Bipartisan Pennsylvania Senators File Much-Anticipated Marijuana Legalization Bill

Bipartisan Pennsylvania senators have filed a bill to legalize marijuana
for adult use in the state.

Almost five months after Sens. Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D)
announced their intent to introduce the legislation—one of their latest
attempts to end prohibition in Pennsylvania—they formally filed it on
Thursday. It comes after a Senate committee rejected a House-passed bill to
legalize cannabis with state-run stores.

The senators described the basic framework they’re proposing in a
cosponsorship memo in February. The measure as introduced is also supported
by four other senators, all Democrats.

“Adults should have the freedom to use cannabis responsibly, and
Pennsylvania should have a legal system in place that ensures safety,
accountability and fairness,” Laughlin said in a press release on Thursday.
“This legislation delivers that while keeping marijuana out of the hands of
kids.”

“This bill is smart, fair and realistic,” he said. “It’s time Pennsylvania
joined the growing number of states that are getting cannabis policy right.”

Proud to introduce #SB120 with Sen. Sharif Street (D-3), our bipartisan
bill to legalize adult-use cannabis in PA.

It creates the Cannabis Control Board, protects consumers, clears past
offenses & invests in impacted communities.

It’s time. pic.twitter.com/F9fKFXSFEV

— Senator Dan Laughlin (@senatorlaughlin) July 10, 2025

Street said that the legislation “legalizes cannabis in a way that lifts up
communities impacted by prohibition.”

“It includes expungement of low-level offenses, creates real opportunities
for small and minority-owned businesses and reinvests in neighborhoods most
harmed by past enforcement,” he said. “This is about justice, jobs and
responsible regulation. We’re proud to lead the way forward.”

The memo the senators circulated earlier this year points out the economic
opportunity of enacting a regulated and taxed system of marijuana
sales—benefits that they note are already being reaped in surrounding
states that have moved to legalize.

*Here’s the summary of the new bill:*

“An Act providing for cannabis; regulating the personal use and possession
of cannabis; establishing the Cannabis Control Board; providing for powers
and duties of the Cannabis Control Board; establishing the Cannabis
Regulation Fund; providing for disproportionately impacted area, for
regulation of cannabis business establishments, for enforcement and
immunities, for laboratory testing, for advertising, marketing, packaging
and labeling and for preparation, destruction and regulation of cannabis,
edible and infused products; imposing a sales tax and excise tax on
cannabis, edible and infused products; establishing the Cannabis Regulation
Fund; providing for cannabis clean slate and for miscellaneous provisions;
imposing penalties; consolidating provisions relating to medical use of
cannabis; transferring powers and duties of the Department of Health to the
Cannabis Control Board; and making repeals.”

The Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition (PCC) cheered the introduction of the
legislation.

Meredith Buettner Schneider, executive director of PCC, said “Senate Bill
120 represents a transformative step for Pennsylvania’s cannabis policy.”

“The bill responsibly legalizes adult use, ensures equitable access, and
strengthens patient protections—laying the foundation for a safe,
inclusive, and well-regulated marketplace. It offers a comprehensive
framework to end cannabis prohibition while prioritizing public safety,
economic opportunity, and community investment,” she said. “These proposals
are poised to create thousands of jobs, generate significant tax revenue,
and reinvest in Pennsylvania’s small businesses, farming communities, law
enforcement, and other critical public needs.”

Brit Crampsie with Responsible PA said legalizing cannabis “is no longer
just a smart option—it’s a fiscal and moral necessity.”

“With a viable, bipartisan bill on the table, there is no excuse for
further delay. Pennsylvania is staring down a massive budget shortfall, and
this legislation offers a real solution: new revenue, safer communities,
support for small businesses, and long-overdue justice,” she said.
“Lawmakers must act now—our economy, our communities, and our future can’t
afford to wait.”

Meanwhile, Laughlin and 16 other lawmakers recently filed a separate bill
to create a new regulatory body in the state that would begin overseeing
medical cannabis while preparing to eventually handle the adult-use market
as well.

Laughlin previewed the measure in May, writing that Pennsylvania should
first take steps to make sure the state is “ready to act when legalization
becomes law” by establishing a Cannabis Control Board (CCB) now.

Street, who is also one of the original cosponsors of the bill, said
recently that he was working with bipartisan and bicameral lawmakers to
develop a passable marijuana legalization measure as the legislature
approached a budget deadline—telling supporters at the time that “we’re
getting close” and they shouldn’t “ease up” on the fight.

“There are some basic things that we know we need to have done,” he said.
“We need to make sure when we pass a recreational adult-use bill that we
seal and expunge the records of all those people who’ve been who’ve had
cannabis convictions in the past.”

Street thanked his bipartisan colleagues in the House—including Reps. Emily
Kinkead (D), Abby Major (R) and Amen Brown (D), who have championed their
own legalization proposals—for working with the Senate “in a collaborative
way.”

“We have a good core group of us who’ve been working to move this bill—to
move this concept forward—and I think we’re gonna get it done,” he said.
“We need your voices to stay engaged. We need to stay involved.”

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) previewed that marijuana
legalization would not be included in the 2026 budget as lawmakers
approached the deadline he expected they would miss. Ahead of the deadline,
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) held out hope that negotiators can “get it done.”

“We’ve had really good, honest dialogue about it,” the governor, who
separately criticized the Senate for abruptly derailing the House marijuana
legalization bill, said.

“Look, I think this is an issue of competitiveness,” he said. “Every state
around us, with the exception of West Virginia, has gotten it done. You go
visit some of these dispensaries along our border—in this case with
Maryland, [that] is probably the closest one here. Sixty percent of the
people walking into those dispensaries are from the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.”

