{"id":6016,"date":"2024-02-07T04:20:36","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T12:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?p=6016"},"modified":"2024-02-14T07:05:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T15:05:02","slug":"legal-cannabis-in-pennsylvania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/legal-cannabis-in-pennsylvania\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Cannabis in Pennsylvania Receives Support From Majority of State Residents, Survey Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legal cannabis in Pennsylvania remains an issue of debate among the state\u2019s lawmakers, but the state\u2019s residents seem to have already made up their mind. A new survey shows 63% of the state\u2019s voters support recreational cannabis legalization<\/a> in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

The survey<\/a>, from the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College, found strong support for legal cannabis in Pennsylvania just as the state\u2019s lawmakers started hearings on the issue. The survey results came from interviews conducted with 1,006 registered Pennsylvania voters, including 450 Democrats, 414 Republicans and 142 Independents.<\/p>\n

Cannabis legalization in Pennsylvania has been a hot topic in the state. Pennsylvania finds itself as something of an illegal island, with most neighboring states already legalizing recreational cannabis, including\u00a0 New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Maryland. That means that other than West Virginia, Pennsylvania is the only state in the region without legal recreational cannabis.<\/p>\n

Lack of Legal Cannabis in Pennsylvania Could Cost State Millions<\/h2>\n

State lawmakers pointed out to ABC 27<\/a> in Harrisburg that with most surrounding states selling legal cannabis, Pennsylvania is missing out on revenue the state could make by setting up a regulated legal cannabis system. \u201cWe all have to come to the table, get behind a consensus bill, vote on it, fast-track it, and get it to the governors to sign it,\u201d state Rep. Dave Madsen, a Democrat, said.<\/p>\n

He and other lawmakers pointed out that residents in two of the state\u2019s largest cities – Philadelphia and Pittsburgh – can now easily travel to nearby states to buy cannabis, then bring it back to Pennsylvania to use.<\/p>\n

States across the country routinely take in millions every month in cannabis tax revenues and fees. California took in $713 million in cannabis tax revenue in 2022, according<\/a> to the Tax Foundation. States closer in size to Pennsylvania also took in a staggering amount of cannabis revenue according to the foundation\u2019s figures, including Colorado ($313 million), Illinois ($284 million), Michigan<\/a> ($190 million) and Massachusetts ($248 million).<\/p>\n

Governor Supports Legal Cannabis in Pennsylvania<\/h3>\n

Gov. Josh Shapiro supports legalization, as do Democrats who control the state House. While serving as state attorney of Pennsylvania, Shapiro posted<\/a> on his X (formerly Twitter) account: \u201cLegalize marijuana. Regulate it. Tax it. But let me be clear: legalization must include expungement for those in jail or who have served time for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Our Black & brown communities have been disproportionately impacted by this for far too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Democrats are not united by a single proposal, according<\/a> to Axios. And Republicans who control the state Senate would likely kill any legalization bill that comes out of the House. A spokesperson for Kim Ward, the Republican party’s top leader in the Senate, told Axios that the senator will not back legalization in Pennsylvania until the federal government ends cannabis prohibition.<\/p>\n

Despite the obstacles, and perhaps because of support from residents, the state is starting hearings on cannabis legalization. A hearing on the issue is scheduled before the House Health Subcommittee on Health Care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new survey shows that 63% of state voters want to see recreational cannabis made legal in Pennsylvania, just as lawmakers start hearings on the issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[984,698],"yoast_head":"\nPennsylvania Residents Back Legal Cannabis, Survey Shows<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Survey: 63% of voters support legalizing recreational cannabis in Pennsylvania as lawmakers begin hearings.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/legal-cannabis-in-pennsylvania\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pennsylvania Residents Back Legal Cannabis, Survey Shows\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Survey: 63% of voters support legalizing recreational cannabis in Pennsylvania as lawmakers begin hearings.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/legal-cannabis-in-pennsylvania\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dispensaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dispensariescom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-07T12:20:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-14T15:05:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/pennsylvania-cannabis.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dispensaries Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@dispensariescom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dispensaries Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/legal-cannabis-in-pennsylvania\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/legal-cannabis-in-pennsylvania\/\",\"name\":\"Pennsylvania Residents Back Legal Cannabis, Survey Shows\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-07T12:20:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-14T15:05:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2935feeb3a368f3c87819d4c4d4cad0\"},\"description\":\"Survey: 63% of voters support legalizing recreational cannabis in Pennsylvania as lawmakers begin hearings.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/legal-cannabis-in-pennsylvania\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/legal-cannabis-in-pennsylvania\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/legal-cannabis-in-pennsylvania\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Legal Cannabis in Pennsylvania Receives Support From Majority of State Residents, Survey Finds\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Dispensaries\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2935feeb3a368f3c87819d4c4d4cad0\",\"name\":\"Dispensaries Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d30250f23451474024d7b90b1b0b748?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d30250f23451474024d7b90b1b0b748?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dispensaries Editor\"},\"description\":\"The editorial staff at Dispensaries.com are industry insiders, focused on bringing you authoritative and in depth coverage of the legal marijuana industry. 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