Pennsylvania Lawmakers File Bipartisan Bill to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis

Pennsylvania state Reps. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne, and Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, filed legislation Sept. 13 to legalize adult-use cannabis for those 21 years and older in the commonwealth.

Pennsylvania has one of the most robust medical cannabis markets in the nation, including more than 441,000 active patients who have contributed to more than $6.5 billion in purchases from the licensed market since sales launched in February 2018, according to the state’s Department of Health.

Even without adult-use legalization, Pennsylvania has the sixth-largest cannabis retail market in the nation with a projected $1.7 billion in sales this year.

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However, with the majority of its bordering neighbors having recently legalized adult-use cannabis, including Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware, Pennsylvania is now one of 26 states remaining in the U.S. where adult-use access is still prohibited.

A pair of bipartisan lawmakers are hoping to change that before the commonwealth’s legislative session ends on Nov. 30.

Kaufer and Kinkead circulated a memo for their legislation, House Bill 2500, in mid-June calling on their colleagues in the Democratic-controlled chamber to co-sponsor the bill. The legislation had 15 representatives, all Democrats, listed as co-sponsors when the duo officially filed the legislation Friday.

Specifically, H.B. 2500 would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess up to 30 grams of cannabis flower, 5 grams of concentrate or 1,000 milligrams of THC. It would also establish a licensed and regulated marketplace under the authority of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

When introducing the bill in mid-June, Kaufer and Kinkead said they intended to foster job creation, generate tax revenue and eradicate an unregulated market “plaguing many communities.”

“This bill underscores our commitment to responsible regulation of the cannabis industry while addressing the diverse needs of Pennsylvania’s communities,” Kaufer said in a press release. “By prioritizing public safety and consumer protection, this legislation will build on the successful regulatory structure of the state’s medical cannabis program, continuing stringent standards for product quality, packaging and labeling to ensure the well-being of all consumers.”

The legislation includes a provision to regulate products with intoxicating hemp derivatives, such as delta-8 THC, from being sold at gas stations, smoke shops and other unlicensed retailers. It also would put in place a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per offense for unlicensed activities.

RELATED: State AGs Take Action to Quell Proliferation of Intoxicating Hemp Products

H.B. 2500 includes language to enforce strict security, age verification and track-and-trace requirements. Also, the legislation intends to prohibit advertising near schools and in any manner that would be perceived as directed toward minors.

The sponsors project their bill will provide $420 million in annual tax revenue and create more than 33,000 jobs, according to a summary they released of the legislation.

Under the bill, the state would levy a 5% excise tax on dispensary sales—the lowest rate in the nation among the adult-use markets that exist today. This would be in addition to a state sales tax rate of 8% on cannabis product sales.

Tax revenue from the cannabis program would be allocated as follows:

• 30% is to the Cannabis Business Establishment Fund
  • Revenues will support training, technical assistance grants and loans for entrepreneurs, small businesses and social equity applicants, and licensees
• 30% to the Cannabis Regulation Fund
  • Revenues will support program administration, community reinvestment and public education campaigns and initiatives
• 15% to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
  • 10% for distribution to local police departments for enforcing cannabis regulations
  • 5% to be used for indigent defense services
• 10% is allocated to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs for prevention and treatment services
• 10% of revenue goes to municipalities with cannabis businesses based on the number of establishments
• 5% is used by the department for programs assisting patients, caregivers and background checks
  

The funding for social equity applicants includes grant and loan programs to support their business development. The legislation intends to implement a merit-based scoring system to license social equity business applications to help ensure an equitable adult-use rollout for a diverse and inclusive marketplace.

“It is well past time for the commonwealth to legalize cannabis for recreational use, address the injustices of the failed war on drugs, and ensure that Pennsylvanians can benefit from this industry in the same way our neighboring states have,” Kinkead said in the release. “Our bipartisan effort to provide specific language that takes the best practices from other states is the next substantial step in finally getting this done.”

Under the bill, the state would create a “Cannabis Clean Slate” policy that includes an automatic expungement process for those with past cannabis offenses to have their records cleared.

The legislation would provide for local control to the extent that municipal governments could create zoning ordinances to regulate cannabis businesses, but cities and counties could not pass ordinances to prohibit cannabis businesses from operating within their jurisdictions.

Should Pennsylvania legalize adult-use cannabis, licensed dispensaries would contribute roughly $8 million each to the state’s GDP and nearly $6 million each in income for local workers, according to a June 2024 economic impact analysis conducted by FTI Consulting in partnership with cannabis legalization advocacy group Responsible PA.

The analysis also projected that adult-use legalization would lead to an additional $4.2 billion in economic output and $2.6 billion in state GDP in Pennsylvania.

“The majority of Pennsylvanians want a legal, adult-use market and the majority of states surrounding Pennsylvania have legalized marijuana,” Responsible PA spokesperson Brittany Crampsie said in a public statement. “There are now viable bipartisan proposals on the table today for the legislature to consider and there are no more excuses to wait. We are pleased and applaud Representatives Kinkead and Kaufer for taking the initiative to file this bill and renew our call on the legislature to pass legalization immediately upon the legislature’s return to Harrisburg in September.”

In addition to the House proposal, Republican Sen. Daniel McLaughlin and Democratic Sen. Sharif Street are sponsoring a bipartisan legalization proposal they introduced last year in the commonwealth’s upper chamber. Their bill was referred last July to the Law and Justice Committee, where it still sits in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Despite these bipartisan proposals, no state in the nation has passed an adult-use cannabis bill via a divided legislature such as Pennsylvania, where Democrats hold a two-seat majority in the House and Republicans control a 28-22 majority in the Senate.

Should Pennsylvania become a legalization guinea pig in this regard, Gov. Josh Shapiro is an outspoken proponent of adult-use cannabis reform. When Shapiro called for adult-use cannabis legalization as part of his budget proposal in February, he said he was “sick and tired of losing to friggin’ Ohio.”

Nonetheless, the Pennsylvania General Assembly omitted the legalization proposal when lawmakers passed the state budget in July.