Pennsylvania Governor Pushes Lawmakers To Legalize Marijuana, Saying ‘Softening’ Of Federal Policy Under Trump Clears The Way

The governor of Pennsylvania is again calling on lawmakers to move forward
with marijuana legalization—and he indicated that a proposed “softening ”
of federal cannabis laws through rescheduling could bolster the push for
reform.

As part of his latest budget request, which was released on Tuesday, Gov.
Josh Shapiro (D) said it’s past time for the legislature to deliver an
adult-use legalization bill to his desk. Not only would it represent a
valuable economic engine for the commonwealth, but it would reflect policy
changes that are being enacted in neighboring states and at the federal
level, he argued.

The 2026-2027 executive budget notes that the federal government has taken
“steps to reform its approach to cannabis,” seemingly referencing a
proposal to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled
Substances Act (CSA). It’s also the case that “other states put in place
responsible regulations.”

“Pennsylvania remains stuck in place, without commonsense protections and
losing out on critical tax revenue and new business to neighboring states.
All of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states, except for West Virginia, have
legal adult use cannabis policies and regulation,” it says. “This budget
proposes a regulatory framework to legalize and tax adult use cannabis and
provide a real opportunity for Pennsylvania farmers to cultivate a new,
legal industry and establish a thriving market for the state.”

“In addition to lost revenue and economic activity to neighboring states,
law enforcement agencies and the judicial system are unnecessarily
overburdened with cannabis-related arrests and adjudications. The
prohibition of cannabis has created an illicit market that fuels violence
perpetrated by drug traffickers and gangs seeking to control harmful forms
of synthetic marijuana in Pennsylvania communities.”

Shapiro wants to see the legislature quickly deliver a legalization bill to
his desk so that it can be implemented on July 1, with sales projected to
begin on January 1, 2027. The budget estimates that annual revenue from
marijuana taxes would be $200 million once the law is “fully implemented.”

The executive budget reiterates that President Donald Trump “has called for
a change in the scheduling of cannabis from a Schedule I drug under the
Controlled Substances Act to a Schedule III drug, signaling a softening of
the treatment of cannabis across the country.”

Further, the governor said funds generated by an adult-use cannabis market
would mean that Pennsylvania would be positioned to “right some of the
wrongs done to individuals impacted by archaic laws.”

“In addition to the immediate expungement of the records of those
incarcerated for only a possession-related offense attributed to cannabis,
the budget proposes to invest $10 million in restorative justice
initiatives at the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency,” it
says. “The proposal also includes $25 million to assist new small and small
diverse businesses attempting to enter the new marketplace through the
Department of Agriculture.”

Rather than raise taxes, he said, the proposed budget “continues to cut
taxes,” the governor said during a speech to lawmakers on Tuesday.

The budget “doesn’t require a broad-based tax increase today, tomorrow or
at any point in the next five years,” he said, adding that “I know some of
you try to score political points by saying that it does—but saying that
doesn’t make it true.”

“What this budget does do is finally regulate and tax skill games and pass
comprehensive cannabis reform,” Shapiro said. “District attorneys from
across the Commonwealth are calling on us to regulate skill games and
finally provide law enforcement with clear guidance.”

“We’re putting our communities at risk and losing out on billions of
dollars in revenue by doing nothing on both,” he continued. “Everyone knows
we need to get this done. So let’s come together and finally get it over
the finish line.”

According to the executive budget, the first year of implementation would
bring in about $36.9 million in tax dollars from a 20 percent wholesale tax
on marijuana—rising gradually to $223.8 million by 2030-2031.

Medical marijuana dispensaries that wish to convert to sell cannabis to
adult consumers, as well as new recreational marijuana retailers, would
need to pay an initial licensing fee of $25 million and an annual renewal
fee of $500,000.

Farmers and grower licenses would be subject to a $1,000 initial fee and
$1,000 annual renewal fee. Processors and microbusinesses would also have
to pay a $25,000 annual renewal fee.

