A GOP Pennsylvania senator is backing the push to legalize marijuana in the commonwealth at a critical inflection point as a reform proposal has moved through the House and now heads to the Senate.
Sen. Gene Yaw (R) said in an interview published on Monday by The Standard-Journal that, historically, prohibition “has not turned out well,” pointing to the country’s experience with alcohol criminalization.
“It makes sense that we regulate it the way we have done with alcohol and gambling, and tax it and do the best that we can in that regard,” he said of cannabis. “For us to bury our head in the sand and say that just because we have not legalized it that we are somehow preventing things like that from happening just makes no sense.”
The comments came in the same week that the Democratic-controlled House passed novel legislation to enact legalization, with state-run stores. The legislation advanced along party lines, raising questions about its prospects in the GOP-controlled Senate where it heads to next.
In an earlier interview published in February, Yaw said both alcohol and tobacco have been “used for thousands of years,” just like marijuana. Yet only cannabis continues to be strictly criminalized, he pointed out.
“I don’t think marijuana is any different than these other things,” Yaw said at the time. “We’ve regulated it and taxed it.”
The senator noted that Pennsylvania lawmakers have introduced numerous cannabis reform bills over recent sessions. And while, years ago, “I never thought I would support medical marijuana,” he said he came around on the issue and voted for it because “it has its place for some people.”
In the new interview published this week, Yaw said he thinks “both the Senate and the House would support a bill” to legalize cannabis, though he didn’t specifically endorse the measure that cleared the House on Wednesday.
Whether that bill might have a pathway through the Senate is uncertain, and the expectation is that the chamber will need to make significant amendments if it stands a chance of passage in the GOP-controlled body.
The largest challenge for the legislation going forward will likely come down to its proposal to have the state control cannabis sales—a regulatory model that exists in no other legal market in the U.S.
Pennsylvania’s governor, as well as key senators on both sides of the marijuana legalization debate, have strongly signaled that a newly House-passed bill will need to be seriously amended if it stands a chance in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Following the narrow, party-line vote that squeaked the novel legalization legislation across the finish line in the House on Wednesday, Democratic and Republican senators made clear that the measure heading to the Senate faces a tough path ahead, with key lawmakers focusing on provisions that’d put marijuana stores under state control, similar to how alcohol is sold in Pennsylvania.
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.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has repeatedly called for adult-use marijuana legalization, including the reform in his last three budget requests. However, he hasn’t endorsed the specific idea of having a state-controlled model.
Key Pennsylvania lawmakers have already made clear that they’re at odds on the path forward for legalization—while a top Republican senator recently dismissed the idea that the reform is achievable at all this session.
Frankel, for his part, said recently that “this will be the bill that we will see,” referring to his state-run legalization plan, adding that he’s worked “hand-in-hand” with Democratic leadership.
Rep. Abby Major (R)—who is sponsoring another forthcoming legalization bill that envisions a traditional private sales model alongside Rep. Emily Kinkead (D)—said on the floor on Wednesday that she stands opposed to the competing bill, emphasizing that she disagrees with the state-run stores proposal.
Regardless of which direction Pennsylvania lawmakers do—or don’t—go on marijuana legalization session, a survey released last week 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.
Meanwhile, a Republican Pennsylvania senator 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.”
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.”
Another Democratic lawmaker said legislature is “substantially closer” to reaching a deal on marijuana legalization, and an initial vote on a bipartisan cannabis reform bill could come as early as this month.
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.”
Pennsylvania’s Republican attorney general recently said he wants to be a “voice for potential public safety risks” of enacting the governor’s proposal—though he said his office would be ready to enforce the new law if lawmakers did vote to pass it.
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.
Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.
A GOP Pennsylvania senator is backing the push to legalize marijuana in the commonwealth at a critical inflection point as a reform proposal has moved through the House and now heads to the Senate. Sen. Gene Yaw (R) said in an interview published on Monday by The Standard-Journal that, historically, prohibition “has not turned out Read More
