Pennsylvania Representative Introduces Recreational Cannabis Bill

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap] Pennsylvania state representative has introduced a bill to legalize recreational cannabis in a state where medical cannabis patients just got access to cannabis in February.

Rep. Jake Wheatley, a Democrat, announced Bill 2600 on Monday., potentially making Pennsylvania the tenth state to legalize cannabis. The state bill does not allow public use or to drive after consuming cannabis, and people jailed for cannabis crimes would be immediately released and records cleared for cannabis-related crimes. “Those who have criminal histories related to cannabis would be expunged, and professional and driver’s licenses that were revoked or suspended due to cannabis-related crimes would be reinstated,” he said in a statement. “For far too long, the criminal justice system has unfairly punished Pennsylvanians, especially minorities, who are caught with cannabis.”

Wheatley said that cannabis would be taxed, a possible income of 581 million dollars for a state that  had issues with its budget, including a lawsuit that alleges the government has been violating the state constitution and enacting unbalanced budgets. “That’s money to balance our budget, strengthen our economy, bolster our workforce and improve our schools.”

The $581-million-dollar estimation came from a 14-page report “Regulating and Taxing Marijuana” by Pennsylvanian Auditor General DePasquale. The report showed that over 8 percent of the state’s residents use cannabis at least monthly. Fifty-six percent of Pennsylvania residents support legalizing cannabis.

“With our neighboring states all looking at legalizing marijuana, now is the time for Pennsylvania to do the same,” DePasquale continued. “Legislators must act now so that we can be competitive and not lose potential revenue to other states.”

“What’s more, legalization would save taxpayers millions in enforcement costs while freeing up crime-fighting resources to combat serious, violent crime” said Wheatley. “Prohibiting recreational use of marijuana does nothing to meaningfully reduce access to this relatively safe drug. On the other hand, continuing prohibition allows organized crime – for whom marijuana is a major money-maker—to flourish.”