As a former law enforcement officer, Sen. Mike Regan wants people to know why he has come around to thinking legalizing adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania is the way to go.
“Every year, billions of dollars flow out of Pennsylvania into the hands of the murderous drug cartels,” he said in the opening line of a political campaign-style video he posted on YouTube.
The nearly three-minute video goes on to show graphic images of the “ravages of the drug cartels” – a dead body in trunk, a bullet-riddled windshield, an effort to revive a lifeless man, and a charred vehicle with a sorrowful soundtrack of man describing how his family members were “burnt and shot up” allegedly by drug lords.
Warning: The video below contains graphic images some may find disturbing.
Regan, R-Cumberland/York counties, along with Rep. Amen Brown, D-Philadelphia, plan to introduce legislation this spring in their respective chambers to add Pennsylvania to the list of 18 states that have legalized recreational marijuana.
Being a Republican advocating for this issue puts Regan among a minority of GOP state lawmakers but he is hoping that his novel way of explaining his rationale for supporting legalizing pot will provide more of them with food for thought. His video was produced using money from his senatorial campaign fund, he said. No taxpayer dollars were used in its production.
“I wanted to make sure people knew that I am approaching this from a law enforcement perspective,” Regan said. “It really has in my mind nothing to do with smoking marijuana. It’s acknowledging the fact that people are using it illegally and spending $4 billion a year out of Pennsylvania to the cartels.”
From his decades of experience as a former U.S. marshal and research, the senator said he knows illegal marijuana purchases are happening all over the state and the criminal justice community is turning a blind eye to it.
“Cops aren’t arresting. Prosecutors aren’t prosecuting. And the money is going to the worst criminals in history,” he said. “I wanted people to see I haven’t lost my mind. I wanted people to see that I am approaching this from a law enforcement perspective.”
Former Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen, who serves as an attorney for the conservative Pennsylvania Family Institute in Harrisburg, derides the video as not showing a complete or accurate of the negative effects of marijuana.
She said it fails to “address the addictive nature of marijuana use and the long-term cost to our citizens” including the impact it has on young people both medically and cognitively, the potential of leading to stronger illegal drugs, and making highways less safe.
“The crime, murder and violence that has accompanied illegal marijuana trafficking is without question wrong. However, no wrong can be corrected by another wrong. Legalizing recreational use of marijuana is wrong for Pennsylvania,” Allen said.
Dan Bartkowiak, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Family Institute, was equally as critical, accusing the senator of using fear, the lure of quick riches and unsupported claims to pitch “a dangerous substance” as a positive.
Bartkowiak, along with Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair County, recently blasted Regan for holding hearings that presented only one-side of the cannabis legalization issue.
“And now, a one-sided video. This wouldn’t be a surprise if it came from a lobbyist but we shouldn’t see it from our public servants,” Bartkowiak said.
Regan knows he won’t be able to convince everyone that legalization is the path forward in Pennsylvania even though surrounding states have legalized or appear to be moving in that direction. He said the money that will flow to those other states from cannabis purchasers could be put to use in the commonwealth.
He has had law enforcement, health care professionals and people inside the Capitol approach him after speaking in venues about the issue and tell him he changed their minds about it. Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, both Democrats, are among those who have been advocating for recreational marijuana legalization.
He said many police officers have lost their lives in a marijuana-related investigation. Yet, the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association stands firmly opposed to legalization, saying it’s about raising revenue for the state that will come at a cost to public safety.
“Cartels are either directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of police officers every year,” Regan said. “It’s almost like I’m not explaining it right. How do you not get this? How are you not understanding the fact that we can’t subsidize domestic terror. So many crimes, so many issues come right back to the drug trade.”
Numbers are showing many already have come around to supporting cannabis legalization.
More than 600,000 Pennsylvanians hold medical marijuana cards. An October 2021 survey from Franklin & Marshall College found 60% of Pennsylvania voters back adult-use legalization. That’s the highest level of support for the issue since the firm started polling people about it in 2006.
Beyond that, prosecutors are now publicly saying legalizing it could reduce violent crime. Warren County District Attorney Robert Greene has told police officers in his county the only marijuana-related DUIs he’ll prosecute are ones where the driver shows “outward signs of impairment.”
In the video, Regan further points out “within my own county of York, an estimated 25% of murder cases handled by the DA are marijuana deals gone bad.”
Critics further argue that legalizing cannabis is not going to eliminate the black market on drug sales. Regan recognizes that but said it will put a hurting on it since marijuana is the cartel’s best money-maker.
Further, decriminalizing marijuana as legislators have proposed alone isn’t the answer, Regan said. He added that “only further empowers the gangs, organized crime and drug cartels.”
Harrisburg, Steelton, Carlisle, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania municipalities have already moved to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, but a new study by the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group, noted Pennsylvania still has among the strictest marijuana drug laws in the country.
Sen. Mike Regan, R-Cumberland/York counties, (left) and Rep. Amen Brown, D-Philadelphia, are teaming up in homes of driving a recreational marijuana legalization bill to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk.
File/Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
Regan and Brown have indicated that their forthcoming bill will address decriminalization as well as include social equity provisions for applicants disproportionately harmed by pot’s prohibition.
The senator admits his bill is still taking shape and is about 80% complete but he made the video “to start getting people to wrap their heads around it.”
His video goes on to point out the thousands of new jobs to be created from this new industry and new revenue – as much as $1 billion a year by the Independent Fiscal Office’s estimate – could be generated in Pennsylvania to support law enforcement, roads and bridges and “bettering our communities instead of billions going to those who are destroying our communities.”
The video concludes with him asking the public to contact their state senator and representative to support “this bold initiative” and “let them know that you support legalized adult-use marijuana in Pennsylvania.”
Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
