Pennsylvania has a marijuana problem.
The state legalized weed for medical use in 2016. Dispensaries started opening their doors two years later, with the government picking up a 5% tax on sales. That translates to millions in revenue for the public coffers.
Dispensaries were barely opened when the discussion of recreational use started. Then-Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said the few million in taxes generated on cannabis as a medicine could become hundreds of millions if pot became openly available beyond therapeutic use. In 2019, Gov. Tom Wolf conducted a listening tour asking Pennsylvanians how they felt. In 2020, Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman began to push for recreational use. Bills were introduced in the state House and Senate with bipartisan support — although they have languished since.
The timeline was no surprise. Almost 60% of Pennsylvanians supported the idea. Why not go for it?
Perhaps because it’s too fast. Whether you support it or not, the state hasn’t yet perfected dealing with medical marijuana. It’s just not ready for more widespread use.
A Spotlight PA investigation showed that while state law does keep workers from repercussions for being prescribed marijuana, actually using it can still get them in trouble. Marijuana showing up in a drug test is a valid reason for discipline, up to losing a job. That’s a problem.
Drug testing is meant to protect employers from risk and ensure safe workplaces. Regardless of support for legalization, most people would agree that being under the influence in many jobs could be dangerous. The problem is that urine drug testing doesn’t show how long ago someone used marijuana.
Contrast that with alcohol. It’s also legal in regulated circumstances, generally banned at work and people can be tested for it and dismissed if they show up positive. But a breath test shows active use, not what you had at home yesterday.
It’s an example of the way the state’s laws lag behind the needs of residents and businesses in a way that should be corrected before attempting to cast a wider net and drag in more tax dollars.
This doesn’t just lie at the feet of Wolf and Fetterman. Making medical marijuana legal was the Legislature’s job. Identifying problems in the law is the courts’ responsibility. There has been ample time to find holes in the law and sew them up. No one has.
It almost seems like leaders are only focused on how marijuana can benefit them. Keep it as a source of tax money and grow that pool if possible. Court the votes that want recreational use, but don’t offend the other 40% who may care more about enforcing laws. Move forward but maintain the status quo.
Pennsylvania’s real marijuana problem is that it can’t seem to make up its mind.
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