The governor has put legalization in multiple budget requests over recent
years, but the policy change has yet to come even as pressure builds amid
the ever-expanding state reform movement.

The latest budget request comes weeks after a top Pennsylvania lawmaker
said legalizing marijuana is one way to create a “very important” revenue
source for the state, and it’s an achievable reform if only legislators
could find “the will to do it.”

“It’s very important. When we talk about the needs for schools, for
transit, for roads and bridges, we have to have a way to pay for
everything—not just today, but in three years, in six years,” House Speaker
Joanna McClinton (D) said. “The only way we can do that is by creating new
revenue.”

“Some of the ways the governor requested that we create the revenue was
through legalizing marijuana, raising the minimum wage, regulating skill
games. So we have ways to do it,” the speaker said. “We’ve sent some of
those to the Senate, but we haven’t been able to get any of those bills to
the governor’s desk.”

To that point, the House passed a marijuana legalization bill last year,
with a novel proposal to have sales take place at state-run stores, but it
was promptly rejected by the GOP-controlled Senate.

Bipartisan Pennsylvania lawmakers who’ve been working to enact adult-use
legalization over recent sessions without success so far have also recently
said that President Donald Trump’s federal marijuana rescheduling order
could grease the wheels in 2026.

Rep. Dan Frankel (D), chair of the House Health Committee and another
champion of reform in the legislature, also said the rescheduling move will
“bolster the existing medical marijuana marketplace.”

While there may be some disagreement among lawmakers about rescheduling or
broader reform, Trump’s executive order marks a “step toward common-sense
drug policy reform,” Sen. Dan Laughlin (R) said.

For what it’s worth, another top GOP senator—Sen. Scott Martin (R), chair
of the chamber’s Appropriations Committee—said in December that he was
skeptical about the prospects of enacting legalization in the 2026 session,
in part because of the federal classification of cannabis that’s now
expected to change. Of course, marijuana would still be federally illegal
under Schedule III, so it’s unclear if a simple loosening of the law would
move the needle enough from his perspective.


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A top aide to Pennsylvania’s governor said in September that lawmakers
should stop introducing new competing legalization bills and instead focus
on building consensus on the issue—while emphasizing that any measure that
advances needs to contain equity provisions if the governor is going to
sign it into law.

Laughlin, for his part, said in August that the House “needs to pass the
language in my bill and send it to my committee” after which point he “can
negotiate with the Senate and the governor.”

The senator separately said recently that supporters are “picking up votes”
to enact the reform this session.

Meanwhile, bipartisan Pennsylvania senators in October introduced a bill
that would allow terminally ill patients to use of medical marijuana in
hospitals.

Separately, the leading Republican candidate in the race to become the next
governor of Pennsylvania dodged a question about her stance on legalizing
marijuana—saying she doesn’t have a “policy position” on the issue and
arguing that the sitting governor’s proposal for reform “way, way
overstated” potential revenue.

The candidate, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R), pointed to
neighboring Ohio, which launched its own adult-use cannabis market this
year, saying “they generated about $115 million in revenue.” And while the
populations of both states are relatively comparable, Shapiro’s budget projected
$536.5 million in cannabis revenue in the first fiscal year of
implementation.

She did, however, say that if Pennsylvania moves forward on enacting the
reform, she’ll “make sure that it’s banked appropriately.”

Meanwhile, a Pennsylvania Democratic senator recently said that federal
marijuana rescheduling would be “very influential” in advancing
legalization in his state, giving “political cover” to GOP members on the
fence about reform.

Polls have shown bipartisan support for legalization among voters, but the
reform has consistently stalled in the legislature, due largely 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.

*Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.*

The post Pennsylvania Governor Pushes Lawmakers To Legalize Marijuana,
Saying ‘Softening’ Of Federal Policy Under Trump Clears The Way appeared
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