Homegrown: Pennsylvania Debates Legalization of Recreational Marijuana
In April 2016, the Pennsylvania legislature legalized marijuana use for certain medicinal purposes, and in 2017 and early 2018, growers and dispensaries opened across the Commonwealth. Now, the debate turns to if and when recreational marijuana use will be legal in Pennsylvania. At the time this article was written, 33 states and the District of Columbia had legalized medical marijuana: 10 of those states and the District had also legalized recreational marijuana use.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reports that since medicinal marijuana's legalization in 2016, more than 116,000 Pennsylvanians have registered as patients in the medical marijuana program, 83,000 of those have been issued identification cards allowing them to buy certain cannabis products, and nearly 1,000 physicians have been approved to certify patients to participate in the program. At present, there are 25 permitted growers/processors and 50 permitted dispensaries in Pennsylvania (although some in each category are not yet operational).
The financial statistics cited in support of full legalization include the more than $132 million in total medical marijuana sales, and the corresponding tax revenue from growers/processors of more than $2 million.
In February 2019, House Bill No. 50 was introduced in an effort to legalize recreational marijuana. It is sponsored by Jake Wheatley Jr. of Allegheny County, who asserts that 60 percent of the Commonwealth favors full legalization. The bill seeks to amend the Medical Marijuana Act and is currently being considered by the Committee on Health.
In its present form, House Bill No. 50 would implement tax rates which, as suggested by one Auditor General's report, could generate upward of $580 million in annual tax revenue. The bill includes social justice reforms, provides for expungement of certain criminal records, incentivizes cannabis businesses to partner with farmers, and invests some of the tax revenue in student debt forgiveness, after-school programs and affordable housing. The bill also calls for 300 recreational cannabis retail locations (similar to state stores for alcohol) and provides for enforcement procedures through the Liquor Control Board.
Finally, as currently drafted, the bill only legalizes recreational cannabis use for individuals 21 years of age or older, who would be permitted to cultivate up to six plants at home as long as only three are flowering at any time. This is similar to other jurisdictions that have legalized recreational use, all of which limit such use to individuals 21 years of age or older and place various restrictions on possession and cultivation.
Of key interest to employers, House Bill No. 50 maintains the imposition of civil and/ or criminal liability for undertaking a task under the influence of adult-use cannabis when doing so would constitute negligence, professional malpractice or professional misconduct. Currently, the Medical Marijuana Act expressly provides that it "shall in no way limit an employer's ability to discipline an employee for being under the influence of medical marijuana in the workplace or for working while under the influence of medical marijuana when the employee's conduct falls below the standard of care normally accepted for that position."
Recreational marijuana continues to grow as an issue, with 21 states, including neighbors New York and New Jersey. considering legalization legislation (Ohio voted not to legalize recreational marijuana in 2015, but the issue may resurface). In addition, political sources almost unanimously agree that cannabis legislation on the federal level-both medicinal and recreational - will be a smoking hot topic for the 2020 presidential campaign.
For more information, contact MacDonald Illig Attorneys at 814/870-7600.
Article featured in the Manufacturer and Business Associations' May 2019 Business Magazine.
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