Chris Roberts
February 4, 2025
For the third straight year, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called on
state legislators during his annual budget address on Tuesday to legalize
adult-use cannabis.
If lawmakers in the state’s split Legislature can overcome a yearslong
partisan deadlock, Pennsylvania would be the 25th state to legalize
recreational marijuana – and would create an industry with annual sales
of $2.8 billion within a year, according to one estimate.
Pennsylvania would tax adult-use marijuana at
20%
As he did the past two years, Shapiro proposed a wholesale tax of 20% on
adult-use marijuana.
That would be one of the higher tax rates in the country but could
generate as much as $1.3 billion in tax revenue over the first five year
legalization.
And with a budget deficit approaching $3.7 billion, Pennsylvania is
dire need of cash.
“I ask you to come together and send to my desk a bill that legalizes
adult-use cannabis and expunges the records of people who have been
convicted for nonviolent possession of small amounts of marijuana,
” the
Democratic governor and consensus 2028 presidential nomination
contender told a joint session of the state General Assembly in
Harrisburg.
“I want to be real with you – as a father of four ... and as the former chief
law enforcement o
cer of this Commonwealth – this one was hard for
me,
” Shapiro added, according to a transcript of his remarks.
“But I took the time to study it and understand the impacts. To
understand the choice between continuing the (illicit) market of drug
dealing versus a highly-regulated industry with protections in place for
our children.
“Letting this business operate in the shadows doesn’t make sense. And
by doing nothing, we’re making Pennsylvania less competitive.”
Pennsylvania budget crisis could boost
legalization effort
It’s not yet clear what type of legislation lawmakers might send to
Shapiro’s desk for his signature – or if they’re able to pass an adult-use
bill at all.
Last year, Pennsylvania’s legislators considered separate proposals that
would have set up recreational marijuana sales at state-run stores,
similar to alcohol, or allowed existing medical marijuana dispensaries to
start selling adult-use products.
Despite majority support in the Democratic-controlled House, no
legalization bills passed the Republican-run state Senate.
Industry advocates as well as some state lawmakers believe that the
fiscal outlook might be what finally convinces reluctant lawmak
There’s also external pressure from bordering states such as Maryland,
New Jersey, New York and Ohio – all of which have legal adult-use
markets.
Cannabis executives from neighboring states have told Shapiro that as
much as 60% of their customers come from Pennsylvania, the governor
noted Tuesday.
Shapiro’s “vision for legalization in the state makes us competitive once
again with neighboring states,
” Britt Crampsie, a spokesperson for
legalization advocacy group Responsible PA, said in a statement.
“We deserve an adult use cannabis market, just like our border states of
Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, and New York. We deserve the jobs it
supports and the revenue it generates.
“To go another year under prohibitionist policy serves no one and
dwindles the state’s resources.”
Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.
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