Gov. Wolf continues pushing for state to legalize recreational marijuana

MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf continued pushing state lawmakers to legalize recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania.

Wolf spoke Tuesday morning from Monroe County about the potential economic benefits and how marijuana arrests affect minority communities.

“So once again, my third call to the General Assembly to send legislation to my desk to legalize cannabis for adult use. It’s what Pennsylvania wants. It’s what Pennsylvania needs,” Wolf said.

He said legalization would have the same potential benefits as the 2018 farm bill, which promoted widespread hemp farming after government prohibition. Hemp was once widely grown throughout the state, Wolf said, but it is a different plant than marijuana, despite the similar appearance.

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“Much of our knowledge about how to grow, process and use hemp was lost after industrial hemp was regulated and banned along with marijuana in the 1930s,” he said in a news release.

Wolf, joined by Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, also talked about how cannabis criminalization laws have disproportionately affected minority communities.

"Every year in Pennsylvania, another 20,000 people get cannabis-related criminal charges that can keep them from getting the jobs and housing they want,” Fetterman said. “It’s time we stop ruining people’s futures over something that’s already legal in several states and something that most Pennsylvanians don’t even think should be illegal.”

The governor said cannabis is set to be legalized in New Jersey in the coming weeks, and many people could simply cross the state border to get it. He also said revenue from the sale of legal cannabis could help small businesses in a big way.

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