As Pennsylvania’s governor promotes his latest call for marijuana legalization in the Keystone State, a coalition of drug policy and civil liberties organizations are urging him to play a leadership role in convening legislative leaders to get the job done this session.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) renewed his push for legalization in his newest budget request—the third in a row to include the proposed reform—and he discussed the issue during an interview with WPVI-TV Philadelphia last week.
Asked whether he expects lawmakers to heed his call, Shapiro said “if they show up for work, there’s no reason why they can’t do it.”
“I think what’s clear is that this is an issue of competitiveness. Go across the bridge into Jersey: Over 60 percent of the people there purchasing cannabis legally and paying taxes to New Jersey are people from Pennsylvania, so we’re losing out on the revenue, and we continue to have markets that are illegal,” he said. “I’d rather regulate it and make it safer.”
Advocates are aligned with that plan, but they’re asking the governor to do more to “make adult-use cannabis legalization a top priority in 2026,” in part by convening “five-party leadership discussions with the House
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