Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Pennsylvania “keeps falling further behind” as its neighbors, like Ohio and Maryland, have legalized adult-use cannabis while the commonwealth continues its unjust prohibition policies.
Shapiro, who promised to push cannabis reform forward leading up to his 2022 election—when he was still the state’s attorney general—once again called upon lawmakers in the commonwealth to pass adult-use cannabis legislation during his budget address on Feb. 4. He made a similar plea a year ago.
The governor pointed out that 24 states have legalized adult-use cannabis, including five of Pennsylvania’s six bordering neighbors. In addition to Ohio and Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Delaware allow those 21 years and older to access cannabis at licensed and regulated dispensaries.
“Look, I want to be real with you,” Shapiro said Tuesday. “As a father of four and as the former chief law enforcement of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, this was really hard for me, but I took the time to study it and to 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—it doesn’t make sense.
“And by doing nothing, we are making Pennsylvania less competitive. Besides, let’s not kid ourselves here; Pennsylvanians who want to buy cannabis, they’re just driving across the border to one of our neighbors.”
Shapiro said he spoke with cannabis company CEOs across the border in New Jersey and Maryland who told him 60% of their customers in adult-use dispensaries are from Pennsylvania.
Rivaled only by Florida, Pennsylvania has one of the most robust medical-only cannabis markets in the nation, with licensed medical dispensaries recording more than $1.7 billion in sales in 2024, according to the state’s Department of Health.
Although Pennsylvania brings in roughly $35 million in tax revenue from medical cannabis growers and processors, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Shapiro said during his budget address that regulating and taxing adult-use sales would generate roughly $1.3 billion in revenue in the first five years of a legalized market.
Under Shapiro’s budget proposal, adult-use cannabis would be legalized on July 1, 2025, with sales within Pennsylvania beginning Jan. 1, 2026. From adult-use cannabis proceeds, the governor proposed investing $10 million in restorative justice initiatives and $25 million to help new small and diverse businesses enter the new marketplace.
“We’re losing out on revenue that’s going to other states instead of helping us right here,” Shapiro said. “And so, I ask you to come together and send to my desk a bill that legalizes adult-use cannabis, expunges the records of people who have been convicted for nonviolent possession of small amounts of marijuana, and a bill that sets reasonable regulations, protects public safety, and gives communities that suffered from the criminalization of cannabis an opportunity to succeed.”
While the flip to adult-use cannabis may seem like a no-brainer for a state that reformed its medical cannabis laws nine years ago and is now surrounded by neighbors with more permissive policies for those 21 years and older, legalization is never a straightforward path for elected officials.
Specifically, Pennsylvania has had a divided government since 2015, with Democrats controlling a one-seat majority in the House and Republicans controlling a 28-22 upper hand in the Senate. Still, the bipartisan appetite for legalization is there.
Near the end of last year’s session, Pennsylvania Reps. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne, and Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, filed legislation with 15 co-sponsors to legalize adult-use cannabis in the commonwealth. State Sens. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, and Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, also sponsored a bipartisan legalization bill last session.
“I support the governor’s position on cannabis legalization—it’s long overdue,” Street said on X in response to Shapiro’s address. “This is about justice, economic growth, and securing PA’s future. Let’s stop criminalizing cannabis and build a legal market that benefits all Pennsylvanians. We need this revenue. Let’s pass this bill!”
Under current law, possessing any amount of cannabis in the commonwealth is a misdemeanor punishable by incarceration and fines.
Street’s enthusiasm faces uncertainly amid recent comments from Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, who told The Philadelphia Inquirer last month that state cannabis legalization is more than a philosophical issue while the plant remains a federally controlled substance.
Meanwhile, a pair of pro-cannabis coalitions in Pennsylvania applauded Shapiro’s proposal.
“Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned to experience the economic benefits of cannabis legalization swiftly because of its robust existing cannabis infrastructure,” Meredith Buettner Schneider, the executive director for the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition, said in a news release. “With 32 active grower/processors, almost 200 dispensaries and more than 25,000 employees, the current medical marijuana industry is ready to deliver safe, regulated cannabis on day one while generating revenue for the commonwealth immediately.”
ResponsiblePA spokesperson Brit Crampsie also issued a statement in support of Shapiro’s legalization proposal.
“Gov. Shapiro’s budget proposal includes robust investments in our communities funded by, among other things, a responsible, recurring revenue stream from an adult-use cannabis market,” Crampsie said. “His vision for legalization in the state makes us competitive once again with neighboring states. We deserve an adult-use cannabis market, just like our border states of Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, and New York. We deserve the jobs it supports and the revenue it generates. To go another year under prohibitionist policy serves no one and dwindles the state’s resources.”
Will Pennsylvania catch up with its neighbors in 2025?
To date, no state has legalized adult-use cannabis via a divided legislature.
“I’ve been heartened by the fact that more and more Republicans are joining Democrats coming on board to embrace liberty and economic opportunity,” Shapiro said. “Let’s get this done together.”
