A Pennsylvania Republican senator is blaming the state’s Democratic governor for the defeat of his bill to create a new Cannabis Control Board (CCB) to oversee the state’s medical marijuana program and intoxicating hemp products and that could also one day oversee recreational cannabis if it is legalized.
Most GOP senators in the Republican-controlled chamber voted for the legislation from Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), and all but two Democrats opposed it—with even some lawmakers who signed onto the measure as cosponsors ultimately voting against it.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) “obviously weighed in on the Democratic side of the aisle and asked for a ‘no’ vote over there, successfully,” Laughlin said after the vote on Wednesday. “I knew it was a risk putting it up for a vote, because there were some discussions going back and forth… I had a little bit of a heads-up, but we chose to roll forward.”
The governor’s office confirmed in a statement that he opposes the bill as drafted.
“The Shapiro Administration remains supportive of comprehensive cannabis regulation, which would enable a competitive, revenue-generating adult-use market, protect patient access to the current Medical Marijuana Program and rein in hemp-based intoxicant products that are currently unregulated,”
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