Bipartisan Pennsylvania lawmakers have announced their intent to file a new bill to legalize recreational marijuana, soliciting support from colleagues amid a revived push for reform in the legislature as neighboring states move forward to open legal cannabis markets.
In a cosponsorship memo that was circulated on Monday, Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R) and Emily Kinkead (D) noted that a growing number of states have enacted legalization, including most recently Ohio, which is “primed to open their market with the lion’s share of their licenses perched on the border of Pennsylvania as they seek to take capture Pennsylvania dollars into their market.”
“Accordingly, we believe that now is the time for Pennsylvania to move in a similar direction and our bill establishes strong tenets for an adult-use market,” they said.
The text of the legislation isn’t available yet, but the lawmakers said it would create a regulated cannabis market under the state Department of Agriculture, prioritize social equity and small businesses, enact safeguards to deter youth use and generate tax revenue for law enforcement and local governments.
“We hope this bill will act as a strong starting point for discussions around legalizing adult-use cannabis in a thoughtful and strategic way,” they
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