New Bipartisan Pennsylvania Bill Would Create Marijuana Regulatory Board Ahead Of Possible Adult-Use Legalization

Bipartisan Pennsylvania senators have introduced a 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.

The 52-page legislation is being sponsored by Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), along
with 16 other members from both parties. While it wouldn’t legalize
adult-use cannabis as the lead sponsor has supported, it would establish a
regulatory infrastructure that could be used to oversee such a program.

Laughlin, who has sponsored legalization bills in the past, previewed the
new 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.

“Legalization of adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania is no longer a matter
of if, it is when. And when that day comes, the state should not be
scrambling to build a regulatory system from scratch,” he said. “A
transparent, efficient framework should already be in place, one designed
to support a safe, well-regulated cannabis industry from day one.”

At the time, he indicated that the board would also be responsible for
regulating the hemp market under the proposal, but the language of the
introduced legislation is somewhat opaque on that component of the cannabis
industry.

In a cosponsorship memo, the senator said his bill would “transfer
regulatory control of the Medical Marijuana Program to the CCB, ensuring
continuity, efficiency, and improved oversight of medical cannabis
businesses and patient access.” It would further “establish uniform safety
standards to protect consumers from untested and potentially harmful
products.”

The bill text itself also doesn’t contain an explicit references to
adult-use, or recreational, marijuana, and it would not enact legalization
on its own. But the description indicates that the sponsors feel the
current regulatory regime under the Pennsylvania Department of Health
should be replaced with a more targeted agency that would ostensibly be
suited to oversee an adult-use market if lawmakers move to end prohibition.

“By consolidating oversight under a single regulatory board, we can
eliminate inconsistencies, enhance transparency, and provide the structure
needed to responsibly manage this industry,” the memo says.

Most of the bill describes the process of establishing the CCB, with
details about the selection criteria and other procedural information. The
duties section of the legislation lists various authorizations for the
board, including members’ ability to conduct investigations, promulgate
regulations, consult with other departments and more to achieve its
oversight goals.

Meanwhile, Sen. Shariff Street (D), one of the original cosponsors of the
new bill, said last week that he was working with bipartisan and bicameral
lawmakers to develop a passable marijuana legalization measure as the
legislature approached Monday’s 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) recently said marijuana
legalization would not be included in the 2026 budget as lawmakers
approached the deadline he expected they would miss. But Gov. Josh Shapiro
(D) is still holding out hope that negotiators can “get it done.”

Legislators appear to be at an impasse on certain key issues, including the
governor’s request to legalize adult-use cannabis via the legislation.
Pittman said he doesn’t see a path forward for the reform on that schedule,
however.

Shapiro, on the other hand, hasn’t quite thrown in the towel, saying at a
press briefing earlier last month that “we all understand we have to
compromise” on a number of issues to reach a budget agreement.

Pittman, for his part, criticized House lawmakers for passing a marijuana
legalization bill that would have involved state-run shops. The legislation
was quickly rejected by a Senate committee.

Following that defeat, the governor said he still remained “hopeful” that
lawmakers could deliver a reform bill to his desk by a budget deadline at
the end of last month—and he urged the GOP-controlled Senate to “put their
ideas on the table.”

“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.”

Whether Pennsylvania legislators will advance legalization this session
remains to be seen. But two Democratic lawmakers—Street and Rep. Rick
Krajewski (D)—recently said they’re aiming to reach a compromise and pass
reform legislation before the budget deadline.

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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Is Tabled In Senate

*Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.*

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