Next week, a Pennsylvania House Committee will hold an informational session to hear from marijuana experts on the legalization of adult-use cannabis. As legislators map out a reform path, the chairman is considering incorporating a model for state-run cannabis sales.
The House Health Subcommittee on Health Care, which will hold its hearing on November 1, will not be able to take up specific legislation, but members will get to hear from professors, addiction specialists, and advocates about the health implications of legalization.
The subcommittee’s chair is Rep. Dan Frankel, a Democrat who has previously sponsored cannabis legalization bills. He circulated an earlier cosponsorship memorandum previewing his plans to introduce another reform bill in this session.
Frankel said in a telephone interview with Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that he plans to introduce a measure early next year which will likely be “quite a different” than the one he sponsored previously. It will also be influenced by the meetings held in his panel. Frankel expects that there will be at least two or three meetings before the final bill is presented to the committee.
Frankel explained that his framework, as we move ahead with a bill for adult use, would be to focus on safety, equity, and revenue for the State, while also ensuring access to people.
He said, “My goal is to find a bill that can be supported by our entire conference. I expect there will be bipartisan support.” “It’s important to have bipartisan support, if we want to send anything to the Senate which is controlled my Republican colleagues,” he said.
The chairman stated that the Pennsylvania legislature will examine a variety state regulatory models, and “what could be done better” by Pennsylvania. He also noted that some states “have come forward with interesting ideas that we would like to hear, so we will look at them as well, as we craft something.”
The New Hampshire legislature is actively considering the idea of state-run marijuana stores. This is similar to the proposal that has been made and is being actively considered by a commission exploring legalization options.
He said that it was a good idea in some respects, especially if the goal is to quickly and safely roll out adult use. “That could be a part of the retail dispensary operations–having it administered as well. Since there’s already this infrastructure with respect to the alcohol”, the sale of which is currently controlled by the state in Pennsylvania.
Frankel stated that there was interest in examining the state store system, not necessarily as a whole but as a part of the dispensary or distribution system. Frankel acknowledged that, in addition to the political issues, some conservatives have already been critical of Pennsylvania’s alcohol distribution system. He also noted that Pennsylvania buys a large amount of alcohol sold by retailers from companies outside the state, and that this is not an option for cannabis under federal prohibition.
The new, narrow Democratic majority this session in the House and Gov. Josh Shapiro, The prospects for legalization in Pennsylvania improved. But there is still a question as to how the GOP controlled Senate would approach reform if they received a bill from the other chamber.
The fact is that more Republican Senators are now on board. Sens. Dan Laughlin and Sharif Street, for example.
The Senate Law and Justice Committee conducted a series hearings last year on marijuana legalization. These hearings were intended to inform the legislation being drafted by the Republican Chairman of the committee, Sen. Mike Regan.
The House panel will be hearing from Jonathan Caulkins of Carnegie Mellon University, Kent Vrana of Penn State College of Medicine, Amanda Reiman, Chief Knowledge Officer of New Frontier Data, and a member of the community involved in addiction prevention at the meeting next week.
On Tuesday, a Frankel staffer told Marijuana Moment that the topics covered would include the impact of legalization of marijuana on the illicit market as well as the health effects of marijuana use.
Reiman said to Marijuana Moment she would be giving “an overview” of cannabis consumers, their sourcing habits and preferred methods for ingestion based on an annual survey conducted by New Frontier Data. She will also brief lawmakers on “market forecasts through 2030 based upon two scenarios: one in which the states that are expected to open up markets (OH, FL etc) do so, and another where no new markets open before then,” she stated.
Reiman explained that he would be covering the following topics for consumers: consumer demographics and usage patterns, reasons behind use, preferred products, sourcing, spending, and preferred product forms. “Finally I will review reasons why people don’t participate in the regulated markets.”
Cannabis industry stakeholders were excluded from this first meeting to allow committee members to learn from those without a direct interest in the market. They also wanted to know more about the “contours and landscape” that they would be considering when they look at legalization, according to a staffer.
House members have filed separate bills that would legalize the sale of marijuana through state-run shops, and provide permits to farmers and small agricultural businesses to grow cannabis after adult-use sales become legal.
The House also approved earlier this month a tax reform bill that contains language providing state-level relief for medical marijuana businesses, as they continue struggling under federal financial barriers. Republicans, who normally support tax cuts, were outraged by the reform. They viewed it as a Democratic giveaway of money to the cannabis industry.
A second measure that would allow licensed medical marijuana grower/processors to directly sell their cannabis products to patients passed the Senate last September and is now waiting for a House committee to act.
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At a conference held last month, black lawmakers discussed separately the need to make equity considerations the core of any marijuana legalization plans.
Shapiro supports cannabis reform, and has proposed legalizing and taxing adult-use marijuana in his budget request for 2023-2024.
Frankel stated that the support of the Governor is “an essential thing to have.” However, he is skeptical about the high taxes that Shapiro has proposed in his plan to legalize marijuana. He believes that Pennsylvania will struggle to compete against neighboring states like New Jersey with a lower tax rate.
Laughlin also wrote a letter in February to the state’s law enforcement, urging them to take steps to protect gun rights of cannabis users and medical marijuana patients in light of a recent federal court ruling.
Photo by Mike Latimer.
The first time Marijuana Moment was published, the post Pennsylvania House Committee Schedules Marijuana Legalization Hearse Next Week With Chair Considering State-Run Shops.