Also, in May, Sen. Marty Flynn (D) announced his intent to file a new bill
to legalize marijuana in the state, calling on colleagues to join him on
the measure.

While the House legislation Krajewski sponsored alongside Rep. Dan Frankel
(D) was rejected in a Senate committee following its expedited passage
through the House along party lines, Street said he’s “cautiously
optimistic we’re going to be able to revive the bill and amend it and move
forward with a work product that allows us to get a bill on the governor’s
desk and realize revenue.”

Following the Senate committee vote, lawmakers from both chambers who
support legalization have been trading criticisms about each other’s roles
in the stalled push to end prohibition.

Krajewski, for example, recently wrote in a Marijuana Moment op-ed that Senate
Republicans who killed his House-passed cannabis legalization bill are
“stuck in their prohibitionist views of the past” and are “out of touch
with the will of our Commonwealth.”

Prior to that vote, Pennsylvania’s Republican attorney general said that
while he doesn’t currently support the House-passed marijuana legalization
bill, he’s open to changing his mind about the policy change after
continuing to review the details.

For what it’s worth, a recent poll found that Pennsylvania voters say they favor
a model where cannabis is sold by licensed private businesses, rather than
through a system of state-run stores.

The governor has repeatedly called for adult-use marijuana legalization.
However, he hasn’t endorsed the specific idea of having a state-controlled
model.

GOP lawmaker Major—who is sponsoring another forthcoming legalization bill that
envisions a traditional private sales model alongside Democrat Kinkead—said
during the House floor debate on HB 1200 that she stands opposed to the
competing bill, emphasizing that she disagrees with the state-run stores
proposal.

While Democrats control the House and governor’s office, they will still
need to reach a deal with the GOP-controlled Senate to effectuate change.
And in addition to the conflicting perspectives among pro-legalization
legislators, another potential barrier to reform is exactly that political
dynamic.

Regardless of which direction Pennsylvania lawmakers do—or don’t—go on
marijuana legalization this session, a survey released in April shows a
majority of adults in the state support the reform—and opposition to the
policy change has fallen by nearly 50 percent over the last decade.

Kinkead has made the case in another recent interview that legalizing
cannabis in Pennsylvania will help the state mitigate public health and
safety concerns associated with the illicit market, including the fact that
unregulated products can be laced with fentanyl.

The lawmaker previously introduced a separate bipartisan marijuana
legalization bill, alongside 15 other cosponsors, last September. It did
not advance, however.

Meanwhile, Laughlin recently called for the creation of a state “legacy”
fund, using tax revenue from adult-use marijuana sales and gaming to make
long-term investments in the Commonwealth’s economy.

The senator argued that, beyond using any resulting tax revenue to fund
day-to-day projects and public services, the state should earmark a portion
of those tax dollars for a fund to “provide a sustainable source of
prosperity that lasts for generations.”

Another GOP Pennsylvania senator, Sen. Gene Yaw (R), is backing the push to
legalize marijuana in the commonwealth, pointing out that, historically,
prohibition “has not turned out well,” noting the country’s experience with
alcohol criminalization.

Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D) recently said that Democrats
are ready to pass a marijuana legalization bill this session, but that the
party “will need Republican support” to get the job done—adding that it
will be a “heavy lift.”

Polls have shown bipartisan support for legalization among voters, but the
reform has consistently stalled in the legislature, owing in large part to
GOP opposition. But not all Republican members are against the policy
change—and one recently said she felt her party should seize the
“opportunity to snatch” the issue from Democrats.

Separately in March, the Pennsylvania House approved a bill sponsored by
Frankel that’s meant to strengthen safety standards and oversight of the
state’s medical marijuana program as lawmakers work to advance adult-use
legalization.

While Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program was enacted nearly a decade
ago, lawmakers say the measure, which now heads to the Senate, is necessary
to improve testing compliance, product audits and lab inspections, among
other aspects of the industry.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Democratic lawmakers recently introduced a bill
that would allow farmers and other small agriculture operators to sell
marijuana they cultivate to existing growers and and processors if the
state moves to legalize adult-use cannabis.

Separately, an independent Pennsylvania agency is projecting more tax
dollars to be generated from adult-use marijuana sales compared to what the
governor’s office has estimated, although it expects significantly less
overall revenue from cannabis legalization due to differing views on
licensing fees.

Pennsylvania officials have also launched a new survey that invites legal
marijuana businesses across the country to provide information about their
operations to help the state better understand the cannabis industry as
lawmakers consider enacting adult-use legalization this session.


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Also, in a video interview released in March, the governor emphasized that the
state is “losing out” to others that have already enacted adult-use
legalization, while maintaining a policy that’s enriched the illicit market.

“I think it’s an issue of freedom and liberty. I mean, if folks want to
smoke, they should be able to do so in a safe and legal way,” he said. “We
should shut down the black market—and, by the way, every state around us is
doing it. Pennsylvanians are driving to those other states and paying taxes
in those other states.”

The state’s agriculture secretary separately told lawmakers that he’s fully
confident that his department is in a “really good” position to oversee an
adult-use marijuana program if lawmakers act.

Meanwhile, in February, top Pennsylvania police and health officials told
lawmakers they are prepared to implement marijuana legalization if the
legislature moves forward with the reform—and that they stand ready to work
together as the details of legislation to achieve it are crafted.

Amid the growing calls for marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania, a GOP
state senator said prohibition has been a “disaster,” and a regulated sales
model for cannabis—similar to how alcohol and tobacco are handled—could
serve as an effective alternative.

A Republican Pennsylvania senator also recently defended the push to
legalize and regulate marijuana, calling it “the most conservative stance”
on the issue.

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Legalization Bill appeared first on Marijuana Moment.