As Ohio voters recently approved Issue 2 to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state, and with the rising recreational markets in other states like New Jersey, New York, and Maryland, neighboring Pennsylvania still has yet to approve and enact similar cannabis reform of its own.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has a history of vocalizing his support for cannabis reform in the state and recently expanded on his perspective as yet another neighboring state has approved adult-use cannabis reform. Fetterman also touched on the broader policy, namely federal cannabis legalization, calling the move “inevitable.”
Fetterman spoke with City & State Pennsylvania in the exclusive one-on-one interview published Monday, recognizing a shared frustration around Pennsylvania’s lack of momentum for recreational cannabis legalization.
“It’s absolutely absurd—how many states around Pennsylvania are we falling behind?” Fetterman said, nodding to Ohio’s recent cannabis vote. “I don’t know why Republicans are opposing it, because the majority of their constituents want this. It shouldn’t be that hard in Pennsylvania.”
As recreational cannabis remains illegal in Pennsylvania, Fetterman called the delay “silly,” referencing that the continued reform delays only allows the illicit market to thrive and deprives the state of potential economic opportunities.
“It’s just so simple and so easy—just give people what they want. And again, make it safe, make it pure and make jobs,” he said. “All the benefits are going to the cartels, but now, it should be going to the state.”
Like many reform groups, Fetterman compared cannabis legalization and regulation to the current markets around tobacco and alcohol, highlighting that adults of legal age should have the right to buy these products in a regulated market where they are taxed and tested, instead of leaving consumers to resort to the potential hazards of the illicit market.
“There are things that are so much more lethal and dangerous and addictive—you don’t have any of those issues with cannabis,” he said.
Fetterman also said that the value of cannabis is “distorted” given that it is still considered an illicit substance, referencing robberies and violence over cannabis. He also cited the historic and continuous impact of cannabis criminalization on Black and Brown people, highlighting the importance of including equity measures and expungements with cannabis reform measures.
“I don’t think anyone thinks your life should be messed up because you have some stupid weed charge, as long as it’s nonviolent,” he said. “And as lieutenant governor and head of the pardoning process, we got that process started. It’s always astonishing when you have people in front of you who can’t be a volunteer at their child’s school, can’t get a better job, can’t get a loan because 12 years ago they got caught with a joint.”
When asked about his 67-county tour as lieutenant governor, Fetterman said that “everyone” wanted to talk about cannabis—whether the region leaned more Democrat or Republican. He also said that Republican lawmakers are largely to blame for continued delays in Pennsylvania’s adult-use cannabis reform and legalization at the federal level.
“It’s always Republicans going against something that should be common sense and that a majority of people really want—whether it’s abortion or weed,” he said. “In Pennsylvania, they’re gumming it up and I suspect any national way of legalizing it will be gummed up by Republicans too. The truth is, it’s going to be legal.”
As 24 total states currently have legal adult-use cannabis, and more than half of Americans currently live in states with recreational cannabis laws, Fetterman referenced that “somehow the world hasn’t spun off its axis” due to the reform measures.
Looking ahead at the potential shift to federal legalization, Fetterman turned focus to Pennsylvania once again, saying that the state has an opportunity to get ahead of things and create its own established market before this larger shift.
“Four or five years ago, everyone thought I was weird or just a stoner because I believed that it was the right way to go,” Fettermand said. “Republicans at the time said, ‘We don’t want this and the majority of people don’t either.’ We found out we actually do, and now, we have been lapped by New York, New Jersey, Maryland, D.C. and now Ohio.”
While the future of adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania is still uncertain, a state House committee held an informational meeting earlier in the month to hear from experts about legalizing recreational cannabis. The House Health Subcommittee on Health Care did not pursue any specific legislation at the time.
