Republican support grows for recreational cannabis legalization in Pennsylvania
By Christen Smith | The Center Square
HARRISBURG, PA – A key Republican senator voiced his support for legalizing recreational cannabis in Pennsylvania as way to reduce strain on the criminal justice system and boost funding for state police.
Senate Law and Justice Committee Chairman Mike Regan, R-Dillsburg, wrote in an op-ed on Monday that he’s circulating a cosponsorship memo to permit adult-use statewide and direct a portion of the projected $1 billion in tax revenue to support the state police.
“Our law enforcement agencies and justice system do not have the manpower or time to handle these minor marijuana offenses that clog our courts and produce little return,” he said. “Instead, police and prosecutors need to focus on protecting our residents from the violent criminals and large-scale drug importers that are also dealing in heroin and fentanyl, which kill thousands of Pennsylvanians each year.”
The idea offers a long-term solution to a funding problem that’s vexed the Legislature for years – how to break the agency’s dependency on transfers from the Motor License Fund, which is meant to finance road and bridge maintenance.
In 2020, lawmakers diverted more than $800 million from the account to supplement state police while the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation struggles with growing upkeep costs and has initiated an unpopular interstate bridge tolling plan to cover the gap.
Regan said his plan eliminates that need while still building a strong infrastructure “that will lead to more job creators and entrepreneurs investing in Pennsylvania’s economic future.”
The proposal would also address DUI enforcement for cannabis users, protect firearm ownership “regardless of one’s choice” to use the drug, establish a new regulatory control board, develop educational programs that deter underage use and provide “social equity, inclusion and assistance for business entry into the industry.”
Regan, who spent more than two decades serving in the U.S. Marshals Service, said he’s seen firsthand the “seriousness of illicit drug use,” but believes legalizing recreational cannabis will not only ease the strain on law enforcement, but bring added benefits to the state’s successful medical program that serves 365,000 active patients.
Regan’s editorial doesn’t mention any restorative justice component that erases nonviolent convictions – unlike a measure introduced by Sens. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, and Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, in February. Both senators have expressed interest in running for statewide office, with Street considering a bid for U.S. Senate and Laughlin eyeing the governor’s mansion.
Gov. Tom Wolf first expressed support for recreational cannabis in 2019 as his second in command, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, embarked on a statewide tour to discuss the policy with residents. On Monday, Wolf tweeted that he’s “all for legalizing adult use marijuana in Pennsylvania.”
“For me to sign, the bill must include efforts to restore justice to Pennsylvanians who have been over-punished for marijuana offenses,” he said.
Regan’s bill is the second Republican-backed plan introduced in the upper chamber this year, signaling a shift among party members long opposed to the policy.
