today, Pa. House GOP leadership released a statement saying “our caucus has no plans or interest in legalizing recreational marijuana.”
In addition to now calling for the legislature to take up efforts to legalize recreational marijuana, Wolf is requesting bills to decriminalize non-violent and small cannabis-related offenses and expunge past convictions of non-violent and small cannabis-related crimes.
The governor’s full marijuana report can be read here.
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2019.
So, that’ll make up for 13 yrs of radium flavored fracking brine in the water? Maybe, it’ll keep some victims off of Opioids on the streets, from medical bankruptcy?
Cannabis prohibition, like alcohol prohibition, causes far more harm than it prevents, which includes harm to families as children and parents/breadwinners are torn from their loved ones due to an unjust law that should have never existed.
Americans don’t have to like cannabis, but they should hate its prohibition. This prohibition law strikes at the very foundation of our society. It is a tool of tyrants, used to violate core American beliefs and nearly every aspect of the Bill of Rights.
A populace that accepts and becomes accustom to overreaching government policies, such as the prohibition of relatively safe, popular substances, becomes more accepting of overreaching, powerful government in general. This devastates America, not a plant that has been used by mankind since the beginning of recorded history.
Those who believe in limited government, personal responsibility, free markets, and individual liberty should embrace the ending of this irrational, un-American, fraudulently enacted cannabis prohibition experiment. It should be the cornerstone of current GOP policy (though not one republican congressman in PA has publicly supported adult-use legalization).
Federal studies show about half of the U.S. population has tried cannabis, at least 15% use it regularly, over 80% of high school seniors have reported cannabis “easy to get” for decades. This prohibition, like alcohol prohibition, has had little of its intended effect. In many cases cannabis prohibition makes cannabis usage problematic where it would not have been otherwise, be it light, moderate, or heavy usage. For the most part, cannabis prohibition only successfully prohibits effective regulation.
A few issues created by prohibition: there are no quality controls to reduce contaminants (harmful pesticides, molds, fungus, other drugs), there is no practical way to prevent regular underage sales, billions in tax revenue are lost which can be used for all substance abuse treatment and other programs, underground markets for all drugs are empowered as a far more popular substance is placed within them expanding their reach and increasing their profits, criminal records make pursuing many decent careers difficult, police and court resources are unnecessarily tied up by pursuing and prosecuting victimless ‘crimes’, public mistrust and disrespect for our legal system, police, and government is increased, which is devastating our country.
Prohibition is also very expensive, though, a cash cow for a number of powerful groups such as those related to law enforcement and the prison industry. These organizations have powerful lobbies and influence that perpetuate a failed drug policy through ignorance, fear, disinformation and misinformation. This ensures an endless supply of lucrative contracts, grants and subsidies from the government and its taxpayers to support their salaries, tools of the trade, ‘correctional’ services, and other expenses. Cash, property and other assets from civil forfeiture laws also significantly fatten their coffers while often violating civil rights.
America was built on the principles of freedom and liberty. In some cases there are extreme circumstances that warrant intervention with criminal law. In the case of mind-altering drugs we have already set this precedent with alcohol. Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol to the consumer and especially to others. If we are to have justice, then the penalties for using, possessing and selling cannabis should be no worse than those of alcohol.
Regardless of legal status, a large market for cannabis will continue to exist as it has for decades. Either the underground controls the market and profits from it, or the state does…all while ending their assault on our citizens. Let’s end this costly, futile attempt to eradicate a plant that a majority of Americans believe should be legal.
In 2016 Pennsylvania spent about $85,000,000 on cannabis prohibition enforcement. We forgo well over $300,000,000 every year in potential tax revenue from legal sales. Add to that the creation of thousands of income tax paying jobs from farming to processing to sales.
Approximately 20,000 Pennsylvania citizens are arrested for low-level possession of cannabis every year. Thats’s 20,000 people every year that will find future employment and education very difficult with a criminal arrest record that follows them for life…for possession of a plant safer than legal alternatives, a plant used by mankind for thousands of years, a plant that PA citizens believe should be legal by nearly a two to one majority.
Also, reinstating a freedom unjustly taken by an over-reaching government is priceless.