In September, Gov. Tom Wolf publicly announced his support for legalizing recreational marijuana for adult use. Days later, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the state’s top law enforcement official, did the same.
Cannabis prohibition has been a heavy burden on Pennsylvania taxpayers. Approximately 20,000 Pennsylvanians are arrested per year for simple possession charges, costing the state tens of millions of dollars annually. This does not include lost tax revenue, which the auditor general estimates to be an annual $580 million.
Veteran Erik Asher hopes to see the day Pennsylvania allows cannabis for all adults.
Asher, 51, who lives outside of Pittsburgh, served in Operation Desert Storm and has a medical marijuana card for post-traumatic stress disorder. He buys cannabis at a dispensary, then makes his own medicine and educates others on the benefits of doing so.
“The people are done asking. We’re tired of it,” Asher said. “I’m done asking for permission for something I’ve needed from day one.”
When Crystal Peoples-Stokes emerged from a multi-state “Cannabis and Vaping Summit” in a Midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom on Thursday afternoon, she was modestly upbeat, but not gushing. Peoples-Stokes has been trying to get marijuana legalized in New York for six years.
“It was better than I anticipated,” the Assembly Majority Leader said. “I was a little skeptical going in. I’ve heard a lot of rhetoric before.”
Under the measure, adults would be allowed to cultivate up to 10 plants in their homes for a $50 annual fee and all grows in the state would be capped at 150,000 square feet – an attempt to keep large, corporate, growers from monopolizing the industry. Micro-grow permits – up to 150 plants – would cost $250 annually, compared to $10,000 for large-scale grows, along with a $100,000 application fee.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced that he is now in favor of legalizing marijuana for recreational use, following a months-long statewide recreational marijuana listening tour in which Lt. Gov. John Fetterman talked to residents in all 67 counties about the issue.
Following Wolf’s announcement, Attorney General Josh Shapiro echoed the governor’s statement, tweeting, “Continuing to criminalize adult personal marijuana use is a waste of limited law enforcement resources, it disproportionately impacts our minority communities, and it does not make us safer.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says he is in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in the commonwealth. He’s now asking lawmakers to consider legislation.
Wolf says he supports legalizing recreational marijuana, but he’s hoping lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will too.
“We are calling for the general assembly to seriously debate marijuana legalization,” Wolf said Wednesday.
After months of research, Wolf announced the results are in — Pennsylvania residents support legalizing recreational use of marijuana.
Pennsylvania’s neighbors to the north and east were seemingly hot on the trail of legalizing marijuana and it didn’t go unnoticed by Gov. Tom Wolf.
The strong interest in legalizing recreational cannabis coming out of New York and New Jersey was cited as a reason why Wolf sent Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on a statewide listening tour to hear what Pennsylvanians thought of the idea.
The latest in a series of bills to legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania for adult recreational use was introduced Monday in the Assembly.
The bill, H.R. 50, which would amend current law, differs radically from previous efforts to legalize marijuana. Introduced by Rep Jake Wheatley (D., Allegheny), it addresses several issues long fought for by advocates.