By Democrats See a Path Through November
Pennsylvania Democrats said the party could legalize adult-use cannabis as soon as next year if it flips three state Senate seats this November, according to WHYY reporting on a Center City policy summit held Friday. House Speaker Joanna McClinton, a Philadelphia Democrat, said the party is targeting Senate seats in Bucks, Montgomery and Lehigh counties, where Democratic candidates face vulnerable Republican incumbents.
A three-seat flip would hand Democrats a Senate majority for the first time in nearly 50 years. The Democrat-controlled House approved an adult-use legalization proposal last year, but the bill died in a Republican-controlled Senate committee.
McClinton said during the cannabis policy panel that Democrats would move quickly to legalize adult-use cannabis, expunge past cannabis-related convictions, and build a new industry with equitable opportunities for Black communities and others. She was joined at the discussion by state Sen. Sharif Street and Rep. Jordan Harris.
Street, a Philadelphia Democrat who has sponsored legalization legislation for several sessions, told the summit that Pennsylvanians could decide the issue within weeks.
“Pennsylvanians, in 39 days, could put us in a position where we can have that. There is just a sea-change difference in what the House majority leadership is willing to do on this issue versus what the Senate majority leadership is willing to do on this issue,” State Sen. Sharif Street (D) said during the panel discussion.
What a Legalization Bill Would Include
Legislators at the summit said a legalization bill would expunge past marijuana convictions and give priority for dispensary licenses to Black entrepreneurs and other communities hit hardest by enforcement. They said it would also fund access to capital and technical help for those business owners.
McClinton told the same event, covered by marijuanamoment.net, that changing who writes the state’s laws is the only path to business opportunity, health improvements and what she called restorative justice.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Jordan Harris said the money at stake, not personal views on cannabis, will ultimately drive lawmakers to act. He said Pennsylvania residents are already crossing state lines to buy legal marijuana, sending tax revenue to neighboring states.
Republicans who opposed last year’s bill cited health concerns, questions about the legality of expungement, and objections to a state-run dispensary system.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) supports adult-use legalization and has included cannabis-derived tax revenue in his budget proposals for multiple years, but lawmakers pushed to remove the language each time.
Current Status in the Senate
Senate Bill 49, which would have created a state Cannabis Control Board, stalled over the summer, according to cannabisbusinesstimes.com. Street’s attempt to force a floor vote on his own bill, Senate Bill 120, was instead calendared.
Two days before the summit, the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing in Philadelphia on adult-use cannabis, chaired by Sen. Nick Miller with Street co-chairing, according to pasenate.com.
