Pennsylvania Leaders Discuss Legalizing Recreational Marijuana

Several Pennsylvania elected officials spent 4/20 weighing in on whether the state should legalize marijuana for recreational use.

Pennsylvania Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman, State Rep. Jake Wheatley and several others discussed the polarizing topic during a round table meeting in Harrisburg, fittingly on April 20, a day synonymous with the plant, WPXI reports.

“It would generate $5 billion in free money that would otherwise go to drug cartels,” Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman said via WPXI.

State Rep. Wheatley introduced House Bill 2050 in 2020, which called for the legalization of recreational marijuana, in 2020.

The bill was initially rejected, but Wheatley is once again attempting to push for its passage. The bill would include wiping the records of non-violent drug offenders and allowing adult use of cannabis statewide.

“It is a huge equity piece and I know personally first-hand because some of my own family members have been caught up in the criminal justice system because of getting caught with a little bag of weed and now they have a record for the rest of their lives,” said State Rep. Manuel Guzman, Jr.

The bill also includes a minority and women grant program, which aims to help disadvantaged groups benefit in the industry once recreational marijuana is legalized.

The legalization would bring an excise tax for consumers starting at 6%.

Photo: Getty Images