Will Pennsylvania lawmakers legalize marijuana? Top lawmaker shares insight

(WHTM)– The wait might be getting longer for Pennsylvanians who want to legalize recreational marijuana.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s budget counted on hundreds of millions of dollars in fees and taxes on marijuana this year, but Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) said it’s a non-starter in the budget deal currently being negotiated.

“I’ve spoken openly about how I’ve grappled with this issue as a father, as a former chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said.

But he argues that every surrounding state except West Virginia has legalized marijuana, and Pennsylvanians are going elsewhere to buy it. Those states are significantly benefiting from the taxes Pennsylvanians are paying, Shapiro said.

“So, those school kids get more money for their schools, their parks and roads and bridges get repaired, their mass transit systems get funded, their housing stock gets replenished,” Shapiro said. “I’m not sure why we want to do that for the good people of Ohio or New York or Maryland or New Jersey, when we should be doing it for people here in Pennsylvania.”

House Democrats passed a bill to legalize marijuana in the Commonwealth in May, but the bill failed to pass the Senate in committee. Senate Republicans objected to running the business through the Liquor Control Board.

Pittman fired shots at the House, saying they took an unserious approach to a serious issue.

“Why the House took such an unserious approach to such a serious issue is beyond me,” Pittman said. “But the way they did it and how they did it took that issue five steps back.”

Some legislators believe that it is neither healthy nor safe to legalize recreational marijuana, and Pennsylvania shouldn’t do it just because other states do.

Britney Crampsie, a spokesperson for Responsible PA, a pro-legalization advocacy group, said “they’re not keeping marijuana out of Pennsylvania. They are keeping the tax revenue out of the general fund.”

Crampsie added a majority of Pennsylvanians support recreational marijuana. She said she wonders how a cash strapped budget can ignore marijuana money.

“So to write it off, I think is certainly a misstep and is also going to lead to either devastating cuts or some less palatable revenue options,” Crampsie said.

Budgets aren’t done until they’re done. Some still hope marijuana can be squeezed into this year’s, especially with bipartisan support for legalization in the House and Senate.

Anything is possible, but not everything is likely.

“I think this probably isn’t ready for prime time right now,” said State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward.