PENNSYLVANIA, USA — A new bill proposed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives represents the latest effort to legalize recreational marijuana in the commonwealth.
The bipartisan HB 2500, with Representatives Emily Kinkead (D-Allegheny) and Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne) serving as primary sponsors, aims to provide a framework that could pass both the Democratic controlled House and the Republican controlled Senate.
"What we're hoping to be is really a gold standard for what legalization can and should look like nationwide," Rep. Kinkead told FOX43. "This bill basically takes all of the previous attempts as well as information from what we've seen that works in other states, that doesn't work in other states, and puts it all together in one bill."
The bill would impose an 8% sales tax on cannabis products and a 5% excise tax on sellers. Kinkead says that conservative estimates have the bill raising up to $420 million annually.
"We constantly have been talking about for the last few years that Pennsylvania is going to run into a fiscal cliff," Kinkead said. "This is a way to bring in revenue in order to address that."
Thirty percent of the distributed tax revenue would be allocated to the Cannabis Business Establishment Fund, while 15% would go to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
Ten percent would be allocated to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, while another 10% would go to municipalities with cannabis businesses. The last 5% would be used by the Department for programs assisting patients, caregivers and background checks.
The bill would also provide social equity to those who have been previously incarcerated for cannabis-based crimes, and restrict marijuana sales and usage in places such as schools, public parks, places of worship, vehicles or near minors. Advertising would also be restricted.
The impetus for legalizing now follows Ohio’s legalization last year, meaning every state bordering Pennsylvania aside from West Virginia has legalized recreational marijuana.
"It's a real problem because we are losing revenue that we could be using to reinvest in the people in Pennsylvania, and instead that's going to invest in people in other states," Kinkead said. "All of these other states are lining up their dispensaries along the Pennsylvania border because they know that we have not accomplished legalization, so they are taking advantage of our slow movement and our lack of movement to get an economic benefit."
The fate of the bill hinges on the support of both the Republican controlled Senate as well as Governor Josh Shapiro, who has indicated his support for legalizing recreational marijuana in principle.
"I think it's going to get a considerable amount of bipartisan support," Kinkead said. "The hurdle to getting this moving is the governor coming out and deciding that this or some other proposal is what he wants to see. He came out in February and said that he wants to see cannabis legalized. I think fundamentally, he's kind of been looking for the right vehicle. And so is it our bill? Is it a different bill? It's going to be down to, really, to him to decide."