Photo credits: courtesy of the Pennsylvania Senate Republican Caucus Pennsylvania 

Madison Kwiecinski 

News editor 

mvk5945@psu.edu 

Republican Senator Dan Laughlin from Erie County and Democratic Senator Sharif Street of Philadelphia introduced historic bipartisan marijuana legislation this week. Laughlin will become the first republican in the state legislature to sponsor a bill for adult marijuana usage. 

“I view this as the most responsible approach,” Laughlin said. “We’ve already legalized medical marijuana and regulating adult use takes a huge bite out of the black market. It also allows people that already use this product to do it in a more responsible manner and buy it from a safe source with accurate labeling.” 

PA Governor Tom Wolf and Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman are both in support of legalizing recreational adult marijuana use. In recent years, three separate bills for marijuana legalization have been introduced but were essentially marked dead on arrival because of the Republican controlled legislature. 

Laughlin’s support of marijuana for non-medical usage shows a potential shift within the Pennsylvania GOP that until now has been largely avoided. 

The proposed bill would legalize adults over the age of 21 to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis at a time. The bill would also allow licensed medical marijuana patients to grow up to five plants in their home and would expunge the records of anyone convicted on a non-violent marijuana charge. Landlords and leases will have the ability to prohibit tenants from growing cannabis when necessary. 

“We made sure there is a home-grow component for medical cardholders,” Laughlin said. “There is a strong emphasis on creating micro-cultivation centers so mom and pop types can be involved. There’s a strong component for social equity so many of the hardest-hit communities by the war on drugs can get a leg up on entering a profitable business.” 

Laughlin also carved out a firearms provision so gun owners would not be penalized. Marijuana is still viewed as an illegal substance on the federal level, despite many states have already legalized it for medical and recreational use.

Also, currently, anyone who uses marijuana is technically barred under U.S. law from owning a firearm. The proposed Laughlin-Street legislation states that anyone in lawful possession of marijuana “shall not be prohibited or otherwise restricted from lawful firearm ownership.” 

The Laughlin-Street bill would, throughout the course of a year, disbar the Department of Health’s Medical Marijuana Program, and establish the Pennsylvania Cannabis Regulatory

Control Board. The new board would oversee both the state’s medical and recreational marijuana statutes. Additionally, the states would issue licenses for 100 cultivation centers and 528 dispensaries, 480 of which would be permitted to dispense both medical and recreational cannabis. 

The new bill would divert some of the revenue into a Cannabis Business Development Fund, which would provide financial assistance to qualified applicants to assist with start-up costs for cannabis businesses. This financial assistance would be available to those in “disproportionately impacted areas” or to those previously convicted of cannabis related crimes that are expunged under the new legislation.  The proposed bill is a tremendous step for bipartisan legislation in the PA legislature.

“Sensible bipartisan efforts are necessary to find new revenue to rebuild our communities, fund education, and support small businesses,” said Senator Street. “Communities across Philadelphia and Pennsylvania will benefit. The time to end the prohibition of cannabis in Pennsylvania will benefit. I’m proud to be able to work across the aisle with Senator Laughlin to get it done.”