By CHRISTEN SMITH

The Center Square

HARRISBURG —A 173-page bill that regulates adult-use cannabis in the commonwealth went from introduction to committee approval in less than 24 hours.

While Democrats laud the proposal as long overdue and the best amalgamation of many state models, Republicans argue the process was fast-tracked, secretive and potentially dangerous.

“The time is now for Pennsylvania,” said Rep. Rick Krajewski, D-Philadelphia. “We have listened carefully to public health experts, criminal justice reformers, small business advocates and community leaders. Our bill reflects what we’ve learned — that we can and must legalize cannabis in a way that is safe, equitable and beneficial to all Pennsylvanians.”

Critics argued that’s not true. Without comment from law enforcement advocacy groups or those representing children’s health and well-being, they worry the bill will only cause harm.

Rep. Charity Grim Kruppa, R-Fayette, said introducing the bill on a Sunday evening and forcing a vote on the House Health and Human Services Committee the following day is rushed by design.

“This is not lawmaking,” she said. “This is rushing, railroading and robbing the public of its right to know. This bill carries enormous consequences for our youth, our public health, our workforce and our communities. Something of this magnitude should not be fast-tracked with just a few short days for review and reaction.”

Specifically, the bill regulates potency levels to make the drug safer and wipes clean criminal records marked by cannabis- related convictions. It also reinvests the estimated $500 million tax revenue back into the state to assist communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs.

“Prohibition was never about public safety — it was about control and punishment, targeting and devastating Black and Brown Pennsylvanians,” said Krajewski. “The cannabis industry has been monopolized by corporatized private equity and it is time to propose an alternative retail model that will benefit all Pennsylvanians. We need to repair the harms of criminalization, create family-sustaining union jobs and make this industry work for all of us.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro laid a similar vision for the industry during a February budget address for his third spending proposal. Revenue from “sin taxes” like adult-use cannabis legalization and skill games regulation, would help fund the governor’s spending targets for public education and mass transit.

Twenty-four other states have already legalized adult-use cannabis, including most of Pennsylvania’s neighbors, except West Virginia.

“I want to be real with you – as a father of four and as the former chief law enforcement officer of this commonwealth, this one was hard for me,” said Shapiro during his budget address. “But I took the time to study it and understand the impacts — to understand the choice between continuing the black market of drug dealing versus a highly-regulated industry with protections in place for our children. Letting this business operate in the shadows doesn’t make sense.”

He added that Pennsylvanians who want to buy marijuana can just drive into one of the neighboring states in which it is legal.

“By doing nothing, we’re making Pennsylvania less competitive,” Shapiro said, later adding, “We’re losing out on revenue that’s going to other states instead of helping us here.”

Because Shapiro’s proposed budget assumes regulated sales within Pennsylvania won’t begin until Jan. 1, 2026, the primary source of revenue from legalized adult-use marijuana would initially be from license fees paid by those participating in the production and sale of the products. The governor’s office anticipates those fees will yield $509.5 million. The governor’s proposed 20% tax on the wholesale price of marijuana products is expected to produce $15.6 million during the 2025-26 fiscal year, with another $11.4 million coming in sales taxes derived from retail sales of marijuana.

As the system ramps up, the wholesale tax is expected to rise to $63 million in 2026, $130.3 million in 2027 and $185.5 million in 2028. The IFO, when adult-use marijuana legalization was proposed last year, estimated an additional $113 million increase of sales tax revenue the first full fiscal year of legalized retail sales, with the additional sales tax revenue changing little in future years.

Legalizing adult-use marijuana has been a difficult lift in the General Assembly. Though the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives has been supportive of the idea, the Republicancontrolled Senate has remained opposed to the proposal.

The bill now awaits consideration on the House floor. It’s fate in the upper chamber is uncertain.