PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The push to legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania heightened Tuesday as back-to-back rallies and even a roundtable discussion was held to move the legislation forward.
Legalization has support from one Republican, Senator Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) who called the proposal a 'jobs' bill, noting the money it would bring into the state and competition Pennsylvania has from surrounding states who have already decided to legalize.
Sen. Laughlin spoke at the rally along with long time legalization supporters Lt. Governor John Fetterman and Democrat Sen. Sharif Street. Legalization of adult-use cannabis is also supported by Governor Wolf.
However, legalization is not supported by everyone as Republicans leadership told FOX43 the overall direction of the caucus right now is on economic recovery, getting businesses open, and getting people back to work.
"Many of the proponents, particularly the Governor and the Lt. Governor, of recreational marijuana aren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. They want to legalize something so that they can tax it to create budget holes that they have created through irresponsible spending over the course of the last 6 years," said Jason Gottesman, Press Secretary to the Republican House Majority Leader in Pennsylvania.
Gottesman added recreational marijuana legalization is not something state leaders should be rushing into so the state has more money for its budget. He noted, Pennsylvania's medical marijuana law is only 5 years old and at this time marijuana is still considered a Schedule I drug by the federal government. Schedule I drugs are categorized as substances with a high level of abuse and dependency potential.