Now that a key Republican state senator plans to introduce a bill that fully would legalize marijuana use, that development seems to be just a matter of time.
Sen. Mike Regan of York County, chairman of the Senate Law and Justice Committee, plans to introduce a bill to legalize marijuana. That adds substantially to momentum for legalized pot, most evident revenue-generating legalization in New York and New Jersey and Gov. Tom Wolf’s conversion into a supporter, because it ensures that the bill would move in a crucial committee.
Pot legalization has sweeping social, criminal justice, and law enforcement implications. Advocates press it because it would end long-standing racial disparities in pot-related prosecutions. Some jurisdictions already have abandoned prosecution for possession of small amounts because it occupies large amounts of police time for what are essentially minor crimes. And because so many other states have legalized marijuana, Pennsylvanians face prosecution at home if they test positive after legally using marijuana elsewhere.
Regan addressed some of that in announcing his bill: “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 dealing in heroin and fentanyl …”
But from a legislative standpoint, the make-or-break issue regarding legalized pot in Pennsylvania always has been the state revenue it would produce. That is what overcame opposition to legalized gambling as a moral hazard, and that is what ultimately will make the difference in legalizing marijuana.
Regan emphasized that point in a legislative memo to colleagues. He projected that legalization eventually would produce $1 billion a year in state revenue, and that his bill will direct much of that money to help fund state police. More than $800 million of the state police budget comes from poaching the state’s Motor License Fund, which is supposed to go to transportation projects, but that will be reduced and capped at $500 million by 2027.
At some point, Pennsylvania will legalize marijuana. Regan’s support is a cue for the Legislature and administration to plan now to resolve many issues, including impaired-driving enforcement.
