Pennsylvania’s Budget Deal Leaves Marijuana Legalization on the Backburner
Pennsylvania’s four-month budget stalemate has finally come to an end, but the state’s lawmakers have yet to make progress on legalizing recreational marijuana use. Despite neighboring states generating significant profits from cannabis sales, Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, had proposed funding the budget by taxing marijuana.
However, when the finalized $50.1 billion budget was unveiled, marijuana legalization was noticeably absent. Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman attributed the omission to lawmakers finding alternative ways to fund the budget, which exceeded the state’s revenue. Pittman jokingly referred to these alternative measures as “the couch cushions of bureaucracy.”
Although marijuana legalization was not included in the budget, at least two measures are currently making their way through the state legislature, House Bill 20 and Senate Bill 49, both of which have bipartisan support. The Senate measure, approved by the Law and Justice Committee in late October, would establish a cannabis control board and is expected to be considered by the full Senate in the coming weeks.
This latest development marks a significant step forward for marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania, as previous bills have not advanced as far. As the state continues to debate the issue, residents remain hopeful that recreational marijuana use will soon become legal in Pennsylvania.
