Two bipartisan Pennsylvania state senators are trying to gain support for a proposal to decriminalize pot, reducing the crime of simple possession to a civil offence.
Sens. Sharif Street and Camera Bartolotta plan to reintroduce SB 107 from the last session. This bill would eliminate the possibility of jail for marijuana possession and use and instead impose fines. Under the proposed changes, the penalty for marijuana possession would be 25 dollars. The fine for cannabis consumption in public would also be $100.
Street and Bartolotta sent out a memo Wednesday to seek additional sponsors for the upcoming legislation.
The memo states that “Medical marijuana provided relief to many patients from their ailments and helped them cope effectively.” “Yet we continue to criminalize recreational marijuana and imprison those who possess even small amounts.” This is injudicious, and frankly, inappropriate.”
“Too many Pennsylvanians face criminal penalties for possessing even a small amount medically-legal cannabis.”
According to Pennsylvania law, possessing a small amount marijuana is a misdemeanor of the third degree, punishable with up to 30 day in jail and $500 fine. If a person has been convicted of violating the law, their license will be suspended for six months by the Department of Transportation.
In the memo, the senators stated that “each year in Pennsylvania thousands of people face minor possession offenses.” These charges are permanent and can affect an individual’s employment, housing and childcare. This bill would make sure that ordinary Pennsylvanians’ lives are not burdened with these small charges.
Although state law is not affected, local governments in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have passed similar decriminalization laws.
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Decriminalization is not the only option that lawmakers can choose from during the next legislative session. Democrats have retook the House after last year’s elections, and the Democratic Governor also supports legalization. While Republicans have traditionally stood against reform and continue to hold the Senate, they are not the only ones who oppose it.
While Street’s SB 107 would decriminalize cannabis, the legislator has come out in favor of a broader legalization that places a strong focus on social justice.
Street teamed up with Sen. Dan Laughlin in July to file legislation that would legalize cannabis for adults over 21. It’s possible that other bills, such as standalone ones, will also be introduced.
Street and Laughlin had previously sponsored a bill for legalization that was not enacted in the last session. In February, Laughlin wrote to the state’s law enforcement officials, urging them to take measures to safeguard gun rights of cannabis users and medical marijuana patients.
In September, Street told the audience at the Black Cannabis Week of the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunity (DACO), that “this is going to become a multi-billion dollar industry.” “We have to be inclusive. We must ensure that everyone can take part in this industry at all levels.”
Rep. Donna Bullock, a Democrat who is one of the two House members who circulated a co-sponsorship memorandum for a different legalization measure, stated at the Cannabis Opportunity Conference in September that a robust equity plan was necessary to win her support.
Bullock, who had previously criticized the dominance by large, multistate marijuana companies, said: “No bill with my name will move until I am comfortable that we have actually answered those questions.” “No bill with my name will move until I’m sure that we aren’t repeating the mistake of equity in name alone,” said Bullock, who has previously spoken out against the dominance of large, multistate cannabis companies.
She added, “If you thought you could get me by just a few expungements you were wrong.”
The Pennsylvania House Health Subcommittee on Health Care, held its first of a series of planned hearings on marijuana’s legalization.
Bartolotta is the Republican cosponsor who sponsored the decriminalization legislation of the Street. previously, Bartolotta sponsored a bill that strengthened protections for medical cannabis patients under the zero-tolerance DUI law. She presented an earlier version that proposal in June 2020.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, meanwhile (D), is in favor of cannabis reform. He proposed in March to tax and legalize adult-use cannabis, as part of the budget for 2023-2024.
The Governor’s Office said that the recent legalization of cannabis in Ohio, a neighboring state, provides a renewed urgency for Pennsylvania to follow suit. They called it “another reminding” of the necessity to enact reform.
Separate legislation, filed by Rep. David Delloso in May, would allow marijuana sales only through state-run shops. This bill is identical to one Delloso submitted during the last session.
Street surprised some advocates when he joined other senators to urge a federal court to not authorize an overdose-prevention site site Philadelphia while supporting a proposed ban on harm reduction centers in the state.
Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Corbett, spoke out ahead of the legalization that took place in Ohio on Thursday. Shapiro referred to the new law as “another reminding” of the necessity to reform. Five of the six states bordering each other, including Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York, have all ended prohibition. Residents now have a wide range of options for purchasing cannabis from outside their state.
Last week, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D) said that Pennsylvania was “lapped” by neighboring states on marijuana policy due to GOP opposition to the “common-sense” policy of legalization.
He said: “It is absolutely absurd. How many states are behind us around Pennsylvania?” “I don’t understand why Republicans oppose it. The majority of their constituencies want this.” It shouldn’t have been that difficult in Pennsylvania.”
Republican congressman files new bill to end marijuana prohibition in legal states, allow interstate commerce and lift 280E tax blockade
The post Pennsylvania Bipartisan Lawmakers Seek Sponsors For Marijuana Decriminalization Bill first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
