Wine, liquor and marijuana? A bill making its way through the Pennsylvania State House would stock marijuana in state-run stores.
House Democrats passed an adult recreational marijuana bill out of the Health Committee by a narrow 14-12 margin on Monday. The vote was along party lines.
But while Gov. Josh Shapiro has been urging lawmakers to create an adult use program by July to start sales in January, House Bill 1200 is dramatically different from what Shapiro proposed in his 2025-26 budget.
The bill differs from Shapiro’s proposal in two distinct ways: it puts an adult use program under the purview of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and eliminates any mention of restorative justice in the 173-page document.
It still includes plans to expunge the records of those charged for non-violent crimes and possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Shapiro spoke about the bill today during an event in Bedford County.
“Look, I think Pennsylvania needs to compete and every other state around us has legalized. I think it’s important that we regulate, that we tax, that we have responsible controls here, but that we also make sure that we reap the economic benefits so that Ohio and New York and Maryland and New Jersey and other states around us don’t get the benefit from Pennsylvania taxpayers,” Shapiro said. “I thought the House took a really important step by beginning to move the marijuana legalization bill. Obviously, it’s the beginning. This is going to have to go through some bipartisan compromise but getting the process started I think is really important, and I appreciate the leadership in the House for getting that done.”
His office did not comment on how changes to the proposed adult cannabis use program would affect the state’s budget.
Some state lawmakers continue to express concerns about recreational legalization. Some Republicans, in particular, continue to oppose legalization.
State Sen. Lisa Baker said she is concerned about Shapiro’s intention to rely on recreational use as a revenue stream during a meeting with Attorney General Dave Sunday last Thursday in Luzerne County, before the bill passed through committee.
“I don’t personally believe that’s the way we should be funding our state budget, and so that’s an area where I have great concern,” she said.
But polling shows that legislative hesitation is mostly at odds with public opinion.
Similar polling from Pew Research reports a net 88% of U.S. adults say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use; 57% of respondents said marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, according to research published in March 2024, while 32% say that marijuana should be legal for medical use only.
Just 11% of Americans say that the drug should not be legal at all, the research found.
State Rep. Maureen Madden, one of HB 1200’s sponsors, is adamant that lawmakers’ votes should coincide with public opinion. She spoke at a town hall meeting on April 26 in Tannersville.
“When over 70% of our constituents say we want recreational cannabis, and we keep ignoring them … we’re missing out on a whole stream of funding,” the Monroe County Democrat said.
She compared recreational marijuana use to skill game regulation. Not everyone is going to smoke recreational cannabis if it’s legalized.
“But we are a large, diverse state … and it is my obligation … to come to a consensus where we can move forward. We have over a $2 billion deficit in this state, and we have to do something to make that deficit up … and start funding programs the way we need to,” Madden said.
House Bill 1200 will next be up for consideration by the full House.
The proposal’s future in a divided legislature remains unclear: Democrats have a one-vote majority in the House, while Republicans hold the Senate by a 27-23 majority.
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