New Bipartisan Marijuana Legalization Bill In Pennsylvania House Comes As Separate Senate Proposal Gains Momentum

Bipartisan Pennsylvania lawmakers have filed another bill to legalize
marijuana in the state—adding one more reform proposal to the mix as a
separate Democratic representative has now pledged to introduce a companion
version of a Senate legalization proposal.

Days after Sens. Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D) filed their
measure, Reps. Emily Kinkead (D) and Abby Major (R)—alongside eight other
cosponsors—have filed separate legislation to enact legalization on Monday.
The pair have previously championed other proposals to end prohibition.

The House did approve a different legalization bill earlier this session,
with controversial provisions to provide for state-run stores that a Senate
committee ultimately rejected.

*Here’s the summary of the new House bill:*

“An Act amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, providing for adult use of cannabis; regulating the
personal use and possession of cannabis; establishing the Keystone Cannabis
Authority; providing for powers and duties of the Keystone Cannabis
Authority; establishing the Community Opportunity Fund; providing for
social and economic equity, 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 and cannabis-infused edible and
nonedible products; imposing a sales tax and excise tax on cannabis and
cannabis-infused edible and nonedible products; establishing the Cannabis
Regulation Fund; providing for cannabis clean slate and for miscellaneous
provisions; imposing penalties; consolidating provisions relating to the
medical use of cannabis; transferring certain powers and duties of the
Department of Health to the Keystone Cannabis Authority; and making
repeals.”

“The state needs to close a growing budget gap,” ResponsiblePA spokesperson
Brit Crampsie said in a press release on Monday. “Communities across this
state would benefit immensely from the jobs brought by regulated cannabis
as laid out in this bipartisan piece of legislation—this includes both
rural and urban communities that are getting hit hard by the lack of
funding for essential state programs from transportation to healthcare
systems—as well as looming federal funding cuts.”

“Voters clearly want legalization now and cannot afford drastic tax hikes,”
she said.

Meanwhile, as the Kinkead-Major bill is being revealed, Rep. Amen Brown (D)
said he’ll soon file companion legislation to the Laughlin- Street measure.

Brown told GoErie that he “fully support(s)” the new Senate bill because
he’s “seen firsthand the devastating impact of outdated cannabis laws on
our communities, particularly communities of color.”

‘This legislation is about more than economic opportunity; it’s about
justice, equity, and creating a responsible framework that benefits all
Pennsylvanians,” he said. “I’m proud to stand in bipartisan partnership to
move our Commonwealth forward.”

Laughlin, for his part, said that the introduction of a House companion
“will accomplish two things: It will prove the House has the ability to
pass our language, and it will give me the opportunity to sit down with the
governor and Senate leaders to discuss if a tax increase to balance the
budget is more palatable than cannabis revenue.”

“I firmly believe that if the House passes our language, that we have a
path to get this done,” he said.

Street told GoErie that the bill is about “justice, jobs and responsible
regulation.”

“This plan legalizes cannabis in a way that lifts up communities impacted
by prohibition,” he said. “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.”

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.

The memo 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.”

Separately, 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.”

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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Comes As Separate Senate Proposal Gains Momentum appeared first on Marijuana
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